Cups Dream Still Leads Six O'Clock News

Saturday, 12 September 2009 06:30

Zabeel gelding Six O'Clock News, bidding for a place in the major Cups in Melbourne this spring, showed he was on the right track with a solid performance in the Group Three Merial Metric Mile at Awapuni on Saturday.

Jumping from the outside barrier in the field of 18, the Paddy and Trent Busuttin-trained five-year-old was towards the rear of the field on the home turn.

But under veteran jockey Noel Harris, Six O'Clock News stormed home under 57.5kg, unleashing his trademark big finish to run fifth.

His effort showed the gelding was on track for some of Victoria's major spring carnival races.

Six O'Clock News has only 50.5kg in both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups and given his light weight is unlikely to get a start in the Caulfield Cup.

Busuttin said that no horse in the last five years had made the Caulfield Cup field with less than 51.5kg, "which means Six O'Clock News won't get in unless we get a one kilo handicap".

Busuttin added he might have to take the gelding to Melbourne earlier than he would have liked to try for a victory and a rehandicap.

Saturday's Merial was won by Elblitzem, who dashed clear soon after straightening and posted an easy 3-1/2 length win over Kuda Mahal with Yanna Marie third.

Tavistock Downs Mufhasa In Mudgway

Saturday, 29 August 2009 00:00

Jubilant jockey Jason Waddell declared Tavistock would be a major force in the remaining Hawke's Bay triple crown races after his upset win in the first leg, the Group One Mudgway Stakes at Hastings on Saturday.

Tavistock, who raced in Melbourne as Lord Tavistock last spring, outkicked the favourite Mufhasa in a thrilling run to the line, with Sterling Prince third and Il Quello Veloce storming home for fourth. He paid $40 for the win.

The race was marred by an incident at the 700m in the 1400m weight-for-age feature in which both Altered Image and Maximum Star lost their riders.

Both horses and jockeys Michael Coleman and Darryl Bradley were quickly to their feet.

Bradley suffered bruising to an arm while Coleman was reported to be uninjured.

"He can go through the triple crown - he's a good horse," a thrilled Waddell told Trackside TV.

"I planned to run him forward but we got absolutely hammered coming out of the gates so I thought it best to go back and give him a bit of cover.

"When the fall occurred at the 700 a couple of the other riders seemed to freeze, so I thought here is my chance to make up two or three lengths on them.

"Halfway down (the straight) I struggled to get past Mufhasa but that one run under his belt really helped him the last bit."

Mufhasa lost few admirers in his first run for the spring. He was three wide early and attacked forcefully at the top of the straight, finding only Tavistock too much in the final strides.

Tavistock, a Montjeu entire, had four starts for Melbourne trainer Mick Price last season and raced well in good company.

He ran second in the Listed Vain Stakes first-up and then won a $A100,000 three-year-old 1400m at Flemington. He ran fourth in the Group Three Caulfield Guineas Prelude before failing in the Guineas.

He returned to Andrew Campbell, who had trained him at Masterton as a two-year-old, and ran third to Fritzy Boy in a 1200m sprint at Foxton three weeks ago.

Campbell said earlier this month he had trained and sold some very good horses but had always thought Tavistock to be the best of them.

Nom Du Jeu Out Of Cups

Tuesday, 08 September 2009 08:30

Last year's Caulfield Cup runner-up Nom De Jeu will miss both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups but remains in the Cox Plate after first declarations for Melbourne's spring features.

Nom Du Jeu, prepared in New Zealand by Murray Baker and his son Bjorn, has been suffering from bone soreness which prevents him from letting down properly when galloping.

The Melbourne Cup has been reduced from 229 to 141, 26 less than at the same stage for last year's race.

International numbers were reduced from 38 to 18 on Tuesday, the same as last year at the same stage.

Other notable omissions were early favourite Rebel Raider, winner of last season's Victoria and SA Derbys, and Empires Choice, the 2007 Queensland Derby winner, both sidelined with leg injuries.

