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Sultan sitting out the spring

Trainer Shaune Ritchie has made the call to tip consistent performer Sultan of Swing out for a spell. “He has gone for a break,” Ritchie said. “He has done a terrific job and has been in work for almost a year. We spaced his races and he ran through that whole winter period, his form is impeccable.” Despite a runner-up finish at his last start in the Gr.1 Windsor Park Plate (1600m), Ritchie saw signs the seven-year-old gelding had come to the end of his preparation. “When he went to t...

The Bostonian chasing Everest slot

Cambridge trainer Tony Pike is aiming to secure a spot in the A$14 million The Everest (1200m) on Saturday when his quality sprinter The Bostonian contests the Gr.2 Schillaci Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield. The Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) will run the Schillaci Stakes as the last race on a 10-event card on Saturday with the winner receiving a golden ticket to The Everest the following week. The MRC will give winning connections until midday on Sunday to decide whether they want to take up their spo...

Group Two goal for Te Teko winner

There was no rest on the Sabbath for Jamie Richards despite having plenty to celebrate after a history making Saturday of racing. Richards, who was not on hand to see Melody Belle record her ninth Group One win and become the first horse to win the Hawke’s Bay Triple Crown, flew back from Sydney on Saturday night after Probabeel and Te Akau Shark both finished runner-up in their respective Group One tests at Randwick.   The Te Akau trainer then travelled to Te Teko on Sunday with four run...

Trelawney grad facing G1 test

Star Of The Seas is one of three New Zealand-bred horses Chris Waller will line up in Saturday's Gr.1 Epsom (1600m) at Randwick. The son of Ocean Park is rated a $19 winning chance by bookmakers. “Star of The Seas has been set for the race for some time,” Waller said. “He had no luck a fortnight ago (when finishing unplaced in the Bill Ritchie Handicap). “Fortunately he has found his way into the race. He has drawn a little bit awkwardly (barrier 14), but Michael Dee is a good rider un...

Emperor spelling

Talented three-year-old Holy Mongolemperor has gone for a spell and will not contest the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton, for which he is the $8 second favourite behind Catalyst ($1.80). The Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained colt by More Than Ready was hindered by a minor infection in a hind leg and the decision was made to pull pin on his current campaign. “He has gone to the paddock today and will come back with a view to summer and autumn targets,” Baker sa...

Heir of Tavistock strikes at Bendigo

Heir of Tavistock scored his second career win on Thursday under a patient ride from Damien Thornton at Bendigo.The four-year-old gelding was backing up off a last-start runner-up finish at Echuca a fortnight ago and went one better to win the BET365 Odds Drift Protector BM58 (1600m).Heir of Tavistock travelled sweetly on the rail with Lane biding his time till a gap presented itself coming onto the straight. Once urged forward the pair went on to win comfortably by half a length."He was probabl...

Pike duo pull-up well

Cambridge trainer Tony Pike is happy with the way his three-year-old fillies Loire and Kali have pulled up after Saturday’s Gr.3 Hawke’s Bay Breeders’ Gold Trail Stakes (1200m). Pike was particularly pleased with the Trelawney Stud-race Loire’s performance to finish third and believes she will be suited to stepping up to the mile of Novembers’s Gr.1 gavelhouse.com NZ 1000 Guineas. “Loire has come through it in superb order, it was a really good run,” he said. “We knew 1200m was s...

Pike pleased with Bostonian

Tony Pike was pleased with The Bostonian’s jump out at Flemington on Friday morning ahead of his first-up assignment in the Gr.1 Moir Stakes (1000m) at Moonee Valley on Friday. “He’s trialled up super and has travelled really well,” Pike said. “Damian (Lane, jockey) was really impressed, he hadn’t sat on him before.  “He was pretty sharp, Brave Song was in the heat and he’s a pretty established sprinter over there in Melbourne.  “I couldn’t be happier heading into...

Loire leads Trelawney group race hopefuls

Cambridge trainer Tony Pike will saddle promising filly Loire in Saturday's Gr.3 Hawke's Bay Breeders’ Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) at Hastings. The Trelawney Stud bred and co-owned three-year-old is coming off a terrific age-group performance on the first day of the carnival where she finished third in the Listed Sir Colin Meads Trophy (1200m). Pike was happy with Redoute's Choice filly who Brent and Cherry Taylor race with good friend Kate Plaw, but said she was already looking for more distanc...

