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Top colt in fine fettle

Unbeaten colt Heroic Valour has taken his successful resuming run at Ruakaka in his stride. "We're thrilled with the way he's come through the race, he pulled up very well," said Jamie Richards, who prepares the star three-year-old with Stephen Autridge. The winner of all three of his runs last season including the Gr.1 Diamond Stakes, Heroic Valour accounted for a competitive line-up in the Listed Northland Breeders' Stakes in his first three-year-old outing. "He's taken enormous benefit ...

Exhibition gallop for First Seal

Five-year-old mare First Seal (Fastnet Rock), winner of the Gr.1 Flight Stakes (1600m) as a three-year-old, will have an exhibition gallop at Randwick on Saturday. The John Thompson-trained mare, who won a 1200 metre Randwick barrier trial on 5 September, will work with stablemate Fabvier (Fastnet Rock) over 1000 metres after race one. Blake Shinn will ride Gr.2 Golden Pendant (1400m) bound First Seal, while apprentice Blaike McDougall will ride last start Goulburn maiden winner Fabvier in...

Walker keeps Rockfast on road to Gold

Champion trainer Mark Walker is again praying for rain ahead of Rockfast's run in the $200,000 Group 3 Committee's Prize (1600m) on Sunday. The Kiwi has long held the view the Fastnet Rock five-year-old grows another leg when the sting is out of the ground, more so when he is running over distances not made to suit. Which will be the case on Sunday as Walker considers distances upwards of 1800m as the province for the Te Akau Racing Stable-owned galloper. But one unwelcome guest he is pra...

New trainer for Karaka Classic entrant Rocknrolla

In-form mare Rocknrolla will step up to stakes level in Sunday's Haunui Farm Karaka Classic at Pukekohe, where she will be saddled by a new trainer. The Towkay mare has won three of her last five starts for trainers Donna Logan and Chris Gibbs, all at her home track of Ruakaka. The most recent of those was just last Saturday, where a late charge carried her to a narrow win over Maid Of Steel. Since that win Rocknrolla's group of owners, which includes Logan and the mare's breeder Mark Treloa...

Injury forces retirement of top mare

Tony Pike's Melbourne spring carnival hopes have suffered a blow with the forced retirement of his Group One winner Provocative. The Cambridge trainer had high hopes for the Zabeel mare, who was being aimed at the Gr.1 Caulfield Cup. "Unfortunately, a scan has showed she's got a little tear in her tendon and there's a fair bit of rehabilitation involved so after discussions with the owners the decision has been made to send her to stud," Pike said. "She only had the eight starts and she di...

Impressive debut from Global Thinking

Exciting filly Global Thinking (2f So You Think x Capital Raising, by General Nediym) made a winning debut in New Zealand on Saturday at Ruakaka. Shaune Ritchie's early hopes for Global Thinking have been fulfilled and he can now take his time plotting a course to New Zealand's biggest cash prize. The Cambridge trainer was keen to bank funds with the daughter of champion racehorse So You Think at Ruakaka on Saturday and she duly obliged by taking the thick end of the stake in the Henderson R...

Colt remains undefeated after Heroic effort

Heroic Valour has taken up as a three-year-old where he left off last season following a tenacious performance to triumph on his Ruakaka return. The Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards-trained son of Fastnet Rock showed admirable fighting qualities to maintain his unbeaten record with his defeat of a competitive line-up in Saturday's Listed Tavistock Northland Breeders' Plate. "He got a bit of a squeeze up on the point of the corner and he's not the sort of colt who is ever going to win by m...

Distinctive Darci goes all the way

The Mark Walker-trained Distinctive Darci had to tough it out in the straight but was eventually able to make it back-to-back wins in the $75,000 New Zealand Racing Board Trophy, a Novice race over 1100m on Sunday. Backed down to joint $12 favouritism with Lightning Fast, another last-start winner like him, Distinctive Darci (Derreck David) fully capitalised on the five-kilo pull in weights (56kgs versus 51kgs) between them by taking the bull by the horns from the start to take up the running a...

