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All eyes on Not An Option

Not An Option will be carrying the weight of his stable when he contests the Gr.1 Champagne Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday. The promising two-year-old has become the only active runner for Cambridge trainer Tony Pike and he is hoping his charge can deliver on Saturday. The son of Not A Single Doubt pleased his connections with his first-up effort in Australia when placing in the Gr.3 Kindergarten Stakes (1100m) at Randwick a fortnight ago and Pike said he has pulled up well since that ru...

Tofane gets another G1 chance in All Aged

Talented mare Tofane will line up in her fifth-straight Group One race in the All Aged Stakes (1400m) on Saturday with trainer Mike Moroney hoping this time she can break through. The All Aged is the signature event on the Randwick program which brings Sydney's Group One carnival racing to a close. Tofane went closest to a Group One win two starts ago when a narrow third in The Galaxy (1100m) at Rosehill. Either side of The Galaxy the four-year-old was seventh in the Newmarket Handicap (1200m) a...

Weekend Runners: 11.4.2020

Good luck to connections of all the CM grads running this weekend including: AUSTRALIA SATURDAY Randwick: Race 6 Australian Oaks Gr.1, A$614500 2400m Aspect Ratio (AUS) 2016 (F. by Declaration of War-Poste Restante) (trainer: J G Sargent)                  Race 9 Coolmore Legacy S. Gr.1, A$614500 1600m Unforgotten (AUS) 2014 (F. by Fastnet Rock-Memories of You) (trainer: C J Waller) Caulfield: Race 8 Anniversary Cup Gr.3, A$128750 1400m Manolo Bla...

Weekend Wrap Up- 6.4.2020

Curraghmore graduates once again performed with distinction over the last three days. The performance of the weekend came via Tofane who finished a running fifth in the Gr.1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on Saturday. It was her fourth consecutive run in elite company which is no easy feat and Saturday’s field was considered to be the strongest seen in the TJ Smith Stakes for some years. Tofane drew wide and travelled wide, she was back to last on the turn and flew home in the straight ta...

Champagne Stakes an Option for classy juvenile

Cambridge trainer Tony Pike was pleased with the efforts of classy juvenile Not An Option after he ran on late to finish third in the Gr.3 Kindergarten Stakes (1100m) at Randwick on Saturday. “I was rapt with the run and 1100m is well short of his best,” Pike said. “It was always going to be a touch sharp for him from that draw (7). We had to go back to last and he has closed well outside. “It looked like a very testing track over there today, so it’s very encouraging going forward. �...

War Frontier scores maiden win

A good dose of patience from trainer Tan Kah Soon was well rewarded with War Frontier (NZ) (Declaration of War) getting off the mark at his seventh start in Singapore on Friday night. The Malaysian handler had always held the Mark Treloar-bred son of Declaration Of War in high opinion as a two-year-old last year, but the penny didn’t quite drop in three runs. A gelding operation didn’t quite yield the expected improvement at his new three-year-old campaign when running unplaced in the Saas F...

Stamina to play into Tofane’s favour

Valuable mare Tofane is set to tackle Saturday’s Gr.1 T.J. Smith Stakes (1200m) for trainer Michael Moroney, with the daughter of Ocean Park targeting further black-type after placing in the Gr.1 Galaxy (1100m) at Rosehill last start. The Group Three-winning mare is out of Baggy Green, a three-quarter sister to Group One winner Funstar and a half-sister Gr.1 Queensland Oaks (2400m) winner Youngstar, a filly Moroney was under-bidder on at the yearling sales. Narrowly beaten by I Am Excited las...

Weekend Runners- 3.4.2020

Good luck to connections of CM grads running this weekend including:AUSTRALIA FRIDAY Canberra Race 4 Seppelt Maiden H., A$20000 1000m Seventh Seal (NZ) 2016 (G. by Fastnet Rock-Episode) (trainer: P & P Snowden) SIngapore Race 2 Maiden P., S$75000 1200m War Frontier (NZ) 2016 (G. by Declaration of War-Bay Star) (trainer: K S Tan)                 Race 6 Class 4 H., S$50000 1200m Beer Garden (NZ) 2016 (G. by Proisir-There's No Doubt) (trainer: Zl Mok) AU...

Horse of the Year comeback deferred by two weeks

Fans of Singapore Horse of the Year I’m Incredible will have to wait a little longer before they can see their favourite horse back at the races.They had been rubbing their hands in anticipation when Shane Baertschiger’s superstar was entered to run first-up in this Friday’s Class 1 race over 1200m on Polytrack, but he was unfortunately pulled out on vet grounds on Wednesday.The Australian trainer reassured it was nothing serious, just precautionary, and the Lope De Vega five-year-old will...

