Wandering Eyes

Vernanme will tackle his first stakes assignment of the season at Counties on Sunday. Photo: Trish Dunell Group One performer Vernanme has been lapping up the beach life at trainer Stephen Marsh’s satellite stableat Ruakaka during his spring preparation, but it has been back to reality thisweek for the talented galloper. The son of O’Reilly is preparing for his first stakes test of the spring at Counties on Sunday, the Listed Haunui Farm Karaka Classic (1600m), and he has returned to his Cambridge home base after his runner-up performance over 1400m at Ruakaka late last month. “He has been terrific, he has spent most of his time up at the beach,” Marsh said. “He has been back here this week and had a little breeze-up this morning and worked up beautifully. “I really liked his run at Ruakaka, he was a bit fresh,” Marsh said. “He jumped and travelled a little bit forward to how he really wants to be.” Vernanme will jump from barrier eight in the mile feature on Sunday and Marsh believes he will be ideally suited to the step-up in distance. “Side winkers back on, he will push in behind the speed and I think the step up to the mile at Counties, where he has won, is really going to suit him,” Marsh said. “I think he is a really nice chance.” TAB bookmakers agree with Marsh’s sentiments and have installed Vernanme as a $3 favourite ahead of last start Listed Rangitikei Gold Cup (1600m) winner Hinerangi at $4.80 and Group Three winner Concert Hall at $6. Vernanme is on a path towards the Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m) at Hastings on October 5 where he will be met by stablemate Crown Prosecutor. Last season’s Gr.1 New Zealand Derby (2400m) winner will contest the Gr.1 Windsor Park Plate (1600m) at Hastings on Saturday and his trainer thinks he is a better chance than what bookmakers have labelled him. “He is going from the 1200m (first-up run at Ruakaka), which was well short of his best, but he’s back up to the mile with blinkers back on,” Marsh said. “I don’t think he deserves to be 50-1. It is a nice field, Melody Belle is freakish, but I think he will be competitive and will be better suited next start in the Livamol. “He has drawn really well (barrier three). He will be able to jump and put himself in a very forward position.” Meanwhile, Marsh will contest the Gr.3 Hawke’s Bay Breeders’ Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) with dual stakes-placed filly Appellant earlier on the card at Hastings on Saturday. The daughter of Showcasing finished fifth to Saturday’s rival Kali over 1100m on the first day of the Hastings spring carnival and although he is happy with the filly heading into Saturday, Marsh said her wide gate (barrier 13) is not ideal. “I thought her first-up run was terrific. It’s just a real shame she has drawn out wide, so we are going to get back a bit. That is going to make it hard. “She is going well, I just wish she had drawn a barrier.” The post Beach life agrees with Vernanme appeared first on BOAY Racing News. View the full article

Former champion Brisbane apprentice Tiffani Brooker has been banned for nine months on drug charges. Queensland jockey Tiffani Brooker has been disqualified for nine months after a recent urine test showed traces of a number of prohibited drugs. Stewards opened an inquiry after Brooker submitted a urine test at the Sunshine Coast on August 11. The inquiry heard Brooker’s test showed traces of amphetamine, methamphetamine, oxazepam, nordiapazem, temazepam, ketamine, norketamine and dehydroketamine. Stewards said they were mindful of Brooker’s guilty plea, forthright evidence, her personal circumstances and penalty precedents. But they said a penalty had to serve as a specific deterrent to Brooker and also a general deterrent to the wider industry to illustrate that using illicit drugs would not be tolerated. Her penalty will expire on June 19 next year but if she provides details of suitable rehabilitation and counselling, consideration will be given to varying the final three months of her disqualification to a suspension. Brooker must also provide a sample free of any banned substances before she resumes riding. She was Brisbane’s leading apprentice two seasons ago and had returned to race riding in June after a lengthy absence because of a back injury. The post Tiffani Brooker banned on drug charge appeared first on BOAY Racing News. View the full article

