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CM graduates bring up Winning treble

As the racing season draws to a close Curraghmore graduates are maintaining their winning momentum posting three wins over three days. First off the mark was Easy Habit who won at Ascot Park on Friday in his first start since September last year.The four-year-old son of Super Easy won under a bold front running ride from Terry Mosely and was never challenged going on to win by 3/4 of a length.On Saturday Penelope Cruise delivered winning the Flipp Transport / Transag Centre Ltd 1550 at...

Weekend Runners- 18.07.2020

Good luck to all CM grads running this weekend including:AUSTRALIA SATURDAYGCTC Race 8 D Griffin 10th Jock.Premium H., A$30000 1200m Celtic Tiger (NZ) 2012 (G. by O'Reilly-Miraculous Miss) (trainer: Douglas Lane)Illawarra TC Race 7 Poplar Petfood & Produce H., A$35000 1400m Power Lift (NZ) 2015 (G. by Power-Highflying) (trainer: R & L Price)Perth Racing Race 5 Belmont Classic L, A$99000 2200m Queen Takes King (NZ) 2016 (F. by Charm Spirit-Egeria) (trainer: L Smith)NEW ZEALAND SATU...

Our weekend runners 10.07.2020

11/07/2020 14:29 Race 2 Wyong RC De Bortoli Wines Maiden H., A$34300 1100m            Rockness Angel (AUS) 2016 (F. by Fastnet Rock-Necessary Evil)(T J Bartley) 18:22 Race 8 GCTC Skyline Restaurant Online, A$21000 1400m            Pumps (NZ) 2015 (G. by Jimmy Choux-Musigny) (trainer: S J Morrisey) 21:30 Race 12 Singapore TC Class 1 H., S$100000 1200m    &nbs...

Perfect start for Incheon Express

Curraghmore graduate Incheon Express began his racing career in style winning at Ballarat on Tuesday. The three-year-old debutant runs in the distinctive purple and yellow checks of breeder-owner Dr Tan and was born and raised at Curraghmore. Like Group One winner Tofane, Incheon Express spent time with John Malcom at Cheltenham Stables for his early education. He then headed to David Greene at Te Rapa before transferring to current trainer John Sadler as a November two-year-old. Sadler was imp...

Proisir colt tops National Weanling Sale

New Zealand Bloodstock’s first-ever National Weanling Sale, conducted online via Gavelhouse Plus, resulted in 60 lots selling for a total turnover of $1,044,051.  The average reached $17,401 while the median closed at $8,250 with a clearance rate of 75 percent.  Running on the enhanced online platform, the sale drew an international buying bench with the top lot, aweanling colt by Proisir out of Pennacchio (Lot 19), secured by Sydney-based trainer Anthony Cummings for ...

Cunningham bullish on weanling sale format

Gordon Cunningham’s Curraghmore will offer a select draft of six weanlings through New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Weanling Sale which is set to conclude via online auction Gavelhouse Plus on Sunday from 3pm. Cunningham was taking many positives from the new format and believes the online auction was equating to wide-spread interest.   “It’s been very refreshing and we’ve enjoyed the lead-up to the sale,” Cunningham said. “We refer to it as an on-farm online sale. Nothing is...

Not An Option returning to Pike

New Zealand colt Not An Option will return to his homeland later this month after finishing tailed off in a roughhouse affair in last Saturday’s Gr.1 J.J. Atkins Stakes (1400m) at Eagle Farm. The Group Two winner was left in the care of Sydney trainers Michael and Richard Freedman due to COVID-19 restrictions but did not get the rub of the green last weekend. “Not An Option is booked to come back on the 29th of this month,” Pike said. “He is at the spelling farm in Queensland at present....

Blinkers on for Group One test

Curraghmore graduate Not An Option will wear blinkers for the first time in an effort to get him to race closer to the pace in the Gr.1 JJ Atkins (1400m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday. Not An Option was originally trained by Tony Pike in New Zealand where he won the Gr.2 Wakefield Challenge before finishing second in the Gr.2 Eclipse Stakes. Pike has had tremendous success in Australia, especially in Brisbane where he won two Group One races with The Bostonian last year. He thought Not An Option was...

