Prince Alby improved from a game effort in last weekend’s Gr.3 Winter Cup (1600m) at Riccarton to charge home out wide and win the major flat event at the venue on Saturday, the Heatstore Open Handicap (1800m).
New Zealand-bred mare Travelling Kate has put retirement plans on hold with a purple patch of form, which she continued with a hard-fought win in Saturday’s A$160,000 ACY Securities Handicap (1800m) at Rosehill.
Former Cambridge Stud stallion Tavistock played a starring role at Moonee Valley on Saturday with a quinella in the Ladbrokes Racing Club Challenger Handicap (2040m), headed by emerging four-year-old Superstock.
A change of stable environment seems to have worked the oracle for talented mare Jodelin Gal as she made her way back into the winners’ enclosure at Te Rapa on Saturday when successful in the Waikato Stud Foxbridge Plate Day 26 August (1200m).
Awapuni trainer Mark Oulaghan provided the highlight of the final day of the Riccarton Grand National meeting as he produced a winning double in the feature jumps events with stablemates West Coast and Berry The Cash.
Riccarton Park has been a happy hunting ground for the I See Red Syndicate and the large contingent hope to add to their Grand National Hurdle-winning record with talented hurdler Suliman this Saturday.
Trainer Steven Woodsford may not have got the result he wanted with Louie Louie in the Gr.3 Winter Cup (1600m) last weekend, but he is hoping for a consolation prize when he returns to Riccarton with the gelding on Saturday.
Matamata mare Anela will be trying to book her passage to Hastings next month when she heads to Te Rapa on Saturday to contest the Fairview Motors 1400.
Cliff Goss will head to Te Rapa on Saturday full of confidence that he can pull off another jackpot result with his gifted mare Casino Princess.
Bruce Sarginson has always held ambitions of becoming a trainer and at Riccarton’s synthetic meeting on Wednesday he recorded his first win in that role.
Dawn Parade has often left trainer Tony Pike scratching his head, but his last two performances have been more in line with the talent he possesses.
Howie Mathews is hoping he can come up roses at Awapuni on Friday when he takes three runners to the Palmerston North synthetic meeting.
