Promising Snitz earned himself a chance at the Country Championships in NSW when he won at Doomben. Snitz ($3.40), who was having his first run since September, finished too strongly to score his fourth win in eight starts. The Championship is for horses trained in NSW country areas and Snitz… Read More »
Michelle Fleming has managed to find her way to the winners’ stall at Rosehill despite never having been to a Sydney race meeting before. The Tamworth trainer brought The Lion south for Saturday’s TAB Highway (1100m) and capped a big week after two winners from three runners on her home… Read More »
Trainer Jenny Graham has never come to Sydney with two favourites before and for a nervous few moments it looked as if she would have a long trip home to Port Macquarie. After Awesome Pluck ran third in Saturday’s opening event at $2.10, Victorem lined up at the same price… Read More »
From a young age, Joe Ible was certain he would follow in his father’s footsteps and become a horse trainer. The 26-year-old Canberra trainer has come a long way in the past four years, with 10 horses in work and ambitious plans for gelding Major Sharpe who races at Randwick… Read More »
Grafton will host the first $150,00 heat of next year’s Country Championships series with Wyong to kick off the Provincial Series. The first country heat will be at the Northern Rivers club on February 12 with the Wyong race on February 23. The Country Championship final will be at Randwick… Read More »
Country Championship winner Clearly Innocent is closing in on his race return with trainer Greg Bennett pleased with his progress. The five-year-old, who hasn’t raced since winning the Listed Luskin Star Stakes (1300m) at Scone on May 14 after his big win at Randwick, will kick off his campaign in… Read More »
Explosive Scene’s second in a Highway Handicap on his last trip to Sydney is looking a lot better now and he will come back to try to improve on that effort. The five-year-old finished half a length behind King’s Officer – who has won four Sydney races in quick succession… Read More »
Rachel Murray has retained the ride Chrysolaus in the $400,000 Country Championship with trainer Jane Clement resisting calls from some more high profile jockeys. Chrysolaus won the Wild Card heat at Muswellbrook on Sunday to claim one of two final spots in Saturday’s field. Clement and Murray were a winning… Read More »
Jockey Aaron Bullock will get the chance to ride in the Country Championship final at Randwick after all. Bullock rode Pera Pera to win a heat of the series last week but the Mack Griffith-trained gelding will be ridden by premier Sydney jockey Hugh Bowman in the final. Justin Stanley,… Read More »
An outburst directed at a steward has cost Greg Ryan the chance to ride in the $400,000 Country Championship at Randwick. Second on the all-time Australian winners’ list only to Robert Thompson, Ryan pleaded guilty to insulting behaviour towards Shane Cullen, chief steward for the Hunter and North West region… Read More »
Profiler and Ultimate Dreamer will both head to Sydney for the $400,000 Country Championship after running one-two in the series heat at Grafton. Trained by Stephen Lee at Ballina, Profiler ($4.80) held out Ultimate Dreamer ($5) by a short neck on Sunday. Lee was thrilled with the effort and particularly… Read More »
Another Valley and Ever So Natural have booked their tickets to the $400,000 Country Championship at Randwick by running one-two in the Taree heat of the series. Prepared by veteran trainer Bob Milligan and ridden by Grant Buckley, Another Valley ($12) wore down the leaders to claim Ever So Natural… Read More »
Trainer Danny Williams has seven of the 28 entries for the first regional heat of the Country Championships at Goulburn. The first two home in Saturday’s $100,000 heat gain entry to the $400,000 final at Randwick on April 2. The highest-rated of the Williams team is Shutter Bug, a dead-heat… Read More »
All Summer Long has put himself in trainer Greg Bennett’s team for the Country Championships with victory in the Highway Handicap at Randwick. The astute Scone trainer hopes to have four runners in the heat of the Country Championships to be held in his own back yard on February 20…. Read More »
While many trainers are using the Highway handicaps as a stepping stone to the Country Championships, Matthew Dale has higher ambitions for Bitburg. The Canberra trainer brought the three-year-old to Rosehill on Saturday for his fourth start and the gelding delivered to keep his unbeaten record intact. The $250,000 Inglis… Read More »
