More shots fired in jump out debate
Australian Trainers' Association (ATA) CEO Stephen Bell has called leading jockey Damian Lane tone deaf in his latest remarks on the Victorian jump out issue. “Trainers have faced rising overheads and operational costs that are not borne by jockeys, who are insulated from inflation through cost-of-living increases in riding fees,” Bell told racenet.com.au.
“It is therefore very disappointing when Damian Lane, who earns in excess of $1 million per year, makes the tone-deaf comment that he does not care where the money comes from. It is also incredibly annoying that Matt Hyland never consulted with us before the jockeys unilaterally boycotted jumpouts, demanding a $110 riding fee for those jumpouts.”
Damian Lane | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Lane replied by saying, “The quote on me saying I don't care where the money comes from is not an accurate quote. Those that have been involved in the issue know that's not how I feel about the situation."
Racing Victoria issues statement on jump outs
Racing Victoria has issued a statement following the stalled negotiations between trainers and jockeys on the issue of payment for jump outs. “We understand the parties had been close to reaching agreement in recent days, however, it appears this is no longer the case,” the RV statement said.
“We acknowledge the wide range of views expressed across the industry, which highlight the complexity of this issue. We also understand and appreciate the potential cost impacts for other industry stakeholders, including owners, and the overall implications upon the affordability of racing.
“Racing Victoria has been actively working over several weeks to bring key stakeholders together and provide an opportunity for the parties to result the jumpout matter collaboratively. Our role has been to facilitate these discussions, supporting the parties in their efforts to reach a mutual agreement and providing analysis of potential solutions.
“While adjustments to the official trial model have been explored as part of a potential solution, it is worth noting that RV already heavily subsidises official trials to help manage the cost to owners and trainers.
“Any change in the number, mix and cost of official trials will require a further review. We remain committed to working with the parties to help them reach a resolution.”
Savaglee to be tested against older horses
Boom Kiwi 3-year-old colt Savaglee (NZ) (Savabeel) will run in the G1 BCD Sprint on February 8 as a test of his talent ahead of a potential Guineas raid in Australia. “He will get a good test there,” trainer Pam Gerard told racing.com.
“There's some big reputations (in the BCD). They are the best we have got in New Zealand and he needs to beat those to beat you guys over there. Obviously, he has been untested yet, which for me is a bit of a worry. If he wins that really nicely and, if we think he has got a few more lengths in him, we will come across and have a go at the Guineas … and beat you.
Savaglee (NZ) | Image courtesy of Kenton Wright (Race Images)
“Right from the start, he was always very talented, he was fast. He won his first start and we were a little bit blown away. He was quite unbalanced and hadn't furnished at all. He was a wee dumpling. He did a really good job last season and every time he came home and ate up. He has gained confidence with every start he's had.
“He loves travelling. He's had to because we've had a lot of races called off. They've gone to the races and come back and haven't raced. He loves it. Being a colt, a smart colt, he might even be a little OCD. He loves going and having a trip on the truck. Even if we race on our home track, we will take him for a trip on the truck. You can put him on a truck and he gets off six hours later looking exactly the same.”
Littlefield’s mare ready for Group 3
Trainer Charlotte Littlefield will run 4-year-old mare She's Bulletproof (Shooting To Win) in the G3 Geoffrey Bellmaine Stakes at Sandown on Saturday. “She'll go to a different level on Saturday. I'm going there a lot more prepared this time around,” Littlefield told racing.com.
She's Bulletproof | Image courtesy of Hayfield Racing
“I think last start, she may have just gotten away from me a fraction - had her a little bit heavy. We've done a few things differently, we've managed to rip a few kilos off her and I think she'll be going into this race start a lot better physically - so I think she'll really show a different finish to her racing pattern on Saturday.” She was second last start in the Listed Black Pearl Stakes.
City Gold Banner to back up debut
Trainers Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou will run exciting 3-year-old colt City Gold Banner (Starspangledbanner) at Kembla Grange on Wednesday ahead of a stakes campaign. “He is mentally and physically mature enough to throw in the deep end (Stakes grade),” Alexiou told racingnsw.com.au.
“We will maybe look for a midweek race and then some of those races back off the top, possibly a South Pacific Classic or a Hawkesbury Guineas may suit him down the line.” City Gold Banner won on debut at Warwick Farm.
