A clash with boom sprinter Nature Strip looms for triple Group One winner Shoals in the McEwen Stakes at Moonee Valley as the mare begins her path towards the $13 million The Everest. Shoals has a slot in next month's Everest (1200m) at Randwick and Saturday's weight-for-age McEwen (1000m) is one of two planned races[...]

Outright favouritism for the Group One Golden Rose will be up for grabs at Rosehill on Saturday when top fancies Graff and The Autumn Sun contest separate lead-up races. Chris Waller's unbeaten colt The Autumn Sun will make his seasonal return in the Stan Fox Stakes (1500m) while Newcastle three-year-old Graff will bid to extend[...]

After an encouraging season return in the Quezette Stakes, talented filly Thrillster will be out to further enhance her Thousand Guineas credentials in the Listed Atlantic Jewel Stakes at Moonee Valley. Thrillster was third to Sunlight in the Group Three Quezette (1100m) first-up at Caulfield on August 18. It was a performance that gave co-trainer[...]

Jockey James Orman's experience riding talented mare Sold For Song is expected to help offset her big weight at Doomben. Trainer Kevin Kemp has elected to use senior jockey Orman instead of a claiming apprentice. Sold For Song has not won since the Daybreak Lover Stakes in June 2016 but has earned her topweight of[...]

A lightly raced Japanese-bred stayer who Gai Waterhouse has Melbourne Cup hopes for will begin his campaign to qualify for Australia's most famous race when he makes his local debut at Moonee Valley. Hush Writer was taken to the Valley for a familiarisation gallop on Tuesday ahead of his first planned Australian start in a[...]

After weighing up his options, trainer Danny Williams will keep Don't Give A Damn away from Group racing for the time being. Williams is keen to get Don't Give A Dam to the Epsom Handicap but will give Saturday's Group Two Theo Marks Stakes (1300m) a miss in favour of the Benchmark 78 race on[...]

Debut winner Alexandra Dreaming is on target for her first attempt at a stakes race at Moonee Valley but trainer Henry Dwyer is likely to delay Group One-placed stablemate Snitty Kitty's return for a few weeks. Dwyer plans to start three-year-old filly Alexandra Dreaming in Saturday's Listed Atlantic Jewel Stakes (1200m) after her debut win[...]

The Victoria Racing Club is keen to push for more local representation in the Melbourne Cup which could one day lead to it offering an incentive for a locally bred winner. It comes on top of a record 50 international entries, up from 31, for this year's $7 million race at Flemington in November. Leigh[...]

For the first spring carnival since Hartnell has raced in Australia, the Melbourne Cup will not feature among the star import's targets. Hartnell has run in the past three Melbourne Cups with his best result third two years ago, but the eight-year-old has not been entered for either the Caulfield Cup or Melbourne Cup this[...]

Racing identities have paid tribute to Group One-winning trainer Kelso Wood who has died in Brisbane aged 72 after a long illness. Wood rarely had a large team but he was noted for the many top horses he was able to produce including Unequalled, Sizzling, Real Surreal, Sea Breeze, Prince Regent, Criquette and High Classic.[...]

Star mare Enable is set to make her first appearance for the season in the Group Three September Stakes at Kempton. Trained by John Gosden, Enable has been out of action since winning the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in October and next month's French showpiece is again the main target. “She's been fine and[...]

Back in Australia after a lengthy and successful Hong Kong stint, star jockey Brett Prebble is still keen for more success in the saddle. Prebble, who won the Melbourne jockeys' premiership in consecutive seasons in 1999-2000 and 2000-01, has been relicensed in Victoria and rode trackwork on Monday at Flemington before heading to Cranbourne for[...]

Last year's Australian Derby winner Jon Snow is on track for another Melbourne spring campaign after delighting his connections in his season return in New Zealand. The Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained Jon Snow finished fourth in Saturday's Group One Tarzino Trophy (1400m) at Hastings, won by Melody Belle, in his first start since last[...]

Osborne Bulls is building a formidable winning strike-rate and will be out to add to it when he races at Moonee Valley for the first time. The Godolphin-owned, James Cummings-trained gelding took his record to eight wins from 11 starts in the Listed Regal Roller Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on August 18, beating the Darren[...]

Buoyed by Ace High's return to form in the Chelmsford Stakes, trainer David Payne is looking forward to finding out whether Tarka and Toulouse can emulate their elder stablemate's three-year-old campaign. The winner of the 2017 Group One Spring Champion Stakes and Victoria Derby, Ace High got his Cups preparation back on track with his[...]

Dual New Zealand Horse of the Year Bonneval is back in Melbourne to launch her spring campaign at Moonee Valley in the same race she won first-up a year ago. Bonneval was last week crowned New Zealand's champion horse for the second-straight year, courtesy of her Australian Group One win in the Underwood Stakes at[...]

Popular New Zealand racehorse Gingernuts has been retired, almost a year after suffering a life-threatening leg injury as he was going to the barriers for the Emirates Stakes at Flemington. His jockey Michael Dee was walking him to the gates on November 11 when he felt something wrong and immediately jumped off. Gingernuts will live[...]