Not An Option ready for Randwick Test

Trainer Tony Pike has been overseeing Not An Option's preparation from afar due to New Zealand being in lockdown in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Cambridge trainer opted to leave the son of Not A Single Doubt in the care of Richard Freedman after he elected to bring stable employees Mark Hills and Chris McNab back to New Zealand before the country went into response Alert Level 4. “Not An Option is with Richard Freedman at Rosehill,” Pike said. “He was based beside us when we were...

Righteous reward in Hong Kong

Righteous Mate had only one horse behind him with 300m to race in the Class 4 Pui O Handicap at Sha Tin on Wednesday but rolled past the rest to land a 92/1 shock under Brazilian Vagner Borges. “He’s been running quite well and his last run wasn’t bad either, it’s just he was drawn a little bit wide last week and didn't get the clear run; he pulled up well so I decided to run him back,” trainer Tony Millard said of the New Zealand-bred son of Savabeel. “Today they went very fast up f...

Weekend Wrap Up- 30.3.2020

Things may be quiet on the domestic racing front but three of Curraghmore's New Zealand Bloodstock graduates clocked up wins over the weekend. First off the mark was Kinane (Reliable Man x Tres Rapide) who cleared maiden ranks when successful at Wyong. The Chris Waller-trained three-year-old was having just his third start and was backing up off a runner-up finish a fortnight earlier. Bred by Nearco Stud, Kinane was sold as a weanling through Curraghmore’s 2017 New Zealand Bloodstock May Sale ...

Weekend Runners- 28.3.2020

Good luck to connections of all Cm runners this weekend including:ROSEHILL SATURDAY: Race 7 Vinery Stud S. Gr.1, A$505000 2000m Aspect Ratio (AUS) 2016 (F. by Declaration of War-Poste Restante) (trainer: J G Sargent)  Race 8 Emancipation S. Gr.2, A$202000 1500m Unforgotten (AUS) 2014 (F. by Fastnet Rock-Memories of You) (trainer: C J Waller) ARMIDALE SUNDAY Race 8 De Bortoli Wines H., A$22000 1100m Bridges to Babylon (NZ) 2016 (F. by Proisir-Sarajay) (trainer: Melanie O'Gorman) TASMANIA SUN...

Cm Weekend Wrap Up – 23.3.2020

Tofane justified her connections decision to race her in Group One company this season in Saturday’s Gr.1 The Galaxy (1100m) at Rosehill.  The four-year-old Ocean Park mare’s bold run to finish third repaid the faith of her trainer Michael Moroney and we’re sure there’s plenty more in store for her in the future.  Also in Australia on Saturday, we were pleased to see Manolo Blahniq put in an excellent run for sixth in the Listed Hareeba Stakes (1200m) at Mornington, on a track ...

Weekend Runners- 21.03.2020

Good luck to connections of Cm graduates running this weekend including the following:Singapore, Friday (Saturday am NZ Time)01:20 Race 5 Singapore TC Class 3 H., S$70000 1200mRed Dawn (NZ) 2011 (G. by Align-Danness) (trainer: S Baertschiger)03:25 Race 9 Singapore TC  Class 4 H., S$50000 1400m War Frontier (NZ) 2016 (G. by Declaration of War-Bay Star) (trainer: K S Tan)New Zealand, Saturday15:35 Race 7 CJC Sonia and Garry Thompson H., NZ$35000 1200m&n...

Tofane gets another G1 chance in Galaxy

Trainer Mike Moroney reckons jockey Michael Dee will be out to make amends in the Group One Galaxy on Tofane after a luckless unplaced run in the Newmarket Handicap. Tofane, who was bred by Curraghmore's Gordon Cunningham and sold privately to Ballymore Stables, finished seventh in the recent Gr.1 Newmarket (1200m) but Moroney believes the mare should have finished closer after striking traffic issues and being shuffled back before regrouping to finish the race off well. "She's coming off a pret...

Noonan chasing another Mornington feature

Mornington Cup day is special for local trainer Tony Noonan who is hoping to rekindle some good memories when Manolo Blahniq runs in the feature sprint. Noonan won three successive Cups with Gunnamatta but is yet to win the day's feature short-course race, the Listed Hareeba Stakes. Manolo Blahniq lines up in the 1200m race on Saturday with Noonan taking a different path this year with the sprinter. Last year Manolo Blahniq finished seventh in the Hareeba Stakes after racing during the summer wh...

