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Progressive five-year-old Comeback was humanely euthanased after suffering a serious injury in the Gr.1 Tarzino Trophy (1400m) Trainer Graeme Rogerson is looking forward to the second day of the Bostock New Zealand Spring Racing Carnival at Hastings later this month despite the unfortunate loss of progressive five-year-old Comeback. The Makfi gelding was humanely euthanised following his gritty run for sixth in the Gr.1 Tarzino Trophy (1400m) at Hastings on August 31 after sustaining a slab fracture in his left fore carpal joint during the closing stages of the contest. “He was very brave and it’s such a shame we couldn’t save him after he suffered his injury,” Rogerson said. “I guess that is racing, where you have to take the good with the bad, but it is a tough old game when this sort of thing happens. He was a genuine and much-loved horse.” Team Rogerson will likely have only one runner in the feature attraction at Hastings on September 21 with four-year-old gelding More Wonder set to take his place in the Gr.1 Windsor Park Plate (1600m) following his midfield finish in the Tarzino Trophy. “He (More Wonder) didn’t get a lot of luck in the run home as he was hampered by Comeback when he faltered,” Rogerson said. “I was pleased without being delighted by the run, but he has worked up nicely since then and we’re hopeful of a better effort in the Windsor Park Plate.” Team Rogerson will also be represented by promising sprinter Malambo who will tackle the open 1200m contest on the day. Meanwhile talented three-year-old Aalaalune will miss the second day at Hastings with the Reliable Man filly having a brief freshen up before commencing a campaign focussed on the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year series. “We sat down and had a good chat with her owner and we decided to give her a little time off before her next run,” Rogerson said. “She can have a freshen up and then will most likely go to either the Soliloquy Stakes (Gr.3, 1400m) at Ellerslie or the Sarten Memorial (Gr.2, 1400m) at Te Rapa in October. “From there we will concentrate on the Filly of the Year series with the 1000 Guineas (Gr.1, 1600m) at Riccarton her main focus to start with.” Rogerson was also delighted with the debut performance of Aalaalune’s little sister, De La Terre, who was narrowly beaten in the first two-year-old contest of the season at Wanganui on Saturday. “She (De La Terre) went a beauty and might have even won the race if she hadn’t been slightly impeded by another horse coming to the home bend,” he said. “We really like her and she seems to have inherited plenty of the family ability. “Provided she comes through the race well, she will go to the Wellesley Stakes (Listed, 1000m) at Trentham next month.” Rogerson also advised that last season’s Gr.1 Telegraph (1200m) runner-up, Ferrando was making good progress in his current build-up and would be seen at the trials in the next few weeks once track conditions had improved. View the full article
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Tofane on her way to winning at Moonee Valley Trainer Michael Moroney had been confident of a strong performance from Group Two performer Tofane leading into Saturday and the four-year-old mare did not disappoint. The daughter of Ocean Park was second-up in the Pfd Food Services (1200m) at Moonee Valley and despite having to travel three-wide most of the trip, she had plenty in the tank to collar leader Haut Brion Hur (Zoustar) with 100m to go and went on to win by .3L. “She got the right spot to a degree,” Moroney said. “I thought she did a really good job because he (jockey Michael Dee) tried to get in because he was always three wide but he kept her balanced.” Tofane was coming off a last-start fourth at Sandown in August and Moroney admits there were excuses to that performance. “We probably made a bit of a blue first up,” he said. “We were well aware we had to get through the class and get her rating up to make some of these races and we thought we would get away with a 1000m and it just didn’t pan out, whether it was running down the hill or whatever happened to her. “Certainly that run brought her on and she is on the right path.” Bred by Curraghmore’s Gordon Cunningham, Tofane is out of Galileo mare Baggy Green, a three-quarter-sister to Group One winner Youngstar (High Chaparral). “We would like to think she is good enough to run in the mare’s mile on Derby Day if we could get there,” Moroney said. “I think being an Ocean Park out of Galileo mare it is a pretty stout family. “It is a good staying family and she is showing real speed.” View the full article
