Winning Dreamer (NZ) (Deep Field) will attempt to upstage the upper echelon of Hong Kong’s sprint division when he contests a hot Class 1 Lantau Island Handicap (1200m) at Sha Tin this Saturday as trainer Frankie Lor plots a path toward next month’s Gr.1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) on FWD Champions Day (25 April) with the youngster. “It’s a good test to see where he is at, he has a light weight so we will know more after tomorrow,” Lor said. “He is rated 102, so if it all goes…
Month: March 2021
Anthony Butt set to shine in Tassie
Champion driver Anthony Butt has answered an SOS to further bolster the powerhouse Kiwi raid on Tasmania’s biggest meeting. With Chris Alford recovering from emergency surgery on an infected knee, Butt will head across to drive a string of Kiwi stars in feature races at Hobart for Victorian trainer Dean Braun. Glamour mare Our Princess Tiffany is first out and should win as she likes despite an outside back row draw (11) in the George Johnson, Tasmania’s top mares’ race. The $1million-plus earner hasn’t raced since a fourth at Terang…
SAIL AWAY…
The Watchdog was on the right side of the ledger, posting a 20% profit for punters yesterday. And now that the form expert is ‘tacking to windward’, he’s tipped a star in the making to ‘sail away’ at Sandown Park. This potential champion has been at ‘full mast’ in his past two starts at Ballarat. Want to know more? Click on today’s ‘Daily Mail’.
Mexicana returns after Australian Group One success
By Michael Guerin One of New Zealand racing’s most unheralded group one winners returns at Alexandra Park tonight to start a campaign that could see her get the recognition she deserves. Mexicana resumes in a strong three-year-old trot race to start tonight’s Alexandra Park meeting, her first start since Melton in Victoria in November, and faces a tricky assignment tonight off a 20m handicap over 2200m. Making that even more complicated is that Mexicana meets a race hardened rival like Son Of Patrick who has been cleaning up older opponents…
Whale Watch – Auckland – March 12
Craig “The Whale” Thompson looks at the best prospects from tonight’s Auckland meeting in this edition of “Whale Watch”.
Whale Watch – Friday – Westport March 12
Craig “The Whale” Thompson looks at today’s meeting at Westport (Friday – March 12).
McRae’s team out to continue winning form
By Jonny Turner Trainer Steven McRae’s three-horse team just need to hold their form to cash in at Westport on Friday. The Spreydon Lodge trainer brings three last start winners to Patterson Park’s grass track including Kawatiri Cup starter Gayle Force. McRae is quite confident Gayle Force is a future country cups winner but whether it is at Westport on Friday is another matter. “It has been a bit of a slow burn, it is a bit of a cliche but I do think he is still six months away,”…
Kiwi trio feature in World’s best
Three New Zealand-breds have featured prominently in the latest Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings. Probabeel (NZ) (Savabeel), Kolding (NZ) (Ocean Park), and Furore (NZ) (Pierro), have each been given a rating of 117, ranking them 12th equal in the world this year. The Jamie Richards-trained Probabeel is undefeated this year, having won the Gr.3 Bellmaine Stakes (1200m) first-up before winning last month’s Gr.1 Futurity Stakes (1400m), which sealed her place amongst the world’s best this year. Kolding finished runner-up in the Gr.2 Expressway Stakes (1200m) and Gr.2 Apollo Stakes (1200m)…
Newnham hoping for luck of the Irish
Former Kiwi The Irishman (NZ) (Tavistock) will have his first stakes tilt in Australia at Rosehill on Saturday when he contests the Gr.2 Phar Lap Stakes (1500m). He won first-up over 1400m at Warwick Farm last week and pleased new trainer Mark Newnham with the way he handled things. “He is a really nice horse,” Newnham told Racing HQ. “He did a good job to beat older and tougher opposition the other day. “I was pleased with the way he raced and I was pleased with the way he handled…
Arcadia Queen under All-Star cloud
Leviathan owner Bob Peters said star mare Arcadia Queen (Pierro) will be given every chance to line-up in Saturday’s A$5 million All-Star Mile (1600m) after she failed a second vets inspection on Friday. The $3.90 favourite presented with two out of five lameness in her off foreleg after shifting a shoe in trackwork on Thursday. The five-year-old failed her initial inspection on Thursday, and Racing Victoria vets on Friday again said she hadn’t improved enough to be passed fit. Arcadia Queen will have a third, and final, inspection on Saturday…