Sunlight has joined Santa Ana Lane as a non-runner in the Group Two Shorts because of the wet Randwick track. The Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained mare is now likely to run in the Moir Stakes at The Valley next week. The Shorts (1100m) is a major lead-up to the $14 million Everest on October 19 for which Santa Ana Lane is favourite. Sunlight is also headed to The Everest as is Pierata whose trainer Greg Hickman will decide as late as possible whether he runs in Saturday’s Shorts. Dual Everest winner Redzel, a noted wet track specialist, is a definite runner in the Shorts. More than 80mm has fallen at Randwick this week with the track rated a heavy 9 on Friday. The post Wet forces Sunlight out of Shorts appeared first on BOAY Racing News. View the full article

Gr.1 Windsor Park Plate (1600m) contender Mongolian Marshal. Photo: Trish Dunell Cambridge trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman will have two chances in the Gr.1 Windsor Park Plate (1600m) at Hastings on Saturday. Group Three winner Mongolian Marshal heads into the race off a pleasing placing first-up over 1400m at Ellerslie earlier this month and Forsman believes he will benefit from the step-up to the mile distance. “He was beaten by a couple of fit wet track gallopers and they covered a lot less ground than he did, so I thought it was a brilliant first-up run,” he said. “He is a very capable galloper. We probably made the mistake (last season) of trying to make him a stayer when perhaps he is not. “We just wanted to have a crack at some cups and while he did win a Waikato Cup (Gr.3, 2400m) I think he is better kept fresh and back to a mile.” The son of High Chaparral has drawn the ace barrier on Saturday, but Forsman believes he will be beaten for early speed. “I think he will run really well and the draw is perfect,” he said. “He is best held up for one run. You would like to be trailing but I don’t think he has quite got that early speed. If he was three back the fence that would be ideal and just hope he gets the split.” Last season’s premiership winning training partnership will also line-up Cutadeel who won his fifth race from just nine starts when fresh-up over the mile distance on the first day of the Bostock New Zealand Spring Racing Carnival at Hastings. “He is going really well and is very bright, we couldn’t be happier with him heading into it,” Forsman said. “The big query is stepping up from having a gun run in a handicap to going to weight-for-age with an awkward barrier draw (12). “He is coming out of being a three-year-old and now up against those hardened older weight-for-age horses, it won’t be easy for him.” The Baker-Forsman team will also line-up Group One performer Aretha and the unbeaten Birdsong in the Gr.3 Hawke’s Bay Breeders’ Gold Trail Stakes (1200m). Forsman has been pleased with Aretha’s two recent trials and is expecting a bold showing from the daughter of Charm Spirit. “She has had a couple of good trials and just had a quiet hit-out at Cambridge the other day to keep her up to the mark,” he said. “She galloped really well on Thursday morning and I couldn’t be happier with her. “I think she is going very well and has got a good barrier draw and I think she will be very competitive.” Forsman was also happy with Birdsong’s two recent trials, however, he thinks she will be better suited over more ground. “She had the one run for one win last preparation and beat a pretty impressive horse (Harlech) that has come out and won at Matamata since, so that is good form,” he said. “But she has drawn awkwardly (11) and I think she is one to get up over a mile. She has got a bit of scope about her and from the awkward draw over 1200m on Saturday might be a bit sharp for her.” The post Two-pronged Windsor Park attack for Baker-Forsman appeared first on BOAY Racing News. View the full article

