The Villiers Stakes has been a happy hunting ground for Queensland trainers in recent years, a trend Steven O'Dea is hoping to continue. O'Dea will saddle up Doubt Defying who will bid to become the third Queensland-trained winner of the Villiers (1600m) in the past five years, following in the hoof prints of Rudy in[...]

Trainer Robert Heathcote will have one runner at Doomben but is hoping the predicted wet weather means it will be a winning one. Noted wet tracker No Annamossity, a three-quarter brother to the Heathcote-trained champion sprinter Buffering, contests Saturday's Listed Lough Neagh Stakes (1350m). The track is likely to be rain-affected although the predictions for[...]

The Hunter Valley's Newgate Farm looks to have a stranglehold on the Inglis Nursery with an interest in three leading chances for the $500,000 race. Newgate are shareholders in both the favourite Strasbourg and equal second elect Enforcement. They also have a vested interest in Blazing Miss, who shares the second line of betting and[...]

Levi Kavanagh is hoping the potential Kentucky Breeze showed as a spring three-year-old can again shine through at Flemington a year later. Kentucky Breeze shot to prominence at his second start, accounting for accomplished horses Muraaqeb and Sircconi in a Listed race on the final day of the 2017 Melbourne Cup carnival. After taking more[...]

A solid trial performance indicates Granny Red Shoes is set to cast off the “Caulfield curse” when she returns to clockwise racing at Doomben. The filly returns against a top class field in Saturday's Listed Gold Edition Plate (1200m) at Doomben and on her best form should be competitive. Granny Red Shoes will be having[...]

It could soon be easier for Australian horses to again race in Hong Kong with Barry O'Farrell giving the Conghua training facility the tick of approval. The chief executive of Racing Australia, O'Farrell has been part of a group of international racing officials given a tour of the complex on mainland China. The centre has[...]

Chris Munce has returned to his day job ahead of the Doomben meeting after making a cameo reappearance as a jockey. Munce rode 43 Group One winners during his long career in the saddle but has been training since January 2015 with plenty of success including a double at the metropolitan standard Beaudesert meeting on[...]

Trainer Stuart Kendrick is faced with a delicate balancing act as he decides whether to run honest mare Hingus Rose in the Listed Lough Neagh Stakes at Doomben. Hingus Rose has drawn barrier 13 in a field of 14 and on a good track would start long odds. Although she has won three times on[...]

The permitted use of Regumate in NSW means Victorian mare Aloisia will take her place in a stakes race at Randwick. The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Aloisia runs in Saturday's Group Two Villiers Stakes (1600m). Regumate contains altrenogest which was responsible for horses trained by Robbie Laing and father-and-son training team Russell and Scott[...]

Muraahib could join a couple of fellow Shadwell Stud-owned stablemates on a trip to Dubai if successful at Flemington. Muraaqeb and Eshtiraak are already confirmed Dubai contenders with Faatinah a possibility to join the pair. Faatinah competed successfully at the Dubai carnival earlier in the year at lesser meetings ahead of the World Cup meeting[...]

In a perfect world, Cradle Mountain would not be making his stakes race debut in the Razor Sharp at Randwick. Trainer Clare Cunningham is more comfortable taking a conservative approach with her horses, but a lack of suitable races has forced her hand and Cradle Mountain will take his place in Saturday's Listed 1200m-handicap. “There[...]

Veteran rider Peter Cullen has become the first person in Queensland to be granted a dual jockey and trainer licence. The Queensland Racing Integrity Commission on Wednesday granted Cullen the dual licence which was made possible by an amendment to the Thoroughbred Licensing Scheme last month. Cullen comes from one of the best known country[...]

A stablehand banned over the ‘Aquanita eight' doping scandal denies being involved in giving horses “top-ups” on race days. After being subpoenaed to give evidence to four trainers' appeals over their disqualifications, float driver Daniel Garland denied administering sodium bicarbonate to horses on race day. Garland said he never took syringes with sodium bicarb to[...]

Simon Zahra is banking on the recuperative powers of Flemington from a summer soaking to help two of the stable's runners in a straight race for mares. Essence Of Terror and Smart Coupe line up for Zahra and co-trainer Mathew Ellerton in Saturday's Wingate Avenue Community Centre Trophy (1100m). Saturday's meeting is the first at[...]

Port Macquarie trainer Jenny Graham's Brisbane campaign has taken a sharp turn for the better and she hopes it is a sign of a stakes win at Doomben. Graham has a team of six horses in Brisbane for the summer and she struck her first win with Awesome Pluck at Doomben last Saturday. She followed[...]

The much-travelled Robbie Fradd has picked up some key rides for leading trainer Chris Waller for his return to Brisbane racing at Doomben. Originally from South Africa, Fradd has ridden with success in many centres and was running second in the Brisbane metropolitan premiership when he took up a contract in Mauritius in May. He[...]