Jockey Warren Kennedy produced a daring ride aboard progressive stayer Nest Egg at Te Rapa on Saturday, which paved the way for a victory that showed he is on track for a tilt at the Gr.3 Martin Collins New Zealand Cup (3200m) next month.
Trainer Peter Didham has found himself in an enviable position after promising mare Kana finally got the raceday luck she deserved to run out an impressive six-length winner over 1200m at Trentham on Saturday.
Talented five-year-old mare Wrote To Arataki has added further black-type to her record when leading throughout to land the Gr.2 Tristarc Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday.
Awapuni trainer Lisa Latta celebrated her fifth win in the Gr.3 Gee & Hickton Funeral Directors Thompson Handicap (1600m) when Diss Is Dramatic scored an emphatic victory in Saturday’s $100,000 feature at Trentham.
A wide draw and an energy-sapping fast pace were not enough to stop Johny Johny in Saturday’s Gr.3 Sweynesse Stakes (1200m) at Te Rapa.
Saturday’s Gr.2 James and Annie Sarten Memorial (1400m) at Te Rapa was an eagerly anticipated clash between a number of up-and-coming talents, but it turned into a tour de force by New Zealand’s most exciting three-year-old.
Warwick Farm trainer Clarry Conners breathed a sigh of relief after talented four-year-old Peace Officer proved too strong in the Midway Handicap (1400m) at Randwick on Saturday, providing jockey Aaron Bullock with a race-to-race double.
It was another bumper payday for the connections of former South Island galloper Palmetto who prevailed in a narrow-three-way finish in the A$1 million Five Diamonds Prelude (1500m) at Randwick on Saturday.
Fresh from Think About It’s victory in the A$20 million The Everest (1200m), Warwick Farm trainer Joe Pride has earned a tilt at another lucrative feature when King Of The Castle prevailed in the Big Dance Wild Card (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday.
A supreme ride from jockey Blake Shinn aided smart three-year-old filly Coeur Volante to make it back-to-back stakes victories when running out a resounding winner of the Gr.2 Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday.
Two weeks after a forgettable trip to Flemington, Group One-winning New Zealand mare Skew Wiff will have a second attempt at an Australian debut in Saturday’s Gr.2 Sharp EIT Tristarc Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.
On the anniversary of the biggest win of his career so far, classy New Zealand-bred gelding Mr Maestro will race in black-type company on Caulfield Cup Day again in 2023 – this time in his first run back from an injury lay-off.
