Horse Racing
Horse Racing
Australian hopes flop at Royal Ascot
8:22am Australia's attempt to maintain its international sprinting dominance fell flat at Royal Ascot overnight with the failure of Shamexpress in the King's Stand Stakes (1000m).
Racing
Melbourne base for Gai's Cup trio
MICHAEL SHARKIE As the eyes of European racing focus on Royal Ascot this week, three high-class English gallopers continue to make steady progress towards the spring carnival under trainer Gai Waterhouse and her staff at Tulloch Lodge.
Racing
Smerdon loses appeal over bet scandal
MICHAEL SHARKIE 5:15pm Leading trainer Robert Smerdon has lost his VCAT appeal against a $10,000 penalty incurred for his part in the Damien Oliver betting scandal
Horse Racing
A race meeting that won't be the same
MICHAEL LYNCH Imagine Melbourne Cup week at Flemington without the master, Bart Cummings. Its almost unthinkable given that Cummings has been part of the Spring Carnival pageantry for more than 60 years.
Animal Kingdom favourite to take out Queen Anne at Ascot
CHRIS ROOTS The lure of the most widely recognised five days of racing in the world has once again drawn Australians to Royal Ascot.
Racing
TVN describes suspensions as a 'human resources matter'
CHRIS ROOTS There are no concerns about an Australian Communications and Media Authority investigation into the suspension of three on-air staff at TVN this week.
Horse Racing
Cox Plate a chance for Animal Kingdom
Caryl Williamson and Chris Roots Arrowfield Stud boss, says it will be tempting to defer superstar Animal Kingdom's stud career.
Horse Racing
Black And Bent beaten at last
PATRICK BARTLEY It took champion hurdler Black And Bent more than three years to create his historic record of 10 jumps race victories in succession, but it took less than four minutes for the sequence of victories to end at Bendigo on Sunday.
Horse Racing
Six-metre hole opens up in middle of racecourse
A jockey and his horse had a lucky escape at Auckland's last race meeting of the season when a six-metre-deep hole opened up underneath them, sending the pair tumbling down the track.
Full monte revealed and ready to take on Sweden
CHRIS ROOTS The Australian team to take on Sweden in the women's international monte race on June 30 has been finalised after South Australian Mary Crosby filled the final spot in the squad of five riders. Crosby won a recent monte race at Bankstown, where the standardbreds are ridden under saddle. She joins Lauren Panella, Ashlee Siejka, Haley Toulmin and Seryn Adams. With monte racing popular in Europe, the Aussie girls will be giving away a bit of experience to their Swedish counterparts. Swedish riders Jenny Brunzell, Nicole Mellberg and Emelie Knutsson will join Australian-based compatriots Louise Regney and Olivia Olsson in the monte race at Menangle. The Swedish team manager is renowned monte trainer Jan Hellstedt, who has 60 horses in work and had 356 winners this year. Shepparton-based Adams was delighted to get the call to compete and will get a few hints from her brother Josh, who is a jo
Good as gold: Pattillo rides his luck all the way to upset victory
Tony White Anagold, a $41 bolter, won the $200,000 Ipswich Cup on Saturday thanks to a stunning ride by experienced jockey Tony Pattillo.
Smith hopes to get lucky up north
Tony White The Darren Smith-trained Oakfield Commands will target the $150,000 Ramornie (1200 metres) at Grafton on July 10. Smith will be hoping it is third-time lucky in the feature sprint. In 1998 he saddled up Pimpala Prince, which finished ninth, and Oakfield Duke also finished unplaced in 2002. Oakfield Commands is raced by long-time client Bruce Mackenzie, who also owned Oakfield Duke. ''Bruce and I would love to have another shot at the Ramornie,'' Smith said after Oakfield Commands won his second successive Randwick race last Saturday. ''Oakfield Commands is flying and the Ramornie is a race that should be perfect for him. We've had it in mind for him for some time.'' Oakfield Commands has raced 17 times for six wins and eight placings, with two wins and two placings in Sydney races since resuming in April. With last year's Ramornie winner Howmuchdoyouloveme a confirmed starter and several
Tiara looks a perfect fit for Peron
Tony White Trainer John Thompson labelled Peron a better horse than last year's Tattersall's Tiara-winning stablemate Pear Tart after the filly's determined win in the $100,000 Gai Waterhouse Classic over 1350 metres at Ipswich on Saturday.