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Cooga Doon and Lisa Allpress storm clear at Wanganui Lightly raced three-year-old Cooga Doon made it two wins from two starts when he took out the Listed HS Dyke Wanganui Guineas (1340m) in sensational fashion on Saturday. The Fraser Auret-trained Makfi gelding had set tongues wagging when successful by seven lengths over 1200m in his debut run at the venue last month. The subject of a mountain of late support that saw him start favourite for his first start in black-type company, Cooga Doon looked anything but a winning chance when he was forced to sit three-wide outside the early speed before making his way to the lead with 800m to run. Cuddled up around the home bend by rider Lisa Allpress, Cooga Doon shot clear halfway down the straight before clearing away to win untouched by a conservative six lengths from Cambridge visitor Sai Fah, who chased him hard the whole way home. Auret was quick to admit the race hadn’t gone to plan but was looking forward to his charge getting over more ground in the future. “It’s a privilege to have these types of horses although it didn’t quite go to script,” Auret said. “He just has plenty of gears doesn’t he. “His mum was a stakes winner over a mile and a half, so the world really is his oyster.” Auret is looking forward to improved track conditions for his charge, who holds a nomination for the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton in November. “To my eye he was more dominant today on a slightly better track than his last one,” he said. “We will take a line through that and kick on for sure. “The Hawke’s Bay Guineas (Gr.2, 1400m) is on the radar but we will have a meeting with his owners and go from there.” Raced by Gavin O’Dea and his wife Jill, Cooga Doon is the second foal of Listed Dunedin Gold Cup winner Monachee, a sister to Gr.2 Rich Hill Mile (1600m) placegetter Ciara. View the full article
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Wise Men Say clears a fence in effortless fashion on his way to victory at Ellerslie Wise Men Say added his name to the Ellerslie record books when he took out one of the world’s iconic jumping races, the Network Visuals Great Northern Steeplechase (6400m), for the second time on Saturday. The ten-year-old, who had won the race in 2017, adopted tearaway tactics as he led from go to whoa to defy his rivals under the urgings of rider Shaun Fannin. The pair gave a faultless display of jumping in front throughout after taking command at the first fence of the 6400m journey. Coming down the famed Ellerslie hill for the last time Wise Men Say had an eight-length advantage on his nearest pursuer, Crash Bandicoot, with the rest of the field chasing hard a further ten lengths away. The Yamanin Vital gelding jumped the last neatly and slogged his way home over the final 250m to win by a rapidly diminishing one and a half-length margin from rank outsider Kings Kite who charged home to claim second from the tiring Crash Bandicoot and race favourite Lacustre. “It was a 10 out of 10 ride,” trainer Raymond Connors said. “I told him (Fannin) to ride him handy but I wasn’t expecting that to be honest. “This race suits him, it’s tailor-made as he is a true stayer.” Fannin was happy to take control of the race after following his instructions from Connors. “I was just happy to have him up there as there looked no speed in the race on paper,” Fannin said. “He was happy in his action out in front, jumping nicely and he is a very dour stayer so it was catch me if you can. “He was really relaxed and I didn’t think I was going too hard. I gave him a squeeze coming down the hill and he quickened nicely. “I know how tough he is as he had already won it two years ago so I wasn’t going to sit around at that stage and he proved too tough at the finish. “I’m two from two on the horse now so I have a big thank you to say to Mark.” Fannin went close to scoring a coveted double on the day after being narrowly beaten on Laekeeper in the other feature jumping event, the Boutique Body Corporates Great Northern Hurdle (4190m). With the victory Wise Men Say took his career record to nine wins for 34 starts and over $332,000 in stakes earnings for owners Raymond and Mark Connors. View the full article