Kembla Grange announces autumn carnival
The Illawarra Turf Club will run six meetings over 11 weeks for their 2025 Autumn Carnival at Kembla Grange Racecourse. “Over spring we had record crowds through the gates, especially for The Gong, so our Autumn Carnival has been tailored to cater to that demand,” said Illawarra Turf Club's CEO Steven Keene.
“We’ve noticed an increased appetite for experiences among young people so we will be partnering with local businesses and service providers to deliver memorable days at the track.”
Renovations steps up in distance for Listed attempt
Trainer Cody Cole’s 3-year-old filly Renovations (NZ) (Ardrossan) will step up to 1800 metres for Saturday’s Listed Grangewilliam Stud Oaks Prelude. “She doesn’t have a long sprint and had to get moving a bit earlier than we wanted in the Desert Gold, and the last 100 metres told,” Cole told Loveracing.nz.
Renovations (NZ) | Image courtesy of Kenton Wright (Race Images)
“She does usually relax well, and New Plymouth should suit her with not such a long run in as Trentham. I thought it was a nice option with Te Rapa (G2 David & Karyn Ellis Fillies’ Classic) likely to be red hot. This will be a peg below and a chance to stretch her out in trip and see how she copes, I don’t think the 1800 metres will be a problem for her.”
She holds a nomination for the G1 NZ Oaks.
Matscot trials ahead of Group 1 target
Matscot (NZ) (Haradasun) is on target for the G1 Herbie Dyke Stakes in ten days after winning a trial on Tuesday at Ashburton for trainers Alan Reeves and Sharon Robertson. “He’s got to take on the likes of Orchestral, La Crique and Snazzytavi, so he’s got to be on his A-game,” Reeves told Loveracing.nz.
Matscot (NZ) | Image courtesy of Race Images South
“He’s probably going better than he was when we went to Ellerslie (Zabeel Classic), because of the rain down here during that week, we couldn’t work on the main tracks. He’s on target and as good as we can get him.”
Around the Nation: Tuesday’s highlights
Tuesday saw five meetings across Australia. Better Land, a son of Shamardal (USA) and Amelia’s Dream (Redoute’s Choice) who stands privately, gained his third winner in fine fashion when 3-year-old filly Untold Story won on debut at Armidale. At the same meeting, Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald trained 3-year-old filly Needing Attention (Zousain) made it three wins in succession, and stablemate 3-year-old filly Atelier (So You Think {NZ}) made it two from two at Goulburn.
At Horsham, 3-year-old gelding Foragoodcause (Toronado {ire}) won on debut, while at Gatton, jockey Justin Huxtable rode a treble on Inlanda (Invader), The Catch (Medaglia D’Oro {USA}), and Wirewalker (Trapeze Artist).
Trainer suspended for leading a horse from a car
Racing NSW stewards have suspended trainer Paul McVicar from February 4, 2025 until June 10 2025 for training horses from a car. On January 26, 2025, McVicar drove his car on Berrigan Racecourse, exercising Very Shamus (Shamus Award) and Impending Love (Impending) by using a jogger being towed by the motor vehicle.
He pleaded guilty and received a reduced suspension. The rule in question is LR 80A:
(1) A person must not, whilst driving a motor vehicle on a registered racecourse, public thoroughfare or grounds associated with a registered racecourse lead a horse from a motor vehicle in any manner including, but not limited to, by tethering a horse either behind or to the side of a motor vehicle or the use of any apparatus being towed by a motor vehicle.
Poon suspended for two weeks
Jockey Matthew Poon has suspended for two meetings for attempting to hit Derek Leung with his whip during a trial in Conghua last week. “Whilst stewards accepted the contact by Leung was accidental, he was advised that he should, wherever possible, ensure his whip arm does not extend too far away from his body, which may result in contact with another rider or horse,” the HKJC stewards report stated.
Matthew Poon | Image courtesy of The Hong Kong Jockey Club
“Poon was found guilty of using his whip in an improper manner in that after being accidentally struck by the whip of Leung, he did intentionally extend his left arm out in an attempt to make contact with Leung.”