Nothing like success for happy connections
CHRIS ROOTS Concreter and breeder Sam Gallo couldn't hide his emotions when he watched the horse he raised ''since he was a baby'' win at Rosehill on Saturday. Gallo bred Nothing Like Luca, whose mother died when he was six months old, and named the horse after his grandson. Nothing Like Luca held off the fast-finishing Disciple to win by a short head and send connections into raptures. ''This is big, I've been coming to the races for eight years and he's the greatest,'' Gallo said. ''I bred him and raised him since he was a baby.'' Nothing Like Luca gave Nash Rawiller a treble after Koroibete and Relaxed And Happy had won for him earlier. ''He really pulled out all stops in the last 50 metres and it was a great effort,'' Rawiller said. ''I sat off the high speed and I tried to suck it up as long as I could and I was filthy when I had to come off McClintock's back before straightening, but he did a
Princess rocks on three-day back-up
Mathew Toogood The decision to start Rock Princess for a second time in three days paid off for trainer Chris Hyland on Saturday.
Smerdon confident a new spring has returned to jumps racing
MICHAEL LYNCH Robert Smerdon has forgotten more about jumps racing than most of his rival trainers know.
Snowden puts Ramornie on radar for Sessions
CHRIS ROOTS The Melbourne spring is in the future for Sessions, but the Ramornie Handicap on July 10 is the present after he returned from a twisted testicle injury in emphatic fashion at Rosehill on Saturday.
Racing
Waller closes on training record
CHRIS ROOTS Chris Waller is getting better at coping with his record quest, but he is drawing on the experience of rival trainers Peter Snowden and Gai Waterhouse as the mark gets closer.
Horse Racing
Guineas aim for Prince Harada
Patrick Bartley Trainer Tony Vasil's high regard for his two-year-old Prince Harada is now further underlined.
Horse Racing
Pattillo has golden run in cup win
Stephen Rodgers Tony Pattillo's only regret on Saturday was not being able to share the moment with Bryan Guy.
Jumps Racing
Smerdon believes the jumps is in renewal mode
PATRICK BARTLEY Robert Smerdon has forgotten more about jumps racing than most of his rival trainers know.
Past the Post
Nisbet to finish apprenticeship in Melbourne
Jared Dorrington Kayla Nisbet is excited at the prospect of finishing off her apprenticeship with trainer David Hayes.
A tale of tactics pits rising stars on a Rosehill collision course
CHRIS ROOTS PROMISING three-year-olds Golden Sunshine and Sessions meet in a classic leader versus swooper clash at Rosehill on Saturday. Sessions, which depends on a genuine tempo to come home hard, has been made favourite after three barrier trials. Filly Golden Sunshine sets up the speed and attempts to control her races. She has had one trial, winning in a relatively slow 49.34 seconds for 800 metres, says dailysectionals.com, at Warwick Farm on May 31. However, the key to her getting the better of Sessions might be in the sectionals she ran. In the trial, she recorded the slowest sectional of the morning between the 400m and 200m - 12.34s - before dashing home the final 200m in 10.78s, the second-quickest of the 14 trials. Controlled speed often makes it hard for opposition to run past you. Sessions won a 900m trial at Rosehill on May 14 but his final 600m of 34.0s was more than a second quicke
Breeders hover for Shamexpress
MICHAEL SHARKIE While patriotic racing fans will be hoping the Australian flag flies high again at Royal Ascot next week as Sea Siren and Shamexpress tackle the King's Stand Stakes, breeders around the country will be watching closely for an opportunity to add a dual-hemisphere stallion to their books.
Racing
Trainer suspended over dog's positive cocaine test
CHRIS ROOTS Leading greyhound trainer Mark Azzopardi was stood down on Friday over a positive test to cocaine by a dog in his kennel, Transcend Time, at Maitland in March.
Racing
Olive has first-up specialist primed
Mathew Toogood The search for a suitable first-up race for Capital Commander has led Canberra trainer Nick Olive to Melbourne.