Gatewood Bell’s Cromwell Bloodstock agency has played at a variety of levels during the opening 10 days of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, filling orders for as low as $35,000 all the way up to a $950,000 purchase in Book 1. Bell remained busy during Thursday’s first of two Book 5 sessions in Lexington and signed the ticket at $300,000 on the session’s most expensive offering, the Eaton Sales-consigned hip 3147 (ThoroStride walking video). “Frankly I thought he might have been one of the best physicals in the entire sale,” said Eaton Sales’s Reiley McDonald, who consigned the March foal and bred him in the name of his Athens Woods. “He way outsold his pedigree and we were very happy with that. He’s above average in size and I find that the really good horsemen start with the back shoulder set. He has the model profile and he was very deep through his girth. I hope he goes on and does great things for them.” Athens Woods bought hip 3147’s unraced dam Woodford County (Indian Charlie) for $12,500 in foal to Morning Line at the 2016 Keeneland November sale. That produce, a filly, was retained on a bid of $29,000 when offered as a short yearling at Keeneland January in 2018, but improved by leaps and bounds over the next six months, ultimately fetching $205,000 from Ken McPeek at Fasig-Tipton’s Kentucky July sale. Named Morning Gold, she has done her part this summer to enhance the colt’s page, posting an 80 Beyer in graduating in her second career start by 5 1/4 lengths over the Saratoga turf Aug. 11. “She was a beautiful filly and Kenny McPeek saw the racehorse in her and bought her and she’s really, really good,” McDonald said. The session’s top price easily surpassed that of the Book 4 finale Wednesday and was the joint-second highest-priced offering in Book 4. McDonald reported that the grounds were still teeming with activity Thursday. “I thought today was pretty good–there are a lot of people here, but it did feel like the lower-end horses dropped off today considerably compared to [Wednesday],” he offered. “But if you looked at the number of people in the back ring today compared to three days ago, I think there were more people today.” Through 10 sessions, Cromwell Bloodstock has acquired eight head for $2,324,000, an average of $290,500. Hip 3233 was tops amongst the day’s fillies. Consigned by the Summerfield agency of Francis and Barbara Vanlangendonck, the full-sister to MGSP Tip Tap Tapizar and half to SP Divine Music (Songandaprayer) was hammered down to Phil Hager’s Taproot Bloodstock for $130,000. The dark bay, whose female family includes Pin Oak stallion Alternate (Distorted Humor) and recent GI TVG Pacific Classic hero Higher Power (Medaglia d’Oro), was making her second appearance in the Keeneland sales pavilion, having been led out unsold on a bid of $47,000 as a foal at last year’s November sale. Thursday’s activity saw 305 horses change hands for gross receipts of $8,827,600, good for an average of $28,943 and a median price of $20,000. The buyback rate was a very low 14.8%. With three days of trade still to follow, Keeneland is reporting sales on 2,177 horses for $352,001,300, on track to become the fifth highest-grossing September sale in history. The cumulative average is $161,691 while the median sits at $80,000. The overall RNA rate is 25.8%. Bidding resumes Friday morning at 10 a.m. and continues through Sunday. For full results, visit www.keeneland.com. The post Maclean’s Music Colt Leads Way as Keeneland September Rolls On appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

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Los Alamitos Race Course was granted a fifth week of Thoroughbred racing in 2020, up from an originally issued four weeks, under actions approved Sept. 19 by the California Horse Racing Board at its regular monthly meeting. View the full article

The Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau announced Sept. 19 that it has conducted technician training in 25 states and five Canadian provinces, and that more than 900 Thoroughbreds have already received their digital tattoos. View the full article