The highest weighted Cup entrant not to be paid up for on Tuesday was the Godolphin-owned Schiaparelli who is expected to run in next month's Prix De l'Arc De Triomphe at Longchamps, while last-start Group Two winner Doctor Fremantle, prepared by Sir Michael Stoute, also dropped out of Melbourne Cup contention.

The Caulfield Cup field has been reduced from 224 to 120, down 16 on last year at the same stage, but there are six overseas horses still in the race as opposed to three at the same time last year.

The Cox Plate was reduced from 196 at entry time to 100, four less than last year, but four overseas horses remain in the race as opposed to one at the same time last year.

Group One Golden Rose winner Denman and Theseo were not paid up for in the Cox Plate while Gallica dropped out of the Caulfield Cup.

The Danny O'Brien-trained Vigor is the $6 favourite for the Caulfield Cup with TAB Sportsbet, the Mark Kavanagh-trained Whobegotyou heads Cox Plate markets at $5, while Vigor and the Dermot Weld-trained mare Profound Beauty share top billing in the Melbourne Cup at $11.

Picture - Sportpix

Le Baron Bound For Metropolitan Handicap

Thursday, 27 August 2009 00:00

He might not have the credentials of Melbourne Cup runner-up Bauer but trainer Donna Logan is confident connections of little-known New Zealander stayer Le Baron will enjoy a fun ride this spring.

The four-year-old is part-owned by the OTI Racing Syndicate managed by Simon O'Donnell and Terry Henderson who also raced Bauer.

But with the Luca Cumani-trained galloper to miss the spring due to injury, Le Baron might just prove an able replacement.

Logan isn't sure Le Baron will be ready for the major Cups this year, although he has been entered for them, but she does have her sights on the Group One Metropolitan Handicap (2400m) at Randwick on October 3.

"That has been the set target for the preparation at this stage," Logan said.

"A lot will depend on the horse's performances in Sydney this campaign as to what and where his next mission will be."

Le Baron arrived in Sydney on Wednesday night in readiness for his Australian debut in Saturday's Listed Premier's Cup (1800m) at Rosehill.

Logan is no stranger to the harbour city where she won the 2002 Metropolitan with Victory Smile and she believes Le Baron compares favourably with her former star.

"Victory Smile, of course, was a bit older at that stage but I think he's pretty closely matched up to him," she said.

Le Baron has won three of his 11 starts, the highlight his Group Two Great Northern Guineas (2100m) triumph at Ellerslie in December last year.

He failed badly in the New Zealand Derby won by Australian Coniston Bluebird three starts later but Logan said the gelding was physically immature and didn't cope with his preparation.

He was spelled and has returned in good order, being placed at his two starts this time in, the latest over 1600m and Logan is looking forward to stepping him up in distance.

"His last start he went down narrowly and got beaten but the (slow) track was just that little bit too testing that he couldn't ping off the top of the ground," Logan said.

"The horse has got plenty of room for improvement. We don't start off with them wound up very tight at this very early stage so there's a lot of improvement in the horse.

"I think he'll run a bold race (on Saturday), 1800 metres he's definitely looking for at this stage but again over, say 2400, I feel you'll see the horse at his best."

Tye Angland will ride Le Baron who has the visitor's draw and will jump from the outside gate in the 11-horse field.

Big River Wins Juvenile Race

Sunday, 06 September 2009 08:45

A colt by General Nediym has won the first two-year-old race of the Australasian season with Big River claiming victory at Wanganui.

Big River was slow out of the barrier in Saturday's 800 metre race but quickly gathered speed to win by three-quarters of a length.

"He won real easy," jockey James McDonald said.

"He's a really nice horse going places."

A $150,000 purchase at the New Zealand National Yearling Sale, Big River is trained by Mark Walker.

Melbourne Cup winning trainer Laurie Laxon, now based in Singapore, is a shareholder in the colt.

A dual Group One winner sprinter, General Nediym was euthanased in January this year after suffering a severe bout of colic.

His daughter Regimental Gal emulated her sire's 1998 win in the Lightning Stakes when she won the race in 2004.

