There were 78,500 people at Flemington on Melbourne Cup day 1976. Those still living, hold indelible memories of their visit to the historic course on the day mother nature threw a tantrum.
From the moment Front Page walked nonchalantly onto Geoff Duryea’s three horse angle loader at Corowa last Thursday, the trainer wondered what could possibly go wrong this time.
Ian Craig and I stood side by side at a television monitor to watch the running of the race bearing our names at Randwick on Saturday. We were mutually chuffed to see Opal Ridge plough through the testing ground for an easy win.
“To use Rugby League jargon he needed a full season of first grade under his belt to make a real horse of him,” was John O’Shea’s assessment of Lost And Running after the gelding’s gutsy win in Saturday’s Premiere Stakes.
Authors have been writing books about the deeds of champion Australian racehorses for two centuries. None have attacked the task with more energy and purpose than Lynlea Small…
Two aggressive rides brought Regan Bayliss a Gr 2 double at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday. His confidence was buoyed by the fact that he was riding two very fit horses in Nimalee and Surf Dancer
It was Wednesday morning August 24th. Robert Price and his wife Patricia were halfway through a rare seven day break at Noosa Heads when the phone call came from son and co trainer Luke.
For Cassie Schmidt, a win in the G&R Timber Merchants Peter Schumacher Memorial Maiden with Gulf Of Tomini beat the heck out of any Group 2 victory at Moonee Valley.
Some time ago Steve Hart called in on talented jockey Jenny Duggan who was waiting for a medical clearance to resume riding after an injury enforced layoff.
A sombre mood has prevailed around Kerry Parker’s Kembla Grange stables these past eight weeks. Kerry and his team are still dealing with the massive disappointment of losing stable superstar Think It Over on the eve of the fabulously rich spring carnival.
The weekly TAB Highways have become something of a holy grail for NSW country trainers. Goulburn’s Tash Burleigh was beginning to think she’d never win one of the darn things.
I’ve often wondered how a trainer like Chris Waller views a race in which he has multiple representation. With just twenty horses in work David Payne rarely has that problem, although he found himself with a duo to watch in Saturday’s BM78 at Rosehill.
I was deeply saddened to learn of Bruce Cox’s passing last Friday evening at age 84. Bruce was my race day assistant. He painstakingly recorded the details of every race and answered phone calls from stewards, race club staff or the television and radio stations we were servicing on the day.
Ron Quinton is as sentimental as the next bloke when it comes to the important milestones in his long and distinguished career. The legendary horseman saddled up only one member of his twenty horse team on Saturday, and that was Miss Mya.
Veteran trainer Charlie Porter shakes his head in disbelief every time he watches Mr Polar race past the post in front. The gelding did exactly that at Gosford on Saturday, when he led most of the way to win the last of seven races on a Heavy 10 track.
It’s starting to look like Melanie O’Gorman was fated to own So Country from the outset. That certainly wasn’t her intention when she secured the son of Shamexpress for $100,000 at the 2019 Classic Yearling Sale.
A win with Lights On The Hill at Moruya on Friday put Jamie Stewart in the right frame of mind for the long trip to Rosehill with Iconic Dame the following morning.