Dual Group One winner Madison County. Photot: Grant Matthew (Race Images Palmerston North) The Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained Madison County will have his first hit-out of the spring when he steps out at Caulfield on Saturday to compete in the Gr.1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m). The son of Pins has pleased his connections with the way he has been working in the lead-up to his first-up run. “Aleisha (Legg), who is over there looking after him, has been thrilled with his work the last couple of weeks and Damian (Lane, jockey) rode him again in his last bit of fast work this (Thursday) morning and was very happy,” Forsman said. The dual Group One winner will head into the race in a fresh state, but Forsman believes his class and ability should hold him in good stead on Saturday. “I think he has done enough,” Forsman said. “He has had the one trial at home and a jump out at Flemington. “The horses to beat have got weight concession and are race fit. That will be the task he will have to overcome, but he has got a bit of class and has got a good barrier draw (two). “We will try and hold a spot from that good draw if we can.” The Cambridge-based training partnership will also line-up promising three-year-old Long Jack in the 4CYTE for Living Legends Hanidcap (1600m). He won in his first-up assignment over 1400m at Ballarat earlier this month and Forsman believes the son of So You Think has taken a lot of improvement from that run. “He seems very bright,” Forsman said. “It is a decent step up in class without it being an overly strong field. “It’s a little bit of an awkward barrier draw (10) for an inexperienced horse that can get out of his ground a bit. That would be the query, but I think he has improved a bit.” Meanwhile, Baker and Forsman have been receiving positive reports on Quick Thinker and Rhaegar since their runs in the Gr.3 Ming Dynasty Quality (1400m) last month, which the former won in impressive fashion. “Quick Thinker will head straight to the Gloaming (Gr.3, 1800m) Saturday-week,” Forsman said. “Hugh Bowman is tentatively booked to ride him provided his finger passes the medical next week. Rhaegar will head to the same race. “Bjorn (Baker, caretaker trainer) sent through a clip of both of them this morning. They both look very bright and the reports have been very good. “At this stage it looks like they are shaping up well. “ The post Sir Rupert Clarke first-up for Madison County appeared first on BOAY Racing News. View the full article

Grants Pass Downs kicks off its first ever commercial race meet Sunday, Sept. 22. View the full article

Group One winner Sentimental Miss is at an important crossroads in her campaign. The daughter of Reliable Man will run in the Fasttrack Insurance 2000 at Hastings on Saturday with her performance dictating future targets. Options for the Go Racing-owned galloper include the Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m) on October 5 or the Gr.1 Metropolitan Handicap (2400m) in Sydney on the same day. “They are two great options to have and she will have to win and win well to go to Sydney,” Go Racing’s Albert Bosma said. “But it would be my preference, it’s a handicap so she’ll get a lower weight and it would also give her initial Australian experience ahead of a planned autumn campaign there.” Sentimental Miss ran a creditable seventh fresh-up in the Gr.2 Foxbridge Plate (1200m) at a distance well short of her best. She was a touch disappointing over a mile at Hastings next start which has prompted trainer Lisa Latta to apply blinkers for her run this weekend. “We expect her to run well and she has a lovely draw of barrier three, so she should be able to take up the spot she wants in the running,” Bosma said. The post Sentimental Miss at crossroads appeared first on BOAY Racing News. View the full article

The win of Extending at Sale will give trainer Bruce Purcell the ideal tonic as he continues his recovery from an incident at the Cranbourne training centre. Purcell was placed in an induced coma after being injured in an accident when one of his horses was being unloaded from the float before trackwork in July. The day after the incident, the Purcell-trained No New Tricks finished out of the money at Caulfield on July 13 with Extending his first runner since. Fellow Cranbourne trainer Ray Besanko has stepped up in a caretaker role to prepare Extending for his first-up win in Thursday’s Traralgon Vineyard Handicap. “It was fantastic,” Besanko told broadcaster racing.com. “I’ve been looking after him for Bruce since he got hurt really bad. “Jean (Purcell’s wife) and the owner asked if I’d take him and I said I’d do it for Bruce. “I’m just so happy that’s he’s won for Bruce.” Besanko does not expect Purcell to return to training duties in the immediate future but said the trainer was recovering well. “He’s walking and he’s talking and he’s improved in leaps and bounds in the last couple of weeks which is just great for everybody,” Besanko said. The post Extending wins for Bruce Purcell at Sale appeared first on BOAY Racing News. View the full article