Distance against resuming Oaks winner

The connections of Fanatic aren't expecting the Group One winner to resume in a blaze of glory at Hastings on Saturday. "She's been back for four months and we're very happy with her, but the 1400 metres isn't ideal and well short of her best," said Debbie Sweeney, who prepares the daughter of Shocking with her father Graeme Sanders. "We took her to Te Teko the other week for a day out and she's been to Te Rapa for a gallop. She's coming along nicely and she has definitely strengthened up ...

Unbeaten colt to trial at Taupo

Group One winner Heroic Valour will step out in a 1000 metre heat for black type performers before the opening event of Friday's Taupo meeting. Heroic Valour's unbeaten two-year-old campaign was crowned by his success in the Diamond Stakes and trainers Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards have the Gr.1 Sothys NZ 2000 Guineas at Riccarton as his primary aim this term. Friday's trial will also feature last season's Gr.2 Hawke's Bay Guineas winner Amarula and the talented Murray Baker and Andrew F...

First Seal gearing up for spring carnival

John Thompson will take a step-by-step approach with Group One winner First Seal who is ready for a barrier trial ahead of her spring campaign as a five-year-old.The trainer said First Seal would run in a barrier trial at Randwick on Friday ahead of her first-up run in the $400,000 Group Two Golden Pendant at Rosehill on September 24. "At this stage we're starting off in the mares' races," Thompson said. "We're coming into the spring so there's plenty of options there depending on what she's d...

Distinctive Darci doesn't take long to show his wares

After a couple of encouraging starts as a juvenile, Distinctive Darci has returned an impressive winner in the $65,000 Initiation race over 1000m on Sunday. Ridden by two-time Singapore champion jockey Manoel Nunes, the son of Darci Brahma whipped around from his wide gate to vie for the lead, which he was able to secure without spending too much petrol. But he looked in strife when Super Warrior (Danny Beasley) made an early move upsides just before reaching the home bend. Backers of the $11...

Unorthodox campaign no worries for Manolo

The unusual racing career of New Zealand bred, Australian owned colt Manolo Blahniq continues at Rosehill on Saturday as the well-travelled galloper tackles champion two-year-old Capitalist in the Group 3 San Domenico Stakes. By his own admission, trainer Tony Noonan doesn't mind trying new methods when it comes to preparing his horses, which goes a long way to explaining why Manolo Blahniq began his career in New Zealand, has had four "trainers" so far, has visited two Australian states, and ...

First Seal set to trial

The John Thompson-trained First Seal (Fastnet Rock) is making good progress ahead of her intended return in a barrier trial at Randwick on Friday week. The five-year-old mare, who took out the Flight Stakes (Gr.1, 1600m) in October 2014, has not been seen since finishing 12th in the Doncaster Mile (Gr.1, 1600m) in April. ...

Tough challenge for Kiwi Group winner

Manolo Blahniq is set for his first Australian start on Saturday at Rosehill where he will face a stern test in his debut. He won last season's Gr.3 Eclipse Stakes at Ellerslie from Craig Thornton's stable before transferring to the care of Tony Noonan, who paid $115,000 for the Jimmy Choux colt at Karaka last year. Manolo Blahniq is set to run in the Gr.2 San Domenico Stakes, in which he is likely to clash with the Gr.1 Golden Slipper winner Capitalist....

Ruettiger favourite to take Aurie's Star

Consistent sprinter Ruettiger is the early favourite to add further black type to his record at Flemington. The Lee and Anthony Freedman-trained sprinter is the $3.80 top choice in Saturday's Group Three Aurie's Star Handicap over the straight 1200 metres. At his most recent start Ruettiger took out last month's Listed All Victorian Sprint Final over Saturday's course and distance. He holds favouritism over Beirut ($5.50) and Sooboog ($6) who are both listed as runners in the Group Three Spri...

Manolo Blahniq wins trial

Mornington trainer Tony Noonan holds high hopes for Hawkesbury barrier trial winner Manolo Blahniq. The Victorian trainer has the two-year-old son of Jimmy Choux geared towards the early Sydney three-year-old races. And if his form warrants it, the Group One Golden Rose at Rosehill on September will be his first spring target. Noonan bought Manolo Blahniq as a yearling but left him in New Zealand for his early two-year-old racing. He had three starts for Craig Thornton, winning in Group Thre...