Francis Lui dominates Classic Mile
Trainer Francis Lui has four runners for Friday’s Listed Classic Mile being Packing Hermod (Rubick), Cap Ferrat (Snitzel), Divano (Brave Smash {Jpn}) and Call Me Glorious (No Nay Never {USA}). “(Packing Hermod) is doing well. Of course, he is the one I expect to be hard to beat when you look at how he’s performed so far, but we will see,” Lui told scmp.com.
Francis Lui | Images courtesy of The Hong Kong Jockey Club
“I think the mile will be okay for him now he’s more relaxed and he keeps improving a little bit with every run. Hopefully he can run well.
“(Cap Ferrat) is probably my next best (chance). Weighing him up (against the others), he’s got more racing experience than Packing Hermod and he’s a bit more mature from what he’s done in Australia. When you look at that form, maybe longer distances will suit him more. But fresh, we thought a mile would be okay for him here.”
Gigante heads Fasig Flash Sale
Bidding has officially opened for the flash sale of Gigante (USA) (Not This Time {USA}) on Fasig-Tipton Digital and will close Friday, Jan. 31 at 12:00 p.m. (local time), the auction house announced on Monday afternoon.
The son of Not This Time (USA) claimed the 2023 GII Secretariat Stakes at Colonial Downs, and continued to be a frequent face in the black-type rankings.
"Gigante is the definition of the word -racehorse," said Leif Aaron, Fasig-Tipton director of Digital Sales. "He's a millionaire in arguably the best form of his career--a ready-to-run graded stakes horse that would be a welcome addition to any top racing stable in the USA or abroad."
Goffs will be hosting a breeze up sale
Goffs will firm up plans for the Classic Breeze-Up Sale, initially slated for June 28 and 29, by the end of this week with Henry Beeby sharing that the reaction to the new sale by consignors has been overwhelmingly positive during inspections throughout the past fortnight.
Up until this year, the Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-Up Sale was the only show in town on the Emerald Isle. Goffs announced last August its intention to enter the breeze-up market in Ireland and, for a brief period, Goresbridge–which was the original home of the Irish breeze-up sale–entered the picture.
“For the avoidance of any doubt, this sale will be happening. By the end of the month we will have the exact format clarified. There are complications surrounding the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby weekend and we are trying to fit it around that so the date is slightly fluid at the moment. But absolutely categorically, there will be a sale of quality breeze-up horses at Naas racecourse followed by the sale at Goffs around Irish Derby Weekend,” said Beeby.
The new sale is likely to be limited to 50 horses, according to Beeby, who also explained that Goffs intends to trim its flagship breeze-up sale at Doncaster to 200 slots.
He said, “We're there to serve the market and we react to what the market wants as best we can. We can't please all of the people all of the time. But when a small number of people were telling us we couldn't have a new sale, we had as many if not more people ringing us telling us they wanted a new sale in Ireland. That's not to say that one person is right and the other is wrong. We're here to help everyone and work together to make it happen. And it will happen. The feedback from vendors has been extremely positive during inspections and this new sale will sit alongside our existing breeze-up sale at Doncaster, which we anticipate will be a book of 200–back from 235 last year. We're looking at a maximum of 50 horses for the new sale.”
Thorpedo Anna unlikely for Dubai
After considering several options, trainer Kenny McPeek said Monday that newly minted Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna (USA) (Fast Anna {USA}) will make her four-year-old debut in the GII Azeri S. on March 8 at Oaklawn Park. That would give her time to make the April 5 G1 Dubai World Cup, but McPeek said he has all but ruled out a trip to the Middle East in order to run in the April 12 GI Apple Blossom S., also at Oaklawn.
“The Azeri will be a good first step back for her and I don't see any trouble having her ready for the race,” McPeek said. “We will probably keep her here in South Florida for a bit, another month or so. Then we'll have to figure how to migrate her up to Oaklawn. But then when once she gets to Oaklawn I would think she would stay there and run next in the Apple Blossom.
“She's nominated to Dubai. We've done the vaccinations and she's still nominated for the Dubai World Cup. But I still don't think that is going to happen. She'd have to do something really spectacular in the Azeri and just be screaming to go to Dubai. But I still think that the Apple Blossom makes a lot of sense. Schedule-wise, it's a nice conservative spot and you get to run for UAE$1.2 million.”