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Picaro Warwick Farm trainer Gary Portelli has predicted more Sydney horses will be heading to Brisbane in coming weeks after Picaro won at Eagle Farm. Picaro won a battle with favourite Miss Shanti to score by a half head in the Madison Cleaning Plate (1825m). The four-year-old son of Pierro was sold as a yearling though Hallmark Stud’s 2017 New Zealand Bloodstock draft when purchased by Laurel Oak Bloodstock for $100,000. Portelli, who also won with Single Bullet at Eagle Farm last week, said he would be back with more horses as the spring carnivals hotted up in the south. “I think the spring carnivals in Sydney and Melbourne will be the strongest we have seen in years,” Portelli said. “It means you have to look for races your horses can win and Brisbane provides that. “It is a good trip up the highway from Sydney and the horses recover quickly. I don’t think I will be the only one from Sydney bringing horses here in coming weeks.” Jockey Michael Cahill continued a long association with Portelli and produced a clever ride to win. “Michael and I go back years to when he was at Cowra and I was at Orange. In fact Michael’s brother Matthew rode my very first winner and that is a good while ago,” Portelli said. View the full article
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Riva Capri breaks her maiden status in fine fashion with a black-type victory at Wanganui The never say die attitude of accomplished hurdler Bad Boy Brown was on display for all to see at Ellerslie on Saturday after he produced a stirring home straight rally to claim the day’s first prestige jumping event, the Boutique Body Corporates Great Northern Hurdle (4190m). Narrowly beaten in a tight finish to the Grand National Hurdles (4200m) at Riccarton last month, the Harvey Wilson-trained eight-year-old put that disappointment aside as he rallied bravely in the final 100m of the Ellerslie feature after being clearly headed by Laekeeper earlier in the run home. Rider Isaac Lupton, who is no stranger to success at Ellerslie, had made his charge for victory on Bad Boy Brown at the 700m as he sent the St Reims gelding to the lead with two fences to clear. Laekeeper tracked him into the race and swooped to the front with 300m to run but clipped the final fence allowing Bad Boy Brown to fight back and take the win by a neck. Wilson was almost lost for words with the win, as he acknowledged a run at the Foxton trials on Tuesday had played a significant role in the result. “When that other horse was coming at us, I wasn’t certain (of victory) as I was thinking back to Christchurch,” Wilson said. “We were lucky but it was a great ride by Isaac, he’s a legend. “He (Bad Boy Brown) needed a good hit-out at the trials so that has worked for us.” The win added another feather in the cap for Wilson this season after he produced It’s A Wonder to win the Grand National Steeplechase (5600m) on the last day of the recent Christchurch Winter Carnival. Runner-up Laekeeper fought bravely for his placing after lumping topweight of 68.5kgs around the Ellerslie circuit while No Tip battled on well for third for rider Aaron Kuru, who had celebrated his 100th New Zealand riding victory when successful on Bee Tee Junior in the day’s opening event. View the full article
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Riva Capri breaks her maiden status in fine fashion with a black-type victory at Wanganui Hastings visitor Riva Capri indicated she will be a filly to watch at a higher level over the next few months after she broke her maiden status in stakes company when taking out the Listed The O’Leary’s Fillies Stakes (1200m) at Wanganui. Raced in the colours of well-known owner Lib Petagna under his JML Bloodstock banner, the Guy Lowry and Grant Cullen-trained three-year-old had looked a likely type when flashing home late for second on debut at her Hastings home track back in July. Unsighted since that performance, Riva Capri was overlooked by most punters who sent out the well-performed pair of Flaunting and She’s A Lady as favourites for the contest along with the unbeaten Trifolium. After enjoying a comfortable run behind the pace for rider Craig Grylls, Riva Capri moved into contention on the point of the home turn as Trifolium took over from pace-making stablemate, Miss Sweet Pee. Trifolium and Riva Capri set down to a dour battle in the home straight with Riva Capri getting her nose down at the right time to claim victory. The JML Bloodstock-owned Sorrentina ran on nicely to grab third from She’s A Lady who battled on strongly after being wide throughout. Co-trainer Guy Lowry indicated another black type assignment was on the cards for his charge after claiming the victory despite a belated start to her campaign after she missed a run at Taupo when the races were abandoned midway through the programme. “We were a little bit worried after missing a run at Taupo,” he said. “I think her condition probably told in the last 50m but she was gutsy enough to hang on. “We will back up in the Group Three at Hastings in a couple of weeks and then we will go from there.” Lowry was speaking about the Gr.3 Hawke’s Bay Breeders’ Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) that will be run at Hastings on September 21. Bred by Petagna, Riva Capri is the first stakes winner for the ill-fated Mapperley Stud stallion Atlante, who passed away in 2016 after completing his second season at stud. View the full article
