Category: Gallops

Trainer Bjorn Baker is pleased with A$10 million Golden Eagle (1500m) contender Perfumist (NZ) (El Roca) heading into Saturday’s contest at Randwick. The OTI-raced daughter of El Roca has built towards peak form, winning a Benchmark 94 two starts back before finishing a game runner-up in the Gr.3 Angst Stakes (1600m) behind Idle Flyer. A go-forward runner, Perfumist has drawn the inside barrier and will be ridden by Rachel King and is a $16 chance in a market headed by the unbeaten Autumn Glow (The Autumn Sun) ($2.05). “When she…

Trainer Mark Walker will have a two-pronged attack on the Gr.1 VRC Derby (2500m) at Flemington on Saturday, headed by last start Listed 3YO Geelong Classic (2200m) winner Azazel (NZ) (Shocking), with lightly-tried McWoody (Alabama Express) also making the field. A son of Shocking, Azazel is expected to be suited by the stiff staying test and he has come through his exertions last week at Geelong in good order.  Azazel. Photo: (Reg Ryan/Racing Photos) “He’s pulled up really well. He’s a very fit horse, and everything’s gone really well with…

The Lindsay Park team of Ben, Will and J D Hayes is certainly not complaining about the transfer of the Golden Eagle to Randwick on Saturday. The $10 million Golden Eagle (1500m) has been staged at Rosehill since its inaugural running in 2019 but has been transferred to Randwick for this year’s edition. The Hayes brothers saddle Evaporate (NZ) (Per Incanto), who will be out to avenge his narrow defeat in the Group 1 Toorak Handicap (1600m) at Caulfield on October 18. Like Chris Waller, Ben Hayes said a tough…

Waipukurau stayer Tukituki (NZ) (Complacent) holds a particularly special place in the heart of trainer Carl Taylor, who is hoping his run of success can continue at Tauherenikau on Saturday. A builder by trade, Taylor has had off-and-on involvement in the racing industry for many years, having trained his first winner back in 2006 before taking time away from training for over a decade. “I’m a builder, that’s my main job, so I just work my horse and go to work,” he said. “I went to pony club, did some…

Passiflora (NZ) (Farnan) will provide her connections with a sound guide at Tauranga as to where she sits in the three-year-old pecking order. Trainers Steven Ramsay and Julia Ritchie will see how their daughter of Farnan handles a rise in class in the Armory Standing At Mapperley Stud 3YO (1200m) before plotting their next move. “It will give us a good line on where we go with her, she’s not overly big and it will be a good test for her,” Ramsay said. “We’ll see how she goes on Saturday…

Marotiri Molly (NZ) (Per Incanto) has paid the price for her high rating in the Central Districts so far this spring and it will be a similar story in Saturday’s Valley Plumbing Redcraze Bowl (1400m) at Tauherenikau. The Group Two-winning mare is one of the top-rated gallopers in the region, particularly in the sprinter-miler category, meaning despite a mare’s allowance she has carried topweight in both starts so far this campaign in open company. Despite her hefty impost, she performed with her typical consistency when third first-up, and after missing…

Heather and Peter Crofskey are pinching themselves as they prepare to hop on a flight to Melbourne to watch their pride and joy Leica Lucy contest Saturday’s Gr.1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) at Flemington. “It is a dream come true,” Heather Crofskey said. “It (dreaming of racing a horse at Flemington) started many years ago, just before we started breeding, and it has happened.” The Taranaki couple bred the daughter of Derryn and initially raced her with New Plymouth trainer Robbie Patterson, for whom she was a standout three-year-old last…

War Machine (NZ) (Harry Angel) did not run up to expectations in The Everest, but Ben Hayes has urged punters to stick with the explosive gelding. The Group 1 winner gets the chance to get his spring campaign back on track in Saturday’s $3 million Russell Balding Stakes at Randwick. The 1300-metre event will be War Machine’s first start since The Everest, in which he clocked in 10th, which was only second run of the campaign and Hayes would like to think he has much more to achieve this campaign.…

OTI Racing’s Terry Henderson says any rain to hit Flemington before Saturday will only enhance Azazel’s (NZ) (Shocking) chances of causing an upset in the VRC Derby. Henderson told The Verdict podcast he was buoyant about the young stayer’s hopes this weekend. Importantly, there is little concern about Azazel running out a strong 2500 metres. “He is bred that way,” Henderson said. “He’s out of a Tavistock mare, by Shocking. “If we get some rain on Friday, that will bring him right into the race. “The Godolphin horse (Observer) is…

The path towards the Gr.3 Martin Collins New Zealand Cup (3200m) has been near-faultless for Who Knows (NZ) (Redwood) and the mare has one more box to tick before the big dance at Riccarton in a fortnight. After a successful campaign through the winter, culminating in a runner-up finish in the Gr.3 Winter Cup (1600m), Who Knows has enjoyed a relatively light spring, trialing in September before showing her class to win the Egmont Cup (2100m) with ease earlier this month. The daughter of Redwood went back to the trials…