Nom Du Jeu Out Of Kelt Capital Stakes

Wednesday, 26 August 2009 00:00

The Murray Baker stable has abandoned plans of running Nom Du Jeu, winner of last year's AJC Australian Derby, in the $NZ1.2 million Kelt Capital Stakes but still hopes to campaign him in Melbourne.

He also will not run in the Windsor Park Plate (1600m) at Hastings on September 19.

Nom Du Jeu, who ran second to All The Good in the Caulfield Cup last spring, is still hampered by the bone bruising that terminated his autumn campaign.

"He's just not going well enough, unfortunately," co-trainer Bjorn Baker told The Dominion Post newspaper.

"He looks magnificent and is moving better when trotting and cantering than he ever has, but is not letting down (in his track gallops)."

Baker said a Caulfield and Melbourne Cups campaign had not been ruled out at this stage.

"We will give him a bit more time and get him rescanned next week and see exactly where we are with him," he said.

Baker and his father Murray still have two Kelt hopes in Harris Tweed and Alagant Satin who are both due to run at the opening day of the Hawke's Bay carnival on Saturday.

PIC - Sportpix

Bosson To Ride Daffodil

Thursday, 03 September 2009 02:15

Opie Bosson will ride class mare Daffodil in a 1200m sprint at Wanganui on Saturday, with her regular jockey Hayden Tinsley unable to make her weight of 55kg.

Trainer Kevin Gray said Tinsley was likely to ride Daffodil in her first major assignment of the spring, the $NZ220,000 Windsor Park Plate at Hastings on September 19.

"But he can't make the weight this Saturday," Gray said.

He opted not to run Daffodil in the first leg of the Hawke's Bay triple crown, the $NZ220,000 ($A177,741.87) Mudgway Stakes last Saturday, not wanting to flatten her ahead of a big season, with a Melbourne Cups campaign in the offing.

He said Daffodil was in good condition. "She galloped very well at home this morning."

Gray said 1200m might be too short for her and she faces an unsuitable heavy track but he expected her to be running home well, with Bosson to be instructed to settle her back in the field.

"They are likely to be going flat out early in the race," he said.

Daffodil, winner of the AJC Australian Oaks in the autumn, was on Wednesday allotted 51.5kg for both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups.

Gray said he had no complaints about that but would have to find a new jockey again as it is too light for Tinsley, Bosson and Hugh Bowman who rode her to victory in the Oaks at Randwick.

Daffodil will race in the $NZ1.2 million ($A969,501) Kelt Stakes (2040m) after the Windsor Park Plate and would have to race well in that to confirm her Melbourne trip, Gray said.

Picture - Sportpix

Graded Stakes Committee Annual Report

Monday, 10 August 2009 00:00

As a result of the review two races have been de-listed and two races promoted to Listed status. No Group races have been promoted or relegated this season.

The Riverton Racing Club Carriers Arms Hotel Riverton Cup [Registered name Riverton Cup] and the Auckland Racing Club Easy Mix 3YO Handicap [Registered name to be confirmed] have been promoted to Listed status for the 2009-10 season.

The Riverton Cup has performed very well over the past three seasons and the Club is to be congratulated on its successful promotion of the event.

The Easy Mix Handicap is a three-year-old 1200m event conducted on the final day of the Auckland Cup Carnival and has been very strong for the past four years.

The Committee felt that its inclusion in the Listings would also enhance the pattern of Black Type racing for three year olds.

The Dunedin Casino Invercargill Gold Cup and the Christchurch Casino Winter Classic have been de-listed.

Unfortunately both races have performed poorly for a number of years.

The Invercargill Gold Cup has been under warning for seven years and a second warning for the past three years.

The Winter Classic has been under a warning for seven years and a second warning for the past four years.

Both races again rated at the lower end of races in their categories and the Committee felt that their continued inclusion in the listings had the potential to compromise the integrity of New Zealand's Group & Listed race schedule.

The Committee is of the view that to maintain flexibility for future deliberations 1st warnings will be issued at the earliest sign of decline in the quality of a race.

There are currently 33 races under 1st warnings compared with 34 last year. 19 races are under 2nd warnings compared with 22 last year.