Michael Cahill rides Morendi at Eagle Farm to cap a busy week in both NSW and Queensland. In-form jockey Michael Cahill will again show the value of his renowned fitness when he makes a quick trip back from an interstate ride to partner Morendi at Eagle Farm. There are few fitter riders than Cahill who will have had 20 rides at four different tracks in four days from Wednesday to Saturday – Doomben, Lismore, Newcastle and Eagle Farm. His trip to Lismore on Thursday was a successful one with victory on the Lindsay Hatch-trained Kuttamurra Al in the Cup. Cahill is originally from country NSW but had ridden in Asia and Europe before re-establishing his base at the Gold Coast more than a decade ago. Earlier this year he made a lightning trip to New Zealand to ride in a feature race but he rarely goes further interstate than the northern rivers these days. Cahill will ride The Candy Man for trainer Barry Baldwin in the Cameron Handicap at Newcastle on Friday before catching a flight back for eight rides at Eagle Farm. One of his key rides is on Morendi who will be trying to break a 17 month winning drought in the Makers Mark Open Handicap (1800m). Morendi has not won since the 2018 Toowoomba Cup but he has been placed at three of his past four starts. “He had no luck at his last start at 1600 metres when not far away and he is back out to a distance that suits him,” Cahill said. The popular veteran rider was the star of the winter carnival with two Group One wins and has started the new season in great style, leading the metropolitan premiership with 14 wins. The post Morendi ride caps busy week for Cahill appeared first on BOAY Racing News. View the full article

Co-trainer Andrew Forsman is hoping Long Jack can handle a step up in class at Caulfield. New Zealand three-year-old Long Jack will be out to enhance his Victoria Derby prospects when he steps up in distance at Caulfield for the second Australian start of his spring campaign. Trained by Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman in New Zealand, Long Jack is in Melbourne to target the Group One Victoria Derby (2500m) on November 2. He made a winning start to his campaign in a maiden over 1400m on the synthetic track at Ballarat on September 6 and is favourite for Saturday’s 4CYTE for Living Legends Handicap (1600m) against his own age. Forsman said the colt had progressed well since his first-up win and expects the step up to 1600m to be ideal on Saturday for his fourth career start. “The tricky thing for him will be that he’s still quite raw and a little bit inexperienced and he’s drawn barrier 10 out of 10 at Caulfield which I guess can be a little bit tricky for certain horses,” Forsman said. “Hopefully he can get a bit of luck from the draw and get his chance.” The race is an opportunity to try to boost Long Jack’s prize money with a view to bigger targets later in spring. “He’s there (in Melbourne) to obviously try to win a Victoria Derby,” Forsman said. “Whether he gets there or not, that’s the question but he’ll answer that in his next couple of runs and hopefully he does measure up. “He’s certainly got the pedigree, and everything about him suggests he will run a trip but just whether he’s physically strong enough this time around, that will be the worry with him. “I guess we’re going to know a lot more in a couple of runs.” Long Jack will again be ridden by Damian Lane who also rides dual New Zealand Group One winner Madison County for the stable when he bids to win Saturday’s Group One Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) first-up. Forsman said Lane had been thrilled with Madison County’s jump-out at Flemington a couple of weeks ago and his recent trackwork. The post Long Jack out to press Derby claims appeared first on BOAY Racing News. View the full article

Self Sense has been ruled out of Caulfield but trainer David Brideoaks says it is a minor setback. A precautionary scope ahead of a planned Caulfield Cup lead-up race has resulted in trainer David Brideoake scratching Self Sense from the MRC Foundation Cup at Caulfield. Self Sense is guaranteed a start in next month’s Caulfield Cup (2400m) courtesy of his victory in the Mornington Cup earlier in the year and Brideoake does not expect missing Saturday’s race to interfere with Self Sense’s campaign. “We’ve elected not to run him as I wasn’t happy with the scope,” Brideoake said. “We did that today, which is a check we always do, but I wouldn’t think it will leave him out of the picture for very long.” Brideoake said Self Sense could run in the R M Ansett Classic (2400m) on his home track at Mornington on Saturday week. Self Sense had been easily beaten in his two lead-up runs at Caulfield this campaign, but Brideoake had been expecting an improved performance from the gelding on Saturday. “He worked really well on Tuesday, but we’ll just get him over this little problem and away we’ll go again,” Brideoake said. Saturday’s MRC Foundation Cup (2000m) affords the winner a ballot exemption into next month’s Caulfield Cup. Brideoake will still be at Caulfield on Saturday to saddle Extreme Bliss and The Real Beel in the Fight Cancer Foundation Handicap (1400m). The pair finished out of the placings over 1200m behind Tofane at The Valley on September 7. Extreme Bliss was also an acceptor for the Schweppes Handicap at Randwick, but Brideoake felt the race was a little tougher than expected. “I would have liked to have run her on the heavy track up in Sydney, she’s quite good on it, but I just thought the race was a little hard,” Brideoake said. “The Real Beel, I expect her to improve. “They both didn’t have a lot of luck last time, so we’ll line them up again and see where they get to.” The post Precautionary scope rules out Self Sense appeared first on BOAY Racing News. View the full article