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South African trainer Ricardo Le Grange’s high opinion of Field Marshal was given another boost following a second win from as many starts on Friday night. The New Zealand-bred three-year-old by Sweet Orange made a thrilling winning debut under Le Grange’s apprentice jockey Krisna Thangamani, getting up by a nose in a Restricted Maiden race over 1200m on turf on July 28, carrying only 50kgs. Le Grange raised the ante by stepping up the Middle Kingdom Stable-owned galloper in the S$75,000 Novice race over 1200m, this time around on Polytrack. The switch in surface was not the biggest worry. He was going to cross swords with other impressive debut winners like Diamond Ring and Coming Through while last week’s winner Lord Of Light and last-start winner The Nutter were nothing to sneeze at either. The 51.5kgs handicap was a big shot in the arm, though, and an ounce of luck in the running went a long way towards Field Marshal laying down the law for a second time. Well ridden into a rails-hugging position by lightweight jockey Ben Thompson, Field Marshal was always well poised in a striking decision, around three lengths off leader and favourite Diamond Ring. At the top of the straight, Thompson, however, elected to peel his mount out when he could have sweated for a rails gap, but bumped into Coming Through at the 300m as he came out. For a horse with so little exposure to racing, such impeded runs could have snuffed his lights out, but he maintained his composure and a strong gallop to gain the upperhand on the top pick, who even lost second place to Angel’s Choice by a head. The winning margin was half-a-length and the winning time was 1min 11.92secs for the 1200m on the Polytrack. “I once made a statement that he was a smart horse from the moment he came to us,” said Le Grange. “He showed a lots of guts and a lot of determination even if this is probably not the right trip for him. A Novice race is always quite competitive, and he also had a bumping match. “I’m not good enough to buy these good horses. It’s Jayven See (of Middle Kingdom Stable) who bought him at a sale. I’m very happy with that win.” Thompson was on the same page in his appraisal of Field Marshal’s potential, but did have some uneasy moments in transit. “Diamond Ring was laying out, and I was not sure if the gap would come through. I thought Daniel would roll back in,” said the Australian rider. “I stayed one off and it’s paid off in the end. He’s a lovely horse and has been well taken care of. “I won a trial (August 29) on him, and I always felt he was not the finished product yet. He’s a progressive three-year-old going forward. “Krisna has done all the work on him and won on him on debut, he deserves all the credit.” Field Marshal has already recouped his price tag of NZ60,000 as a two-year-old having now pocketed around S$80,000 in prizemoney for the Middle Kingdom Stable, which together with its affiliation with the Ultima Racing Stable, the new sponsor of next Friday week’s El Dorado Classic (2000m), gave their usual rapturous welcome to the winner at the weigh-in. -STC View the full article
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Me Tsui is seeking redress. The trainer’s Fight Hero ran a race befitting his name to place a close second in last year’s Korea Sprint (1200m) – after luck deserted – and on Sunday his Ugly Warrior will enter the Seoul sand track in an attempt to go one better. “I want to win,” Tsui said, recalling the wide run from gate 13 and the barely believable, deep-closing stretch run that took the now-retired Fight Hero to within a head of Japan’s victorious Moanin. Fight Hero was allotted that wide berth by dint of the local rules, after officials deemed his gate manners to be a potential problem should he break from an inner stall. That was a circumstance that the horse’s connections had not expected, and, while it was accepted with grace, one that they were not exactly thrilled about. “The result was disappointing at the time, just beaten by a head. But then you look at it afterwards and think he ran a very good race from that outside draw – and when you think about it now, maybe avoiding that kickback was better,” Tsui said. Ugly Warrior, a son of Swiss Ace who was purchased by Tsui as a Ready To Run two-year-old from Regal Farm’s 2016 New Zealand Bloodstock draft, will break from a wide berth too, gate 12. But his gate positioning came after connections drew out that number at yesterday’s barrier draw. “I think Ugly Warrior will be able to get a better position than Fight Hero, that part should be easier