Thunder Down Under arrives in Sydney

Thunder Down Under has arrived at Chris Waller's Sydney stable and he is likely to have one start for the stable as a three-year-old before season's end. "He will have a barrier trial at Rosehill on Friday and then run at Canterbury on the 23rd," Waller said. "He is a lovely big colt with some good form. "We will get him ready for some middle distance races." Thunder Down Under had 17 starts in New Zealand for trainer Stephen Ralph including a Group Three third in the Bonecrusher Stakes in S...

Ruettiger scores Listed win

Ruettiger delivered Curraghmore's tenth black-type win of the season in Saturday's Listed All Victorian Sprint Series Final (1200m) at Flemington. Race favourite Voodoo Lad shot to the front with a furlong to run, but Ruettiger stuck to his guns and wore down his rival, powering along the inside to win the 1200 metre sprint by a short neck under jockey Craig Williams. "I thought he did a great job today," said Williams. "The second horse is a very talented horse and we had to fight and Ruett...

Rocknrolla completes Logan-Gibbs quartet at Ruakaka

Donna Logan and Chris Gibbs scored their fourth win from the first six races at Ruakaka on Saturday when Rocknrolla bravely edged out the favourite Late Decision in the Northpine Waipu Cup. The Towkay mare was a highly impressive winner at Ruakaka last month, but then went to Te Rapa and was a disappointing sixth. Logan put the performance down to the sticky track conditions and expected a better showing in drier conditions on her home patch this afternoon. She was exactly right and Rocknrolla...

Kiwi-owned filly wins at Randwick

While the filly didn't develop in time to travel north for the Oaks, the Chris Waller-trained Firebird Flyer claimed the biggest win of her career yesterday when she edged out Storm System by a nose in The Mick Crusher Kerr Memorial at Randwick. Having her sixth start for the preparation, which has included two wins and four seconds, Firebird Flyer's fitness shone through over 2000 metres on a heavy track. Waller said he had plenty of fears about how she would handle the going, but her toughne...

Rain to suit Derby contender

Former champion New Zealand trainer Mark Walker has his fingers crossed for track conditions at Kranji to suit his in-form Singapore Derby hope Rockfast on Sunday. "All he needs is a bit of rain to get the sting out of the ground," he said of the Curraghmore graduate. The Te Akau-raced four-year-old is at the top of his game having won his two lead-up races in impressive fashion. -www.racingnews.co.nz...

A Rock steady climb to Derby doorstep

Champion trainer Mark Walker said Rockfast was the best shot he has had at the Emirates Singapore Derby since he began training at Kranji in 2010. Initially sceptical the son of Fastnet Rock ticked all the boxes for the final Leg of the Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge run over 2000m on July 10, the Kiwi horseman has slowly warmed up to his chances, especially after he reeled off his last two wins over the classic distance. Granted they were recorded against Kranji Stakes C company while he w...

Thunder Down Under to join Chris Waller in Sydney

Stakes-winning three-year-old Thunder Down Under is set to join the stable of champion Sydney trainer Chris Waller. Trainer and part-owner Stephen Ralph revealed to www.theinformant.co.nz that the Street Sense colt is booked to cross the Tasman early next week. "He'll fly over on Monday night and join Chris Waller," the Te Rapa trainer said. "Then Chris will do whatever he likes with him and we'll see how he measures up. It's exciting." Thunder Down Under is the winner of three of his 17 star...

Rodrico sold to HK

New Zealand-owned three-year-old Rodrico has been sold to Hong Kong interests. The son of High Chaparral, who was raced by Robin Peel-Walker and Mark Wyborn, will do his future racing out of John Moore's stable He will be aimed toward the 2017 Hong Kong Derby following his purchase by Johnson Chen, who won this year's edition with the Kiwi-bred Werther. Rodrico was trained by Chris Waller to win three races and at his last appearance he finished runner-up in the Gr.1 Queensland Derby. -...