As eighties-inspired looks get ready to take centre-stage during spring racing season, there’s one essential tip celebrity stylist Jess Pecoraro says every woman should heed. “Comfortable shoes is an essential,. It’s definitely a must because I do think you do not take your shoes off during the day,” Ms Pecoraro told AAP. “We’re lucky now because currently it’s all about smaller heels, which allow for that.” The official stylist for the Everest carnival has dressed Delta Goodrem and Kate Waterhouse in the past, and points to international fashion weeks in Milan, Paris and New York that occur concurrently with Australia’s spring racing season as inspiration for key looks. She predicts trending racegoers this year will be borrowing from the eighties in puffy sleeves, pleats and brightly-coloured patterns. And while Ms Pecoraro is loving head-to-toe tones, there’s one colourful trend she’s happy to see go. “Not a huge fan of neon colours, especially trackside. Some girls can pull it off, but it’s certainly not something for everyone. Men can experiment with pocket squares, fun socks and mismatched blazers and trousers, with Ms Pecoraro saying separates work well for both women and men and help extend the life of outfits past race day. The post Spring racing fashion trends back to 80s appeared first on BOAY Racing News. View the full article

Queensland trainers want a system of compensation introduced to cover events such as the decision to overturn a photo finish result two months after the race. After a race at Yeppoon on July 23, Great Fox was declared the winner despite connections of runner-up Victory Toast disputing the photo-finish decision. Stewards opened an inquiry into the result this week and overturned the original decision, awarding the race to Victory Toast. Stewards used a racing rule which allows them to overturn decisions after correct weight. The Queensland secretary of the Australian Trainers Association, Cameron Partington, said the over-turning of a photo-finish result from July was concerning to the ATA. In a letter to Racing Queensland the ATA said the winning connections survived the post-race protest and subsequent inquiry on the day and correct weight was given, which was what all in the racing industry abided by. “If two months later the industry investigates the issue (its own due diligence or requests from other parties) and find that a mistake has been made through poor technology or human error or whatever, surely we can’t be asking the original winners (who won the race and were subject to all available critique) to pay the cost of the mistake,” the ATA said. ” The Queensland Racing Integrity Commission who RQ contract to handle this part of the business, would appear to have made the error/oversight/mistake. Should not they be accountable ?” “We have received plenty of feedback once again wrongly “blaming” RQ, and that RQ should be responsible for the cost. “ “The ATA firmly believes that the matter should have been left at “correct weight” and the decision be final. Any further investigations should not be at the detriment of the winning connections, and if compensation is deemed appropriate due to an error, then the owner of the error is where the liability should be accountable.” Partington said the ATA had spoken to both trainers concerned, and they were both in full agreement. He warned there could be legal action which would no doubt come at a both a financial and a brand-diminishing cost to the industry. The post Qld trainers upset at photo decision appeared first on BOAY Racing News. View the full article