Keith & Faith Taylor Equine Scholarship recipients announced

Two students will attend the Irish National Stud in 2020 to complete the breeding diploma on the Keith and Faith Taylor Family Equine Scholarship administered by the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders' Association. Shannon Taylor, NZTBA councillor and Sunline Education Trust trustee, said the applicants this year were the best she has seen in her tenure. “They were an amazing, talented group of young people and it is very heartening to see so many young people working in the thoroughbred indust...

The Bostonian on target for Australian Group One

Class sprinter The Bostonian will head to Melbourne on Wednesday as he gets ready to tackle the Gr.1 Moir Stakes (1000m) at Moonee Valley on September 27. Trainer Tony Pike is pleased with how the Jimmy Choux five-year-old has come through his winter break after a successful Queensland campaign that saw him strike twice at Group One level in the Doomben 10,000 (1200m) and Kingsford-Smith Cup (1300m). “He is looking a picture and has really wintered well,” Pike said. “Last season he didn’...

Second win for Excelida

Excelida brought up win number five for the Lindsay Park Racing operation at Pakenham on Tuesday when successful in the final race on the card. Excelida races in the familiar silks of Cambridge Stud proprietors Brendan and Jo Lindsay, who purchased her out of Trelawney Stud's 2018 Inglis Easter draft. It was the three-year-old filly's fifth career start and she was coming off a runner-up finish at Morphettville in August, and had won on the Pakenham track the start previous to that. "It was a cl...

Concert Hall to kick off spring campaign

Quality five-year-old mare Concert Hall (Savabeel x Classic Legacy) will have her first start of the season in the Celebrating Melody Belle 1400 at Ellerslie She had her first hit-out of the season at the Taupo trials on August 21, but her spring assignments are likely to be closer to home. “She was there (Taupo) for a day out and it really improved her,” co-trainer Robert Wellwood said. “She is still on the way up and if she comes up in the right fashion she has got a couple of nice race...

Telegraph tilt on the cards for Emily Margaret

Last season’s New Zealand Bloodstock Southern Filly of the Year Emily Margaret (Pins x Seven Schillings) will kick-off her season in the gavelhouse.com Open Handicap (1000m) at Riccarton on Saturday. The Kevin and Pam Hughes-trained mare won four of her 11 starts last term, including the Listed Canterbury Belle Stakes (1200m), Listed NZB Insurance Stakes (1400m), and Gr.2 Wellington Guineas (1400m). “I was very pleased with her last season,” Kevin Hughes said. “She was very brave and get...

Weekend Racing sign of things to come

Though there were no winners, Trelawney Stud horses acquitted themselves well over the weekend with several running in the money and marking themselves as horses to watch this season. Holy Mongolemperor (More Than Ready x Raziyya of Sydney) resumed at Hawkes Bay and flew home late to finish runner up in the ATI Engineering 1200. It was a super start to his three-year-old season and he should progress nicely from there for trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman.  Bred by Trelawney Stud, Ho...

Sultan on song for Hawke's Bay

Shaune Ritchie heads to Hawke’s Bay on Saturday where his runners include in-form galloper Sultan Of Swing who steps out in the Reliable Man Trophy (1600m) from barrier three for apprentice Taiki Yanagida. “The barrier is probably irrelevant to him because he has been racing well over a mile by being ridden cold, so he will probably get back and swoop,” Ritchie said. “He has had a bit of time between races. He had a week off after his last run and they cancelled the Open 1500m race at E...

Trelawney Stud graduate gets choice win

Wild Choice (Shamexpress x Exquisite Choice) broke through for a well-deserved maiden victory at Mornington on Tuesday. The Richard Laming-trained three-year-old had placed in each of his previous three starts and was backing up off a runner-up finish at Cranbourne nine days ago.Wild Choice showed his intentions early in the Eliza Dry Cleaning Maiden Plate (1200m) on Tuesday, jumping swiftly as the gates opened and taking his spot as the early leader under a hold from jockey Michael Walker....

