'Reckless' Oliver out to Melbourne Cup day
Damien Oliver has denied a charge of reckless riding on Flying Artie in the Blue Sapphire at Caulfield on Saturday.
Damien Oliver has denied a charge of reckless riding on Flying Artie in the Blue Sapphire at Caulfield on Saturday.
The Australian boss of the world's biggest racing operation has blamed local owners raiding European sales for prospective cups candidates as the reason for the shallow pool of horses left for the country's biggest spring races.
In some ways for Chris Waller, Preferment has been a dream horse from the time he got him, but going into Saturday's Caulfield Cup, his best chance is away from the four-time group 1 and Australian stayer of the year.
Flying Artie showed off his obvious talent wining the Blue Sapphire at Caulfield on Wednesday but it was the flaws in the performance that had trainer Mick Price concerned.
A relatively obscure race on the west coast of Scotland more than a year ago could hold the key to this year's Caulfield Cup.
Canberra trainer Keith Dryden has been in the industry for so long he can't remember if he has won a Queanbeyan Cup.
Ciaron Maher ticked off another box in what has been a near-perfect preparation for favourite Jameka when she drew barrier 13 for the Caulfield Cup on Tuesday.
Racing Victoria, the central body of racing in this state, will miss out on possibly millions of dollars of overseas betting revenue, that will instead be allocated to the VRC , the home of the Melbourne Cup.
In a stellar year of three-year-old sprinters Caulfield trainer Mick Price already has a major player, Extreme Choice, and after Wednesday's Blue Sapphire at his home track, he thinks Flying Artie will make it two.
He's one of the best connected and most expensive horses to ever land in Australia.
As those close to the powerful international contingent that are aiming for Saturday's $2.5 million Caulfield Cup were putting the finishing touches on their charges , senior racing officials were remaining confident that the European based group will dominate one of Australia's most important Handicaps
Brenton Avdulla's life as a jockey started at Caulfield as a 15-year-old, a decade on he returns to the track with his best chance of winning its premier race for the world's biggest racing operation.
Godolphin trainer John O'Shea has decided to reacquaint Hartnell with Moonee Valley on Thursday morning as part of his preparation to challenge Winx in the Cox Plate.
Melbourne Cup winner Prince Of Penzance is recovering from surgery on what is almost certainly a career-ending leg injury.
Goulburn trainer Scott Collings is licking his lips about the prospect of a wet Queanbeyan track.
The chairman of the Melbourne Racing Club has hit back at suggestions that this year's renewal of the $3 million race will lack quality and drama because it lacks a star galloper and may not have a capacity 18 horse field.
Lee Freedman has learned a bit about travelling horses and it is attention to detail that makes the difference for Caulfield Cup contender Exospheric – and that comes down to feed.
Articus was specked in betting at $51 early on and is now on the fourth line of betting at $11.
World champion sprinter Chautauqua is one of a number of high-class sprinters nominated for Perth's $1 million weight-for-age Winterbottom Stakes in November.
Rosemont Stud boss Anthony Mithen knows the commercial reality of breeding is "fast horse, fast return", but he has to level it against the reason he fell in love with racing – to win a Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup.
A betting option trumpeted by wagering operators to add interest to a three-horse race featuring wonder mare Winx will not be permitted in NSW in the autumn.
The Caulfield Cup, one of the great handicaps of the Australian turf, could have its first non-capacity field since Leilani won it in 1974 as trainers look for different options to get into the Melbourne Cup.
For Kerrin McEvoy pulling on the Godolphin blue, when he rides Scottish, will bring back years of good memories and he thinks he can add another one in Saturday's Caulfield Cup.
Michelle Payne's dream of defending her Melbourne Cup crown on Prince of Penzance might now be over following the horse's serious leg injury – but could another young woman jockey, Kate Mallyon, follow in her hoofprints and take out Australia's greatest race just 12 months later?
Racing Victoria are poised to add considerable financial aid to distance races in the future.
With 12 straight wins and a career total of eight at group 1 level Australian wonder mare Winx is starting to take on the characteristics of Pegasus, the mythological horse whose wings allowed him to fly quickly and cover more ground than any galloper before or since.
Anthony Cummings is marshalling his spring forces and is looking further afield than Melbourne with Thunder Fantasy, which will have an inoculation booster this week with a view to December's Hong Kong International meeting.
The debate over which state is the powerhouse in Australian racing will be decided over the next month, but Sydney made a great start when the northern horses arrived in force for the start of the Caulfield carnival on Saturday.
An oldtime racehorse trainer from the Mornington Peninsula, Mick Crawford, first met the allegedly crooked jockey Danny Nikolic when the kid was just 14, in 1988.
While Winx took a tighter grip on this year's group 1 Cox Plate after winning the Caulfield Stakes, the news for defending Melbourne Cup winner Prince Of Penzance was grim.
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