for him,” he said. “Fight Hero always needed to sit behind but Ugly Warrior can race in a forward position, or even midfield, and he can still do it.” Derek Leung was aboard Fight Hero last year. Vincent Ho will ride Ugly Warrior and is expected to be at the track early on Saturday morning to partner the five-year-old at exercise. Tsui, 58, is one of Hong Kong’s unsung trainers. His record is one of admirable consistency, reaping 51 wins and a third-place premiership finish at his best in the 2007/08 season, and averaging 36 wins per term over 14 seasons. He hit his 500th career win in May this year. “I don’t know that I have success but my performance is very stable,” he said. “That’s a basic success. You need some good horses and good owners to support you and then you need luck. I am consistent around 30 to 40 winners.” He worked his way through the ranks the hard way. A jockey in the early 1980s, he retired with 21 wins and continued as a work rider before taking the Assistant Trainer route to receiving his full licence to train. “I was 16 years as a work rider with Brian Kan, two years with David Hayes and then eight years as Assistant Trainer to Francis Lui. Those years with Kan, in particular, have shaped Tsui as a trainer. Kan was old school and is a Hong Kong racing icon, a five-time champion no less. “He was a very tough trainer, tough and hard to the staff, but if you could handle his pressure you would be fine. Brian Kan, George Moore, Ivan Allan, if you could last more than two years you proved you were a very tough staff and could handle the pressure,” Tsui said. “If you worked for them and you weren’t good enough, they would kick you out after one season. And if the staff couldn’t handle it, they would leave themselves. If you did more than three years, you’d proven your working ability and that you could deal with pressure,” he continued. “Brian Kan wanted you to do two things: finish the job and then do it better. When you went back to the stable you had to look and find something to do, you couldn’t just sit around and say there was nothing to do.” That grounding has kept Tsui steady in the mid-rank of Hong Kong’s trainers’ premiership. But what he has lacked over the years are big-name owners and high-class gallopers. His only Group race success to date came in 2014 when Divine Ten won the Bauhinia Sprint Trophy. But in Fight Hero he had a horse capable of following up a fine run here last year with a respectable sixth in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen (1200m, dirt) at Meydan in March. Tsui’s other previous overseas runner, Lucky Quality, was ninth in that Dubai race in 2009. His hope is that Ugly Warrior can bring home a first high-profile overseas win. The signs this week at least suggest that the gelding is in good heart. This morning (Friday, 6 September), the chestnut cantered smoothly as Tsui looked on from the grandstand rail, beneath the stillness of a dark 5am sky. “He looks quieter and steadier in his work than he is at Sha Tin,” he said. “Maybe this quiet environment makes him calmer – at Sha Tin his head is always going up and down at the canter but here he’s more concentrated. He’s the same in the box, he’s not shown any nervousness since he’s been here.” Seoul’s sand track is the big unknown. “It all depends on whether or not the horse can handle the track. I can’t make him like it,” he said. “The work rider said he’s enjoying the surface, he’s very smooth going step by step. In Hong Kong he’s sometimes a little bit keen and then slows down after 100 metres. But here he’s keeping the same action all the way down the home straight. “The track being deep is maybe making him more careful.” -HKJC View the full article
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Champion New Zealand trainer Murray Baker’s Australian spring carnival team has hit the ground running and The Chosen One will try to keep the momentum going in the Gr.2 Feehan Stakes. Baker, who is now in partnership with Andrew Forsman at Cambridge, has won 21 Group One races in Australia over the past three decades, more than any New Zealand-based trainer. He has started this season’s spring carnival assault with three-year-old Quick Thinker winning the Gr.3 Ming Dynasty Quality last Saturday in Sydney, while stablemate Rhaegar was fourth. Fellow three-year-old Long Jack followed up on Friday at Ballarat in Victoria when he won a 1400m maiden with Damian Lane aboard to press his claims for bigger spring targets over further ground. Multiple stakes winner The Chosen One puts his Melbourne spring credentials to the test first-up in Saturday’s Feehan (1600m) at The Valley where he is a chance to give the stable and Lane a second win in the weight-for-age event from the past three