Horse Racing News
STAR West Australian stayer Miata took her record to 15 consecutive wins when she broke the track record in a heat of the Sandown Cup over 715 metres at Sandown in Melbourne on Thursday night. She didn’t just break the old record - she smashed it to smithereens. Jumping straight to the front Miata was never in trouble and won by 8-1/4 lengths in the amazing time of 41.17 sec. The previous track record of 41.54 sec. had been set by Lady Arko last August. So Miata’s time equates to about six lengths faster than that. It was a remarkable improvement on her win at the same track a week earlier when she fell in and recorded the moderate time of 42.39 sec. The win took her overall record to 27 starst for 24 wins, a second and a third. Her only unplaced run was when she was flattened from…
IN a tragic co-incidence a third "old-time" Australian Cup winner has died within a week. Roman Arch, a 50-1 winner of the race in 2006, has died after failing victim to an infection in a hind leg. Roman Arch hadn’t finished closer than ninth in his previous five starts before he edged out Candy Vale and Our Smoking Joe to win the 2000 metre WFA classic at Flemington. Only days previously the people’s champ Vo Rogue who won the race in 1989 and 1990 passed on at the age of 28 and Northerly who won the race in 2001 and 2003 succumbed to a bout of colic shortly after. Remarkably Vo Rogue also ran second in the 1988 and 1991 Australian Cup and Northerly ran second in the 2002 event. The three gallopers were all iron horses who had lengthy careers. Roman Arch almost reached the ton with a career…
SUPER sprinter Black Caviar stands poised to conquer the world after taking her unbeaten record to 21 with an effortless victory in The Goodwood at Morphettville today. The margin wasn’t great, she scored by only 1-1/2 lengths but it could be argued that there has never been an easier Group 1 victory in the history of racing. From the moment the gates opened jockey Luke Nolen had a stranglehold on his mount and he didn’t loosen his grip at any stage of the race. Nolen was happy to let Black Caviar stroll along three wide early on with the majority of the opposition quite obviously more concerned with enhancing their chances of the $85,000 cheque for second. By the midway mark Black Caviar had started to edge ahead of the field with the longshot Streetcar Magic trying to keep in touch rounding the home turn but his efforts were in…
POPULAR father/daughter harness racing team Alan and Amy Tubbs combined for their second Group 1 success in as many weeks when Brief Glance stormed home to snatch a remarkable win in the Vicbred Super Series 4yo trotters final at Tabcorp Park in Melton on Friday. The race looked all but over when favourite Elegant Image ($1.50 fav.) kicked clear in the closing stages and not much attention was being paid to Brief Glance ($16.10) who was three back on the fence entering the home straight. At that stage even the trainer was more interested in the horse’s action than his chances of winning. Brief Glance had established a bad reputation in his three starts from a spell where he had often gone off stride when under a little bit of pressure. After the race Alan Tubbs said: "That was amazing, I was just thinking keep trotting you bugger." Keep trotting…
Champion racehorse Black Caviar has drawn gate eight in this weekends $500,000 The Goodwood in Morphettville in Adelaide. With 20 wins in a row, Black Caviar is seeking to extend that streak to an incredible 21 wins in a row. 30 horses entered the signature sprint with only nine starters left when the final barriers were drawn on Tuesday. Mark Kavangh has two runners in the race with We're Gonna Rock (6) and Catapulted (2) in the 1200m Group 1 sprint race. Black Caviar will carry the top weight of 57kg which is only half a kilo above Catapulted. Three other runners, Weholdtheace (1), Stanzout (5) and Stirling Grove (4) on the limit of 54.5kg. Trainer of Black Caviar Peter Moody gave the green light for the champion to start in Adelaide following a satisfactory work-out at Caufield earlier on Tuesday morning. Following this weekends race, Black Caviar will continue…
KICK out your corgi, toss away your terrier, pack away your poodle and discard your daschund. If you are going to have a dog in your backyard you had better make it a greyhound. Interest in the speedy pooches is booming again as prizemoney for feasture races continues to soar. Just this week the Sandown Greyhound Racing Club announced that prizemoney for the 2012 Melbourne Cup has been lifted to a record breaking $500,000 in prize money with a first prize of $350,000. Regarded as Australia’s most prestigious greyhound race, the 2012 Melbourne Cup will be the richest greyhound race ever run. "The Melbourne Cup is our flagship event, and we are proud to elevate its prize money to a level never before seen in greyhound racing," said SGRC Chairman Geoff Dawson."With over $1,000,000 in prize money on offer throughout the November Superdogs series, this year’s edition of the Melbourne…
STICK that up your arse! That is almost certainly the call from the supporters of the game to the anti jumps brigade after a spectacular running of the Grand Annual Steeplechase at Warrnambool on Thursday. Unlike last year when there were squeals of protest after only two horses finished, 12 horses started this year and 12 finished. Partly ironically Awakening Dream, who finished second of the two to finish last year went one better this time although all of his 11 rivals completed the course. In front of a massive crowd that braved the wet weather, Awakening Dream was taken to the front midway by top jumps jockey Steve Pateman and he was always traveling like a winner. When the real racing started with about 1000 metres of the 5500 metres to travel Awakening Dreams stretched out in style and taking the last three of the 33 jumps beautifully, he…
BLACK and Bent’s record equaling win the Galleywood Hurdle at Warrnambool on Wednesday did more than equal the record for successive jumps victories, it probably also created a new record for trainer Robert Smerdon. It was Smerdon’s fourth win from as many jumps races to date at the Warrnambool Carnival after he scored a perfect three from three on Tuesday. He won the first two races on Tuesday with maiden hurdlers Brungle Cry and Kirribilly Gold then won the Brierley Steeple with Fareer. Historiajns were scratching their heads trying to think of any better performance on the first two days of the jumps festival. Unfortunately for Smerdon he will not have a chance to improve on that tally as he does not have a starter in Thursday’s feature event the Grand Annual. That could well prove a costly situation for Smerdon as the Warrnambool Club has an offer a mercedes…
