Let’s Karaka Deel (NZ) (Dundeel) will be put on a Derby path after winning as a short-priced favourite at Swan Hill on Monday. But exactly which Derby remains to be determined. The first Group One Derby of the season is the 2500-metre Victoria Derby, at Flemington on October 31, and co-trainer David Eustace said he’ll be given his chance to be a part of that. “He’s a horse that could end up in a Derby, but which one, time will tell,” Eustace said. “Whether it is this spring, we’ll give…
Author: Editor BOAY
Guineas goal for Only Words
Te Awamutu trainer Clint Isdale has stakes goals in mind for smart three-year-old Only Words (NZ) (Sweynesse), an impressive winner at Taupo last week. Isdale has long had a good opinion of the Sweynesse filly, who raced in strong company as a two-year-old but has improved physically and mentally into the new season, with her Taupo victory preceded by a trial win at Rotorua. The Listed HS Dyke Wanganui Guineas (1200m) on Saturday week is a likely target for Only Words, who covered plenty of ground when winning over 1100m…
Irish celebrations after Drummond double
Long-time owner-breeders Frank and Faye Drummond gave a couple of Irish horsemen their first wins in their new roles when celebrating a double last weekend. The Drummonds own, bred and co-race Country Bumpkin (NZ) (St Reims), who credited Niall Quinn with his first training success when making an impressive 15 and a half-length winning debut over the bigger fences in the Cody Singer Memorial Steeplechase (3200m) at Awapuni last Saturday, while a day later the couple were cheering on El Disparo (NZ) (El Hermano), a horse they bred and race…
Babylon Berlin to make much anticipated debut at Rotorua
There will be plenty of interest in the opening race at Rotorua on Wednesday where multiple trials winner Babylon Berlin (All Too Hard) is set to make her raceday debut. The Ben Foote-trained three-year-old filly has won three of her four trials and meets a competitive field in the MacMillan Accountants 3YO (1100m), where among her rivals is the Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained Francesca (NZ) (Iffraaj), who caught the eye with a strong fourth on debut at Taupo. “I was going to run Babylon Berlin at Taupo last week,…
Date change for Singapore Derby
The Singapore Turf Club have announced the Singapore Derby (1800m) will be brought forward a day and run on September 5. Originally scheduled for September 6, the reschedule takes into consideration regional changes by the Hong Kong Jockey Club with races now on 6 September 2020. The Singapore Derby is the final leg of the Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge and carries a purse of S$1m.
First NZ Foal for Ace High
Rich Hill Stud reports that their first NZ-born foal by their magnificent dual Group 1 winner Ace High (High Chaparral) made her arrival at the stud on Saturday. The filly is from Gold Rose, a two-times winning daughter of Pentire from the family of dual Oaks winner Domino. “She is a well-balanced quality filly with her father’s lovely head and colouring,” commented Rich Hill stud-master John Thompson. “She is the second foal by Ace High. The first was born at Andrew Ferguson’s Bell River property in Australia which was very appropriate…
Deauville Group One results a boost for Cambridge Stud
Significant international results have been welcomed by Cambridge Stud with Group One outcomes to savour. At Deauville Racecourse in France a two-year-old quinella was posted by Kodiac in the Gr.1 Prix Morny while a daughter of Wootton Bassett won the Gr.1 Prix Jean Romanet. Kodiac is the sire of the part Cambridge Stud-owned dual Group One-winning sprinter Hello Youmzain, who will go to stud next year. The Stonestreet Stables-raced filly Campanelle got the better of the colt Nando Parrado to claim top honours in the Prix Morny by two lengths.…
New partnership on the board with stylish victory at Matamata
The newly minted training partnership of Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray put their first winner on the board at Matamata on Saturday when Claiborne strode clear in the final stages of a 1600m contest to score a convincing victory. Born and bred Irishman Murray joined Ritchie’s Cambridge operation over two years ago with Ritchie inviting him into a training partnership for the start of the 2020/21 season. The pair took just the one runner to Matamata and came away with a perfect winning record after the Redwood gelding demolished his…
Timberlake on song at Matamata
Promising four-year-old Timberlake showed he had taken plenty out of his first-up run at Te Aroha recently when he raced away with a 1400m maiden contest at Matamata on Saturday. The Peter and Dawn Williams-trained four-year-old was sent out favourite at Te Aroha off the back of a tidy 1000m trial victory, where he fought on gamely in the worst part of the track for a meritorious third. Stepped up to 1400m, the Redwood gelding got well back in the early running for rider Ashvin Goindasamy before making ground strongly…
Myers and Fannin unstoppable at Awapuni
The Kevin Myers and Shaun Fannin combination proved nigh on impossible to beat over fences at Awapuni on Saturday when they took out four of the five jumping events including the two feature contests with Aigne winning the Manawatu ITM Awapuni Hurdles (2900m) before Game Percy added a second LJ Hooker Manawatu Steeplechase (4400m) to his record after success in the 2018 edition of the event. Fannin had produced perfectly judged rides aboard Interllectus and Locharburn to guide them to their maiden hurdle wins earlier in the day and was…