Author: AAP

Ka Ying Rising will need to improve before The Everest after finishing third in a barrier trial at Randwick on Tuesday morning. Picture: HKJC. David Hayes expects Ka Ying Rising to improve significantly ahead of Group 1 The Everest (1200m) on 18 October after the world’s highest-rated sprinter finished third under Zac Purton in a 1000m barrier trial at Royal Randwick in Sydney on Tuesday morning. Pitted against potential The Everest rivals Overpass, Joliestar and Angel Capital as well as Group 1 King Charles III Stakes (1609m) contenders Fangirl and…

Dual stakes winner Read About It run in a trial on Monday and a return to racing looms. Photo: Peter Rubery (Race Images Palmerston North) Robbie Patterson had high Classic hopes for Read About It last season before his rising young star’s progress was halted by illness. The New Plymouth trainer believed the son of Wrote was a genuine Group 1 New Zealand Derby (2400m) prospect until the two-time stakes winner was laid low with breathing issues. “He was one of the most promising young horses I’ve had for sure,…

Mighty Commander will be among the key chances in the Class 3 Harbour View Handicap at Happy Valley on Wednesday night. Picture: HKJC. Two of the early pace-setters in the 2025/26 trainers’ championship will send strong contingents to Happy Valley on Wednesday night, looking to open up a gap at the top of the standings. Caspar Fownes prepares six runners, hoping to improve on his seven wins so far this season at his favourite hunting ground. Mark Newnham has made an explosive start to his third campaign in Hong Kong…

Half Yours has been backed heavily to win the Caulfield Cup after a fast finishing fourth in the Turnbull Stakes. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Racing Photos) Two horses have been handed weight penalties for the $5 million Caulfield Cup (2400m) which will be held on Saturday week, following their respective victories over the weekend. Ciaron Maher’s Royal Supremacy, winner of The Group 1 Metropolitan (2400m) at Randwick on Saturday, rises from 51kg to 52.5kg in the weight scale having received a penalty of 1.5kg for the Caulfield showpiece. Dominant Group 3…

Sailor Jack produced an impressive trial win at Awapuni on Monday. Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images) Sailor Jack impressed trainers Shaun and Hazel Fannin with his trial victory at Awapuni on Monday, and they have their fingers crossed their home track will be back in commission for his first major test of the season. The five-win gelding took out his 1400m heat in the hands of Chris Dell, beating a handy field, which included last-start Group One winner Quintessa. It was the eight-year-old gelding’s fourth trial this time in, with…

Ka Ying Rising will trial at Randwick on Tuesday morning, with the HK champion pictured winning the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup in February Photo: HKJC. Champion Hong Kong sprinter Ka Ying Rising and The Everest favourite will have a barrier trial at Randwick on Tuesday morning. Ka Ying Rising is looming as the unbackable favourite for the AUD $20million feature at $1.70 with bookmakers, and the trial is likely to be his only hit-out ahead of the October 18 slot race. Reigning Hong Kong Jockey of the Year Zac Purton…

Quintessa pictured after winning the Group 1 Proisir Plate. Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images) Adverse weather has forced multiple Group One winner Quintessa to take an unorthodox route to next Saturday’s Group 1 Livamol Classic (2040m), with the mare appearing at the Awapuni trials on Monday afternoon. Prepared by Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson at Matamata, Quintessa got her preparation off to a flying start winning the Group 1 Proisir Plate (1400m), but she was scratched from the second leg of the triple crown (Group 1 Howden Insurance Mile, 1600m)…

Bulb General was heavily backed and won impressively at Sha Tin on Saturday. Photo: HKRW Bulb General continued his electric form in Hong Kong racing to bring loftier targets into play for the son of Embellish. Trained by Jamie Richards, he completed a hat-trick of victories when he put away his Class 3 rivals with ease over 1200 metres at Sha Tin in the hands of Zac Purton. The four-year-old is taking winning strides toward the lucrative Four-Year-Old Classic Series – the Hong Kong Classic Mile, Hong Kong Classic Cup…

Darren Danis returned successfully from injury aboard Muscovado recently. Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images). Darren Danis is developing a knack for making a comeback from career-threatening injuries, but he is hoping his run of serious injuries is now at an end. In 2017, Danis broke his back in a race fall, but made a relatively quick recovery, returning to raceday riding just eight months later, while last November, he was met by a similar fate when involved in an incident at the Waipa trials where he sustained a fractured C4…

War Machine has shot up in many peoples the Everest calculations after winning the Gilgai Stakes on Saturday. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Racing Photos) Buyers passed over War Machine as a younger horse and his Masterton breeders and part-owners continue to count their blessings that he returned home after two tours of the Karaka sale ring. The New Zealand-bred son of Harry’s Angel was offered by Ardsley Stud at both New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale and Ready to Run Sale and failed to attract the expected interest. “We always liked…