The Committee also formally adopted the ANZ Classifications as its primary statistical assessment tool, however will continue to take other criteria into account, including the number and quality of Black Type performers in a race, race conditions (i.e. weight-for-age, set weights, set weights and penalties, handicap), prize money, New Zealand Handicapper Ratings, and other factors including historical importance, regional factors, opportunities for the different aptitude categories and races being impacted by bad weather.

Media Release - New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing

Tavistock One In A Million

Sunday, 30 August 2009 00:00

Tavistock's owners who rejected an offer of nearly $1 million for him had their faith repaid with the four-year-old now a Group One winner of the Mudgway Stakes.

Tavistock started at nearly 40-1 in the first leg of the Hawke's Bay Group One treble but ran down favourite Mufhasa over the 1400m to score by half a neck.

Trainer Andrew Campbell said Tavistock had been the subject of numerous offers which reached $900,000.

But he advised the owners to keep Tavistock and send him to Melbourne trainer Mick Price as a three-year-old last season.

"I said your best option was to go to Australia," Campbell told NZPA.

Tavistock, who raced in Australia as Lord Tavistock, had four starts for Price.

In his Melbourne debut he was second in the Vain Stakes (1100m) before winning a $A100,000 race for three-year-olds over 1400m at Flemington.

He was then fourth in the Caulfield Guineas Prelude before being well beaten in the Caulfield Guineas.

The Melbourne form went part of the way to justifying Campbell's high opinion of Tavistock but Saturday's win underlined his judgment.

"He's the best horse I've ever had and I've never kept that a secret," Campbell said.

Campbell, 42, has been training for less than 15 years. His previous best win was with Bobs Boy in the Group Three Doomben Classic in Brisbane in 2003 and he was proud to have broken through at Group One level.

"It's the ultimate. It's every trainer's dream to win a Group One and I've done it. It's an unexplainable feeling. I'm just so proud to do it."

Campbell has been as much a trader as a trainer of horses.

Campbell said Tavistock would not necessarily contest the second leg of the Hawke's Bay treble, the $220,000 Windsor Park Plate (1600m) on September 19.

He said the emphasis would more be on the third leg, the $1.2 million Kelt Capital Stakes (2040m) on October 3.

"That's always been our aim, the Kelt and the Caulfield Cup. I'll just see how he pulls up but it won't bother me at all if he misses the second leg.

Rider Jason Waddell sent Tavistock around the field and early in the run home loomed up alongside favourite Mufhasa going on to win by half a neck.

Mufhasa was gallant in defeat at his first start for four months.

NZPA WGT

Mufhasa Wins NZ Horse Of The Year

Saturday, 08 August 2009 00:00

Mufhasa was crowned New Zealand Horse of the Year at the annual Mercedes thoroughbred racing awards in Christchurch on Friday night.

Mufhasa, who was also unanimously selected as champion sprinter, captured 33 of a total 50 votes to take the supreme award for the 2008-09 season, defeating other category winners Princess Coup (middle distance) Daffodil (three-year-old) and The Heckler (two-year-old).

Mufhasa, trained by Stephen McKee of Sunline fame, is jointly owned by David, Natalie and Simon Archer and Diane Wright, who were owners of the year.

During the season Mufhasa won the Group One Waikato Sprint, the Group One Telegraph Handicap and the Group Two Coupland's Bakeries Mile.

He has had 11 wins from 23 career starts and won $NZ1,156,057 ($A923,995) in stakes.

The people's choice award also went to Mufhasa.

Nom Du Jeu won the champion stayer title.

James McDonald won both champion jockey and champion apprentice titles.

The youngster only started riding two years ago but in the past season he had 125 wins including the Group One New Zealand Oaks.

Mark Walker, who had 102 season wins, was an easy winner of the champion trainer title.

Jo Rathbone won the jumps jockey award and Great Northern Steeples winner Hypnotize was the jumper of the year.

Garry Chittick was breeder of the year after having six individual Group One winners for the season, while Gussy Godiva, dam of AJC Australian Derby winner Roman Emperor, was named broodmare of the year.

Stallion honours were divided between Zabeel, Volksraad and O'Reilly.