James Winks called up for Douro Valley ride in Doomben Cup Hong Kong-based jockey James Winks will ride the Danny O'Brien-trained Douro Valley in Saturday's Doomben Cup in Brisbane. Winks is currently 19th on the HK jockey premiership with 8 winners and 18 placegetters from 163 rides.Why did Swiss Ace, the 2/1 equal fav, flop in the BTC Cup? He was found to be "coughing" after the race.There's growing unrest at the management of racing in Victoria. Racing Minister Rob Hulls has been ac
James Winks called up for Douro Valley ride in Doomben Cup
Hong Kong-based jockey James Winks will ride the Danny O'Brien-trained Douro Valley in Saturday's Doomben Cup in Brisbane. Winks is currently 19th on the HK jockey premiership with 8 winners and 18 placegetters from 163 rides.
Why did Swiss Ace, the 2/1 equal fav, flop in the BTC Cup? He was found to be "coughing" after the race.
There's growing unrest at the management of racing in Victoria. Racing Minister Rob Hulls has been accused of meddling in the jumps crisis, and a report in The Age says he telephoned RVL boss Rob Hines shortly before Hines suspended jumps racing after fatal falls at Warrnambool last week. Critics are pointing to the Geelong thorotrack debacle and asking why Hulls and Hines are not being held more accoutable for that financial disaster?
The Age says: ' (Hines) own track record is mediocre at best after the failure of the Geelong all-weather track.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Hong Kong shock...Aussie Jamie Stier quits chief steward job
Jamie Stier stunned Hong Kong racing on Saturday with the announcement that he will step down as the Hong Kong Jockey Club's chief stipendiary steward at the end of the current racing season, reports the Sth China Morning Post. It says the 45yo Australian will complete 11 years on the stewards' panel after the 78th meeting of the current term on July 1. He has been chief steward for the last 6-1/2 years. Stier says: 'There is a lifespan to a job like this and we've formed the view that I might have reached the end of that lifespan, so I've decided to stand down at the end of this season.'
Not another one! Blake Shinn is out until May 29 after copping yet another suspension at Doomben. It means he'll miss the Doomben Cup and Doomben 10,000 meetings over the next two weeks. He was found guilty of careless riding on the Gai Waterhouse-trained Rabbuka in the Chairman's Handicap. He was also fined $500...His suspension begins on Thursday and expires on May 29.
Cummings Jnr relieved man after Duporth scrapes home
Anthony Cummings was a relieved man after Duporth's close victory in the BTC Cup. He declared Duporth was due for a change of luck, branding the 3YO colt's autumn campaign a 'tragedy greater than Macbeth.' AC was close to despair as Duporth went across the finish line locked together with Bank Robber and Apache Cat. He says: 'I thought he had run second or third...He hasn't had much luck in a number of the bigger races...I set my sights on winning the Newmarket in Melbourne with him and if he had got the gap he would have run a clear second.' Previously winner of the Golden Rose (Grp 2) and San Domenico (Grp 3), Duporth's overall record now stands at 3 wins and a 3rd from 12 starts for earnings of $1,123,625.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
UK import Speed Gifted zooms into spring Cups contention
He didn't beat much but the way he did it was eye-catching...That's how it was for the UK import Speed Gifted in taking out the 1620m AGL Trophy at Flemington. Unfancied at around 13/1, the 5YO Montjeu gelding produced a sizzling final 200m to win easily at his first start since arriving from Britain and going into the stable of Lee Freedman. Speed Gifted won at 2400m to 2800m in the UK and is being set for a crack at this year's Caulfield and Melbourne Cups.
Anthony Cummings has big plans for Duporth, narrow winner of the BTC Cup at Doomben. He will aim him at the big Brisbane sprints, the Doomben 10,000 and Stradbroke Handicap. Jockey Luke Nolen says Duporth will be 'better suited back in a handicap' in the Stradbroke. Apache Cat (3rd) lost no admirers when he just failed to record a second successive win in the WFA race. He appeared reluctant to really stretch out between horses and only began to hit top gear close to the line.
The jumps racing crisis: Jockeys consider compromise deal
The poorly-handled jumps racing crisis is set to worsen and take new turns...Reports say some jockeys are after a compromise deal to ban hurdle racing and retain steeplechase events in Victoria...They believe outlawing of hurdle racing is the answer to the crisis. They say the tiny jumps now used in hurdle racing are its greatest problem. They say horses approach the small jumps too quickly.
There are also plans to strongly resist a jumps racing shutdown. The Australian Jumps Racing Association is threatening a massive class action against Racing Victoria. Association president Rodney Rae has attacked Victorian Racing Minister Rob Hulls, accusing him of a vendetta against the sport and claiming he has been applying political pressure to ban it. There is also mounting criticism of RVL boss Rob Hines's role in the issue.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Noonan undecided on Stradbroke bid by Ortensia
Melbourne trainer Tony Noonan is still undecided on a Stradbroke run for his smart filly Ortensia. She'll have her first Brisbane outing in the Glenlogan Park Stakes (Listed) at Doomben on Saturday week. TN says: 'She's settled in really well and her work up in Brisbane has been first-class so far...She will run next Saturday providing the track is not sloppy wet...I'm still thinking of running her in the Stradbroke but I she may end up in a race like the Winter Stakes.'
Don't miss the JUNE issue of PRACTICAL PUNTING MONTHLY with Takeover Target on the front cover...Inside there are great articles by Roman Kozlovski, Prentice Manetter, William 'Bad Bill' McBride, Brian Blackwell and Julian Mould.
Go your own way...South Australia snubs Victoria anti-jumps push
Go your own way...As Racing Victoria, egged on by the State Labor Govt, decides whether to ditch a massive financial component of the racing industry, jumps racing, South Australian racing authorities have decided to ignore the Victorian anti-jumps campaign and are pressing ahead with Saturday's hurdle race at Morphettville.
Gai gives thumbs-up for new AJC committee
Gai Waterhouse reckons the AJC is 'back on track' again after a rocky couple of years. She says: 'I'm happy with the AJC board...They've got rid of a bit of dead wood...it has received a complete new lease of life...I think we'll see huge changes at the AJC, and for the better...On Tuesday, the directors and executives had a brainstorming session which went for 10 hours...It has never happened before.'
Jay Ford is OK after that race fall at Canterbury on Wednesday. He was riding trackwork at Randwick the next morning. He says: 'It was a soft landing.' JF flies out of Sydney next Wednesday for the ride on Takeover Target in the KrisFlyer in Singapore on Sunday week.
Ecstasy and the agony...Melbourne jockey Jamie Mott has been banned for six months for using illegal drugs for the second time in a year. He's the first rider to be suspended in Victoria for having ecstasy on his bloodstream.