Category: Featured

Knobelas (NZ) (Belardo) gets another crack at Roadcone (NZ) (Almanzor) this Saturday and Michael Kent Jnr is adamant the setting for the rematch is advantageous for his charge. The pair will clash in the $130,000 Henry Byron Moore BM84 Handicap at Flemington. The 1600-metre event will be run three weeks after their stoush over 1500m on the Caulfield Heath track, which Roadcone won narrowly after pinching a break turning for home, and Kent is confident Knobelas can gain revenge. “She’s obviously very progressive; six starts for three wins and three seconds and one more stride and…

With the release this week of nominations for the Gr.1 Trackside NZ Derby, the focus intensifies for stamina signs amongst the three-year-old crop ahead of the March 7 Ellerslie classic. Amongst the 90-odd entries for the Derby are the first three placegetters in the first black-type age-group race beyond 1600m, last week’s Gr.2 Sir Patrick Hogan Stakes (2000m), Ohope Wins (NZ) (Ocean Oark), Origin Of Love (Snitzel) and Born To Be Royal (King’s Legacy). All three fillies are also entered for the Gr. 1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai NZ Oaks…

Trelawney Stud bred former Singapore star Lim’s Kosciuszko (Kermadec) will be out to claim his first victory in Australia when he lines up in the Group 3 Standish Handicap at Flemington on Saturday. The Dan Meagher-trained veteran heads into the summer sprinting feature third-up, having finished midfield in The Supernova at his previous start, an effort which Meagher was highly satisfied with, given the way the race panned out. “I think he probably needed that run the other day over 1400m,” Meagher said. “He’s just done so super here, his…

With a six-week gap between two of summer’s major weight-for-age middle-distance features, trainers of leading candidates have taken a variety of approaches to their preparations. The first of those races, the Gr.1 Zabeel Classic (2000m), was contested at Ellerslie on Boxing Day, and the second of them, the Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes, is scheduled for Te Rapa on February 7. Last year’s Herbie Dyke Stakes winner El Vencedor (NZ) (Shocking) has been confirmed to run in the Gr.3 Powerworx Taranaki Cup (1800m) at New Plymouth on January 24, while 2024…

Former West Coaster John Blackadder has had plenty of success around the South Island, but there remains one track firmly on his hit-list, his former hometown of Reefton. He is hoping to rectify that at the West Coast track on Wednesday where he will be represented by half a dozen runners. “I think I have won a race on just about every course in the South Island, but I have never won one at Reefton, my old hometown,” he said. “I have got a six-pronged attack on Wednesday.” His charge…

Well-related Highview graduate Kinnaird (Home Affairs) has quickly won his way to the top of the market for New Zealand’s richest two-year-old contest. The Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson-trained colt was successful on debut at Otaki in November and his New Year’s Day victory in the Gr.2 Eclipse Stakes (1200m) propelled him to equal $4 favouritism for the upcoming TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m). He was bred by Hong Kong Breeders’ Club principal Nicola Chu, who retained an ownership interest following his purchase by Te Akau’s David Ellis for $340,000…

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The Gr.1 Tancred Stakes (2400m) looms as a possible autumn option for ever-improving stayer Torranzino (NZ) (Tarzino), who on Monday returned to work with Paul Preusker. The Tarzino gelding’s return to stable life comes around two months since his fifth placing in the A$10 million Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m). Preusker was determined to reward his new stable star with a good spell after his career-best campaign and considered giving him a tick-over preparation without a run before resetting for spring, but was now favouring a brief autumn campaign. “He’ll start work Monday and then we’ll just sort of…

In the third instalment of The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Road to the Derby series, we zero in on a pair of Frankie Lor-trained up and comers with the potential to make an impact in the 2025/26 Four-Year-Old Classic Series. With less than four weeks until the first leg of the prestigious series – the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) on 1 February – and with the 149th HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) on 22 March on the horizon, Numbers and Regal Gem have both built…

Chris Rutten has a knack for selecting Karaka Millions 2YO contenders, and he looks to have struck again, this time with the Roydon Bergerson-trained Sweetest Thing. The daughter of Hello Youmzain impressed when runner-up to Lassified in the Listed Wellesley Stakes (1100m) at Trentham on Saturday, with her runner-up cheque of $18,500 putting her on the cusp of qualifying for the $1 million TAB Karaka Millions (1200m) at Ellerslie on January 24. It’s a race Rutten has a strong association with, having won it with Vespa in 2014, and he…