Caulfield Cup a spring target for Kinane

Trainer Chris Waller has declared the Caulfield Cup as a spring target for Kinane after pulling the pin on his winter campaign. Waller said the Frank Packer Plate winner had been in work for a long time and the decision was made to give him a break after his defeat as a short-priced favourite in the Gunsynd Classic at Eagle Farm last week. "We are going to give him every opportunity to get to the Caulfield Cup, obviously qualify first and have him peaking for that race," Waller said. "I am looki...

Queensland feature next for Not An Option

After watching runners struggle through the testing track conditions in the first race at Randwick on Saturday Kiwi trainer Tony Pike was relieved the decision had been made to scratch the promising two-year-old Not An Option from his planned assignment on the day. Temporarily in the care of Rosehill trainers Richard and Michael Freedman due to the current Covid-19 inspired conditions that restrict Pike from travelling to Australia, the Not A Single Doubt colt was set to have his first run back ...

Boom horse Kinane to step out in Queensland

The Chris Waller-trained Kinane will carry the weight of expectation when he contests the Gr.3 Gunsynd Classic (1800m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday, but the talented three-year-old will have to overcome the outside barrier in the field of 16. The son of Reliable Man has been one of the talk horses of the autumn, exacerbated by a multi-million dollar offer from Hong Kong following his impressive victory in the Gr.3 Frank Packer Plate (2000m) at Randwick in April. Waller elected to bypass the Gr.1 So...

Our weekend runners 22.05.2020

13:30 Race 1 ATC Darley 2YO H., A$100000 1300m             Not an Option (AUS) 2017 (C. by Not a Single Doubt-Chintz) (R & M Freedman) 16:55 Race 7 BRC Gunsynd Classic Gr.3, A$115000 1800m             Kinane (NZ) 2016 (G. by Reliable Man-Tres Rapide) (trainer: C J Waller) 17:21 Race 7 Newcastle JC Hungerford Hill Wines H., A$31500 1300m &...

Queensland an option for Curraghmore graduate

A Group One assignment in Queensland is in the offing for talented two-year-old Not An Option if he performs well at Randwick on Saturday. Owned by a prominent group of New Zealand racing and breeding identities, including Cambridge Stud principals Brendan and Jo Lindsay, Not An Option will have his first start for new trainers Richard and Michael Freedman in the Darley 2YO Handicap (1300m). The son of Not A Single Doubt has been lumped with the topweight of 60kg but his trainers are confident o...

Moroney looking to summit Everest

Michael Moroney believes he has the mare to “knock the bastard off”. Last start Gr.1 All Aged Stakes (1400m) heroine Tofane has made a real impression on the trans-Tasman trainer who is eyeing a possible tilt at The Everest (1200m), the world’s richest turf race, at Randwick in the spring. “We are just waiting for them to confirm prizemoney for The Everest,” Moroney said. “We might attack that, which does change a lot what you do in the spring. “On the fresh side she would be comp...

Kinane well-prepared for Queensland campaign

Quality three-year-old Kinane looks to be on track for a two-start Queensland campaign with the Chris Waller-trained gelding pleasing in a Rosehill trial on Friday.   The son of Reliable Man finished fourth in a 1030m heat under a quiet James McDonald ride. “He was really good,” McDonald said. “He was pretty fresh. He bounced out well and travelled pretty kindly over that unsuitable trip and quickened up beautifully. “He has had a good blow but he is very well within himself and I w...

Lisdoonvarna looking for Randwick win

Lisdoonvarna will be the stable flag bearer for Amanda Turner at Randwick on Saturday and the trainer is hoping the consistent mare can prove a worthy advertisement. Turner and Mauro Poletti dissolved their partnership late last year in the hope a revised business model would attract more clients. "A lot of people thought we didn't want outside horses because we were training in a partnership and bought a lot of our own horses," Turner said. "I'm hoping things will start turning around. It is ve...

Kinane not for sale

Several media agencies are reporting that a $2.8 million offer has been rejected for Curraghmore graduate Kinane.  The promising three-year-old stayer burst onto the scene with an impressive win at Wyong last month and he repeated the dose in last Saturday’s Gr.3 Frank Packer Plate (2000m) at Randwick, impressing ratings experts and jockey James McDonald. The Chris Waller-trained gelding has won two and finished second twice in four career starts.   Connections met on Friday to discu...

