Month: August 2025

Riccarton trainer Lance Robinson is a big advocate for synthetic track racing, and he is looking forward to lining up a trio of runners in the country’s equal-richest polytrack race at his home track on Wednesday.  “It (Polytrack Championship) is great, especially for the lower grade horses,” Robinson said. “Getting a crack at being able to run for $100,000 at this time of year is excellent.  “I am a big fan of the polytrack, especially at this time of year. We wouldn’t have half of the horses in work if…

Classy mare Val Di Zoldo (NZ) (War Decree) will have the opportunity to test her talents at the highest level this term after resuming with a tidy trial at Taupo on Monday. In the care of Cambridge horseman Tony Pike, Val Di Zoldo broke a streak of poor luck when taking out the Gr.3 Manawatu Breeders Stakes (2050m) and Gr.2 Travis Stakes (2000m) in the autumn, which lifted her rating up to 98. In her first outing since the Travis Stakes, Val Di Zoldo strode out comfortably in her 900m…

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Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) might be coming off the worst performance of his decorated career, but Ben Hayes is adamant the Lindsay Park flagbearer can again be a Spring Carnival force. The eight-year-old gelding made his first public appearance of the campaign on Monday morning when he took part in a course-proper jump-out at Flemington. The 800m workout, in which he finished fourth, was a stepping stone to a first-up run in the Gr.1 Memsie Stakes (1400m), where Hayes expects him to return to the form that carried him to a win in that…

Perennial bridesmaid Qali Al Farrasha headlined a strong contingent of trialists out of Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson’s stable at Taupo on Monday. The homebred Te Akau mare has placed in six of her seven Group assignments, including going down by a half-head to Provence in the Gr.1 Thorndon Mile (1600m) in January. Qali Al Farrasha has shown her proficiency well beyond a mile, but Bergerson said the Gr.1 Proisir Plate (1400m) is still on the table early in the season after cruising into third in her 900m heat. “It…

A quartet of well-performed fillies from Stephen Marsh’s stable took their first steps toward upcoming age group features when they stepped out at the Taupo trials on Monday. Lady Iris, Little Black Dress, Tale Of The Gypsy and To Cap It All were back in action after enjoying lucrative juvenile campaigns to make significant contributions to a highly successful 2024/25 term for the Cambridge trainer. “It was a great season and now we’ve got to try and do it all again,” Marsh said. He equalled his previous highest tally of…

The Spring picture will take greater shape on Tuesday, when entries for the Gr.1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) and Gr.1 Cox Plate (2040m) close, but Chris Waller has reiterated a warning to punters around the favourite for one of those majors. The Hall of Fame horseman said the 2400-metre Caulfield Cup was an ‘unlikely’ destination for glamour four-year-old Aeliana (NZ) (Castelvecchio). The Star Thoroughbreds mare shot towards the head of Caulfield Cup betting after a 5-1/4-length romp in the Gr.1 ATC Australian Derby (2400m) in April, but Waller remains unconvinced that this is the year to test the daughter of Castelvecchio in…

Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott have their sights set on the opening Group One of the season with a pair of talented mares, both of which appeared at the Taupo trials on Monday. The first to step out on the soft surface was Grail Seeker, a multiple Group One winner of the Tarzino Trophy (1400m) and Telegraph (1200m) last term. The mare was making her first appearance since finishing near the tail of the field in the Gr.1 All Aged Stakes (1400m) in April, but looked right back in the…