runnings. Lane won on Bonneval for Baker and Forsman in 2017 while the jockey’s success for the stable also includes the 2017 Gr.1 Australian Derby on Jon Snow. The Chosen One is nominated for the Cox Plate (2040m), Caulfield Cup (2400m) and Melbourne Cup (3200m) and Baker pinpointed the Feehan as the right race to launch the four-year-old’s Melbourne campaign. “This will give us an idea if he is up to weight-for-age and where we are with him,” Baker said. “But we’ve got him as fit as we can so we hope he can run a race. “He’s quite a promising stayer. So we’ll just get a line on him tomorrow.” The Chosen One came from last for fourth in the Australian Derby (2400m) at Randwick in April before winning the Group Three Frank Packer Plate (2000m) at the same track two weeks later. “His run in the Derby was huge,” Baker said. “He is coming up well. It’s probably a tough race first-up but we’ve got to make a start.” Baker said Quick Thinker and Rhaegar would stay in Sydney on a Spring Champion Stakes path, while the stable’s three horses in Melbourne include dual New Zealand Group One winner and Australian Derby runner-up Madison County who had a jump-out at Flemington on Friday morning. “He went well,” Baker said. “He’s not quite ready to race yet. “He will probably kick off in the Rupert Clarke Stakes (Sept 21).” -AAP View the full article
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Long Jack (yellow cap) at Matamata earlier this yearLong Jack will attempt to blaze a new trail from the Ballarat synthetic track to the oldest Group One classic in Australia at Flemington after a decisive maiden win on Friday. The son of So You Think, who had been runner-up at his only two starts in New Zealand, showed he was worthy of a Victoria Derby campaign when he dominated a 1400-metre maiden at the cramped odds of $1.55. Leading jockey Damian Lane had been recruited for the ride and he said later that although the colt had plenty to learn, Long Jack had the ability to make an impact this spring. “He’s very new still,” Lane said. “He’s a green horse so he’s probably never going to really put them to the sword, especially being out in front so early, but he’s a nice colt and he’s got plenty of upside. “He’ll definitely get out over further. How far I am not sure at this stage but definitely further than today’s trip.” Long Jack holds an entry for next month’s A$2 million Caulfield Guineas (1600m) but it might be the 2500-metre Victoria Derby where he is best suited. He is by the 2010 Melbourne Cup placegetter and dual-hemisphere weight-for-age star So You Think and is out of a Monsun mare – Extravaganza – with that stallion having supplied three Melbourne Cup winners (Fiorente in 2013, Protectionist in 2014 and Almandin in 2016) over a four-year period. Co-trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman flew a trio of gallopers across to Australia last Sunday with Long Jack joined on the flight by Saturday’s Feehan Stakes candidate The Chosen One and weight-for-age galloper Madison County. View the full article
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Top local jockey Vincent Ho Chak-yiu can add to his growing international resume with a strong showing at Korea’s premier meeting on Sunday.The rising star will ride both Ugly Warrior and Glorious Artist in the Korea Sprint (1,200m) and Korea Cup (1,800m) – both rated as Korean Group Ones – at Seoul racecourse.Ho jetted in to South Korea in the early hours of Saturday morning and was spotted at the track just hours later giving the Hong Kong-trained horses their final hit-out.While Ho had to… View the full article
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Flap Jack, entering the race still a maiden, and second-time starter Mom's Red Lipstick upset the final graded stakes of the season Sept. 7 at Arlington Park, the Arlington-Washington Futurity (G3) and Arlington-Washington Lassie (G3). View the full article
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S John suspended three days, CS Chin fined $1,000 View the full article
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From Waller to Walker, Altair makes it two-from-two View the full article
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Wong gets it right with Optimum results View the full article
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Rodd finally gets Wolf at head of the pack View the full article
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Walker Inherits another nice sort from Sydney View the full article
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Horses' test results September 7 View the full article
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Track conditions and course scratchings September 8 View the full article