Curraghmore a proven source of Group winners

The Championships in Sydney have been compulsory viewing for many during the COVID-19 lockdown with the success of New Zealand exports, both equine and human a welcome diversion.One viewer celebrating over the weekend was Curraghmore's Gordon Cunningham. Two of his farm’s graduates Tofane (Ocean Park – Baggy Green[AUS]) and Kinane (Reliable Man[GB]-Tres Rapide) raced away with group race spoils winning the Gr.1 All Aged Stakes (1400m) and Gr.3 Frank Packer Plate (2000m) respectively.“It wa...

Manolo Blahniq set for Hawkesbury Cup tilt

It has been 22 months since Manolo Blahniq last raced in Sydney but Mornington trainer Tony Noonan is looking forward to the gelding's return to Rosehill. Noonan is planning to send Manolo Blahniq north for Saturday's G.3 Hawkesbury Gold Cup (1500m) which is to be run at Rosehill. Manolo Blahniq's most recent Sydney appearances were in a three-start campaign at Rosehill between May and June 2018 when he notched a win, a minor placing and ran fifth in the Listed Civic Stakes. Six-year-old Manolo ...

Weekend Wrap Up: 20.4.2020

The sun was shining at Curraghmore on Monday and it was apt that a rainbow appeared over the paddocks where Saturday's Group winners Tofane (Ocean Park x Baggy Green) and Kinane (Reliable Man x Tres Rapide) were raised. The Michael Moroney-trained Tofane was crowned queen of Randwick winning the time honoured All Aged Stakes (1400m) with a last-stride lunge to the line in the Group One feature. Tofane’s win continued a stellar season for multiple Group One winner Ocean Park who grabbed headli...

Tofane secures Sydney Group One

New Zealand-bred mare Tofane has crashed Pierata's farewell party with a last-stride win in the Gr.1 All Aged Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on Saturday. Pierata ($5.50) gave his rivals the slip halfway down the straight with Tofane ($12) the one to give chase. Under hard riding from Kiwi hoop Opie Bosson, Tofane gave her all to nail Pierata by a half head, with Fasika ($12) in third. Three-year-old colt Super Seth was gallant when running on to finish fourth after missing the start by half a length...

Kinane wins Frank Packer in style

Mick Kent's judgment about Kinane's ability has been vindicated and fellow trainer Chris Waller is the beneficiary with the three-year-old an impressive Group Three winner at Randwick on Saturday. Victorian handler Kent had planned an extended break from training to travel overseas and dispersed his horses to various trainers with Reliable Man gelding Kinane ending up with Waller in Sydney. Kent's working holiday has been scuppered by the global Covid-19 pandemic but he kept a share in Kinane, w...

Tofane coming of age in Sydney

New Zealand-bred mare Tofane will be shooting for her first elite-level victory when she lines-up in the Gr.1 All Aged Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on Saturday. It will be the daughter of Ocean Park’s fifth consecutive tilt at Group One level and trainer Michael Moroney is confident of another bold showing this weekend. Since campaigning in Sydney, Tofane has placed in the Gr.1 The Galaxy (1100m) and was a game fifth behind Nature Strip in the Gr.1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m). “She had won a barri...

Seventh Seal secures second win

Three year-old Fastnet Rock gelding Seventh Seal is hard to miss with his big white face. The eye-catching individual notched up his second win from just three starts when scoring a dominant victory at Goulburn on Thursday. Trained by Peter and Paul Snowden, Seventh Seal was sent out favourite despite having a wide gate and 60.5 kg to carry, but got the job done in style. Bred by Raffles Dancers, Seventh Seal was a $250,000 Karaka purchase for the China Horse Club, Newgate Farm, Winstar partners...

Weekend Runners- 17.4.2020

Good luck to connections of all CM grads running over the weekend including the following:AUSTRALIA FRIDAYSunshine Coast Turf Club- Race 6 Pablo's Tex-Mex Caloundra H., A$21000 1200m Got My Thrills (NZ) 2016 (F. by Iffraaj-Blueberry Hill) (trainer: S W Kendrick) AUSTRALIA SATURDAY Randwick- Race 4 Frank Packer P. Gr.3, A$141500 2000m Kinane (NZ) 2016 (G. by Reliable Man-Tres Rapide) (trainer: C J Waller)                  Race 5 Champagne S. Gr.1, A$39...