Duncan chasing immediate success in Australia

Hunterville trainer Ken Duncan has stepped into new territory with his fine steeplechaser Shamal set to race at Ballarat on Sunday. Duncan will start the nine-year-old Trelawney Stud-bred Zabeel gelding in the Grand National Steeplechase (4500m) with regular rider Buddy Lammas in the saddle. “It’s the first time I’ve had one over here in Australia so it is all part of a learning curve,” Duncan said. “I’ve always wanted to bring one over, but never had one good enough. I mightn’t ha...

2018/2019 Racing Season Summary

Trelawney Stud graduates had an outstanding 2018/19 season on the racetrack amassing 120 wins from 60 individual winners in five different racing jurisdictions. There were 9 horses to win at stakes level, including dual Queensland Group One winner The Bostonian (Jimmy Choux x Keepa Cheval) who was born and raised at Trelawney Stud, and Gr.1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) winner Grunt (O’Reilly x Ruqqaya) who was bred, raised and sold by the farm. Emily Margaret (Pins x Seven Schillings) was anothe...

Moonee Valley win for More Than Ever

More Than Ever (More Than Ready x Danalaga) headed to Moonee Valley on Saturday chasing his third straight win and duly delivered. The five-year-old gelding was coming off two consecutive wins at Morphettville and trainer Tony McEvoy was confident leading into the race that More Than Ever was up to the Melbourne city test. Ridden by Jamie Kah, More Than Ever settled mid-field on the rail in the Chandler MacLeod Handicap (2500m) and despite her rivals setting chase after pacemaker San Remo, Kah k...

More Than Ever chasing third-straight win

It has taken a long time but trainer Tony McEvoy believes lightly raced gelding More Than Ever is finally starting to fulfil his staying potential. The five-year-old has been restricted to 10 starts with McEvoy saying he had not been able to get him out to the distances he had wanted to in previous campaigns because of niggling issues. But McEvoy has been able to extend the gelding's campaign this time around and off the back of two-straight wins in Adelaide over 2000m and 2400m, the trainer has...

Strap Marks continues winning run

The Trelawney Stud bred and owned Strap Marks (Jimmy Choux x Dominatrix) brought up his second consecutive win when successful in Singapore on Sunday night. The five-year-old gelding was having just his fourth start as his career had been hindered by injury preventing him from racing till this year, though the delay looks to have worked in his favour. Trained by Stephen Gray, Strap Marks jumped well in the Debt Collector 2016 Stakes (1200m) and travelled keenly on the rail for jockey Joseph Azzo...

Duric expecting cheeky run from War Affair

Champion jockey Vlad Duric said he would not be surprised if former Singapore champion War Affair (O'Reilly x Kristique) shows “some cheek” in the S$175,000 Gr.3 Jumbo Jet Trophy (1400m) on Sunday. It’s the first time Duric will partner Trelawney Stud graduate War Affair, but the two-time Singapore champion jockey has been seen working him of late. While it’s not the same 2014 Singapore Horse of the Year who left his rivals in his dust then, Duric felt there was still a spark in the eng...

Shamal strikes

A small field of five runners did battle in the Win the Group 2 Waikato Guineas Steeplechase (3900m) on Saturday and it was Waikato Steeplechase winner Shamal who took the honours.Punters sent out impressive last start winner It’s A Wonder favourite, with topweight Shamal carrying a deserved notable amount more than his race rivals.It’s A Wonder set a solid tempo for most of the event until down the back straight for the final time. Shamal, with regular rider Buddy Lammas aboard, coasted up ...

Lindsay Park unveil 'flying machine'

The Lindsay Park-trained Excelida (Exceed And Excel x Lady Sayyida) broke her maiden in the most emphatic of styles on Pakenham’s synthetic track on Friday.The two-year-old filly sauntered clear of the field under a hands and heels Jamie Kah ride to score by seven and a half lengths. Kah was suitably impressed with the filly, who is set to reappear as a three-year-old in city races next month. "I gave her a gallop on Monday and thought, 'geez this thing absolutely flies' and I was su...