Month: January 2023

Dennis Yip’s promising second starter, Top Top Tea (NZ), continued a good run for his sire Wrote when winning the Class 4 Mut Wah Handicap (1200m) at Happy Valley on Wednesday. In the process, the talented four-year-old carried Brazilian jockey Ruan Maia to his first victory since October 26 following 70 consecutive losses. “I’m very happy because it’s been two months without a winner, but I keep working and keep my head up. Sometimes, the right horse comes to your hand, and this one ran well first start from a…

Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott have saddled the last two winners of the Gr.1 New Zealand Derby (2400m), and a pair of talented three-year-olds are putting a spring in the Matamata trainers’ step as they plot their path towards the 2023 edition. O’Sullivan and Scott won the Derby with Rocket Spade (Fastnet Rock) in 2021 and Asterix (NZ) (Tavistock) in 2022, and they have two runners among the top 10 in the TAB’s fixed-odds market for this year’s running at Te Rapa on March 4. Waitak (NZ) (Proisir), who was…

Stakes winner in waiting Yonce (NZ) (Proisir) is closer to making her seasonal reappearance after featuring in a jumpout on Tuesday. The gifted Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained mare finished fifth of 10 runners in a 1000-metre Burrumbeet jumpout after being allowed to find her feet early in the heat and never being asked to fully extend under regular rider John Allen. After being unbeaten from her first six starts in Victoria, Yonce’s maiden appearance in Stakes company resulted in a fourth placing in the Gr.1 Queen of the Turf…

Flying Mascot (NZ) (Tavistock) starred during last season’s Melbourne Festival of Racing but will be inactive during the upcoming seven-week period of feature racing. Trainer Tom Dabernig told Racing.com that the five-year-old mare is halfway through an extended break in the spelling paddock. The daughter of Tavistock most recently contested the A$300,000 Tristarc Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on October 15, finishing 10th in the Group Two mares event won by Chain Of Lightning (Fighting Sun). “She pulled up with a hairline stress fracture at the top of her cannon bone,…

Duneagle (Dissident) is in rare company in Shaun Ritchie and Colm Murray’s team as one of the few older members within their ranks and the quirky six-year-old looks ideally placed to return to winning ways at Ruakaka. The Cambridge trainers have been rebuilding in recent seasons and have unearthed a number of promising younger prospects including the undefeated Pearl Of Alsace (NZ) (Tavistock), The Racketeer (NZ) (Proisir) and Regazzo (NZ) (Tavistock). However, experience may be to the fore in Friday’s The Trigg Construction Northland Cup (1400m) with the consistent Duneagle…

The Phillip Stokes-trained Daqiansweet Junior (NZ) had a quiet jumpout at Pakenham over 1000m this week as the son of Sweet Orange builds towards autumn targets. OTI Racing CEO Terry Henderson said last year’s Adelaide Cup winner will head north to Sydney this preparation before eventually having another tilt at the Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m), having run so well in that event last year to finish in sixth place. “He’s very well, we’re very happy with him,” Henderson said. “We’ll probably keep him in mind to go through the Roy…