Jockey Tim Clark is thrilled to get teh call-up on Flit (right) in the Tea Rose Stakes at Caulfield. Libertini is odds-on to continue her domination of the Princess Series, although a wet track and distance rise have a rival jockey firmly believing he can upset the star filly. Tim Clark almost brought Libertini’s winning sequence to an end in the Furious Stakes (1200m) when he went to the front aboard Villami, the pair kicking strongly and forcing Libertini and jockey Tommy Berry to dig deep to narrowly overhaul them. Clark was booked to partner Villami again in Saturday’s Tea Rose Stakes (1400m) at Randwick but the filly was a non-acceptor because of the heavy track, leaving him without a ride. So when Flit’s jockey Hugh Bowman pulled out of the meeting with a broken finger, Clark was delighted to get a late call-up to partner the Godolphin filly who he regards as a threat to the favourite. “I’m a bit lucky to get on her. Hopefully I can make the most of the opportunity,” Clark said. “She’s a very talented filly and the 1400 looks like it will suit her. Obviously the wet track is a bit of an unknown but I’m sure she will be strong late.” The Tea Rose will be the first time Libertini is extended beyond 1200 metres and the Anthony Cummings-trained filly is also untested on heavy ground, although her dam Aloha won the 2011 Coolmore Classic on a slow track and was a respectable sixth in that year’s Doncaster Handicap on heavy ground. Add in an awkward barrier draw of 11 and Clark says Libertini may face her first serious test this spring. “Her first two starts this prep she couldn’t have had a better run and drawn awkwardly there on Saturday, she may not get the perfect run she has her past couple,” he said. “Stepping out to 1400 and on that track, it might close that gap a little bit and hopefully we’re not too far off her, unlike first-up when Flit drew wide and had to go right back and give her such a big start. “If we can be a bit closer to her in the run, we’re confident we might be able to get over the top of her.” Flit is an $8 chance, behind only Libertini ($1.85 fav) and the Chris Waller-trained Funstar ($4.40), a city winner on a heavy track in June and last-start second to Golden Rose contender Yao Luck. Libertini has notched wins in the opening legs of the Princess Series, the Silver Shadow and Furious Stakes and if she captures the Tea Rose she will be tracking to become the first filly since Samantha Miss to clean-sweep the Series, which culminates in next month’s Group One Flight Stakes. The post Clark happy to Flit in for Tea Rose ride appeared first on BOAY Racing News. View the full article

Trainer Grahame Begg believes Beauty Bolt is ready to step up to stakes class at Caulfield. After two wins on country tracks the usual regime for a progressive horse is to step quietly into city ranks. Trainer Grahame Begg is taking a different approach, going straight to stakes level with Beauty Bolt in the Jim Moloney Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield. Beauty Bolt is unbeaten in two runs, beginning her career at Geelong in June before a last start win at Seymour. “She’s done everything we’ve asked of her so far and the bar is getting raised on Saturday going from a Class One to a Listed race, but from what we’ve seen so far it looks a nice progression,” Begg said. “We could have gone the high road and run in the (Thousand Guineas) Prelude next week, but we thought we’d go the low road and take softer steps.” Begg says if Beauty Bolt runs well on Saturday the filly could go to the Edward Manifold Stakes at Flemington on October 5 or the Thousand Guineas at Caulfield the following week. “Or she could even run in both,” Begg said. Beauty Bolt surprised Begg with her debut win having not trialled publicly and racing over 1300m on a heavy track after a couple of jump-outs. And Begg said he would not be afraid if the predicted rain came on Saturday. “She seems adept in all sorts of conditions,” Begg said. “We had no inkling of how she’d handle the ground at Geelong but it didn’t pose any fears for her on the day, then she backed it up after a little freshen-up at Seymour. “We backed off her after Geelong and changed her environment, moving her from Caulfield to the farm at Pinecliff.” Begg described Beauty Bolt as a relaxed galloper, saying she was too relaxed at Seymour, and should have no trouble handling the rise in distance on Saturday. “We go there with some confidence but it’s a harder, competitive race,” Begg said. “She’s probably the lightest raced horse in the field so she certainly has to step up again.” The post Beauty Bolt ready for Caulfield challenge appeared first on BOAY Racing News. View the full article