Warwick Farm 1-2 for Curraghmore grads

Curraghmore graduates were on song at Warwick Farm on Wednesday filling the first two placings in the TAB Venue Mode Plate (1400m). The Mark Treloar-bred Good Stock was having his third career start and went straight to the front from the outside gate under a positive ride from Tim Clark. The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained three-year-old was never challenged and cruised away to win by 1.8L. Good Stock, a son of the late Tavistock and Duke of Marmalade mare Big Voices, was purchased in pa...

I'm Incredible nearing racing comeback

Singapore Horse of the Year I’m Incredible is close to making his much-awaited racing comeback after he was seen at his first barrier trial from a break on Tuesday.Last year’s winner of the supreme equine title has not popped up on a racecard since his unplaced run in the Singapore Gold Cup (2000m), blotting a copybook that had up until then featured a five-in-a-row, including a feature race hat-trick blitz, with the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (1800m) in October the career highlight.That late bl...

Weekend Runners- 07.03.2020

Good luck to connections of CM graduates running this weekend including the following:AUSTRALIA SATURDAYRandwick: Race 7 Randwick Guineas Gr.1, A$1007000 1600m Conqueror (AUS) 2016 (C. by Fastnet Rock-Diademe) (trainer: D & B Hayes & T Dabernig) Hawkesbury RC: Race 4 Robert Oatley Wines H., A$33300 1600m Switching to Win (AUS) 2015 (G. by Frankel-Give Me Five) (trainer: P & P Snowden) TTC: Race 6 PFD Food Services H., A$20000 1200m Ruettiger (NZ) 2011 (G. by Duporth-Be Inspired) (trainer: Scott ...

Not An Option gearing up for Aussie campaign

Talented two-year-old Not An Option has crossed the Tasman.The son of Not a Single Doubt was an impressive winner of his first two starts including the Gr.2 Wakefield Challenge Stakes (1100m), then placed in the Gr.2 Eclipse Stakes (1200m) before a tough run from a wide gate when unplaced in the Karaka Million 2YO (1200m). “He travelled over with The Bostonian and is set to trial at Randwick on the 12th,” trainer Tony Pike said. “The most likely plan with him is to have two trials, then ru...

Aspect Ratio chasing G1 win

Curraghmore graduate Aspect Ratio will be looking to score an upset victory in Saturday's Gr.1 Surround Stakes.Aspect Ratio will be one of the outsiders at Randwick against a quality field of fillies led by Funstar, Flit, Lyre, Kiamichi and New Zealand raider Probabeel.Last week John Sargent produced a Gr.2 Hobartville Stakes (1400m) upset with Brandenburg and is hoping for a repeat performance. While Sargent is realistic about the chances of pulling off boilover results on successive weekends, ...

Weekend Runners- 28.2.2020

Good luck to connections of all CM graduates running this weekend including: AUSTRALIA FRIDAY Canterbury Park: Race 5 Phil Gilbert Kia H., A$50000 1900m Power Lift (NZ) 2015 (G. by Power-Highflying) (trainer: R & L Price) SINGAPORE FRIDAY Race 5 Class 4 H., S$50000 1400m Beer Garden (NZ) 2016 (G. by Proisir-There's No Doubt) (trainer: Zl Mok) AUSTRALIA SATURDAY Randwick: Race 6 Surround S. Gr.1, A$505000 1400m Aspect Ratio (AUS) 2016 (F. by Declaration of War-Poste Restante) (trainer: J G Sargen...

Weekend Wrap Up- 24.2.2020

Two Curraghmore graduates were in the winner's circle over the weekend. On Friday night Heart of Courage (Fastnet Rock x Myrrh) scored a well-deserved victory in Singapore taking out the Class 5 Handicap over 1100m. The five-year-old gelding, who had been placed at his previous three starts, jumped well and traveled up on the pace behind early leader Uncle Lucky before leveling up on the straight and racing past to win by a length. Bred by Katom, Heart of Courage was purchased by Te Akau Racing ...

Weekend Runners- 14.02.2020

Good luck to all CM graduates running this weekend including:AUSTRALIA SATURDAYFlemington- Race 7 Lightning S. Gr.1, A$737500 1000m Tofane (NZ) 2015 (F. by Ocean Park-Baggy Green) (trainer: M D Moroney) NEW ZEALAND SATURDAY Ellerslie- Race 8 Auckland Co-Op Taxis H., NZ$27500 2100m You're Welcome (AUS) 2015 (G. by Camelot-Chorus of Angels) (trainer: J W Richards) Ascot Park- Race 5 White Robe Lodge H., NZ$25000 2200m Perfecto (NZ) 2014 (G. by Makfi-Springtime Fever) (trainer: Anna Hewitson) ...