Double for Pariah
Arrowfield Stud's Pariah sired a double on Tuesday. His first of the afternoon came courtesy of Rivkin, who broke his maiden on debut at Warnnambool for trainer Patrick Ryan Jnr. The 3-year-old gelding took the lead heading into the home turn and was tough to fend off the challenge of Yellow Sam (Ready For Victory), despite his inexperience.
Pariah | Standing at Arrowfield Stud
Pariah's second win came at Scone, where Par Five, also a 3-year-old gelding, broke his maiden for trainer Matthew Palmer.
Pariah stands at Arrowfield Stud for $16,500 (inc GST) in 2022.
Furious Stakes plan for Belter
Sheeza Belter (Gold Standard), who signed off her 2-year-old career with a victory in the G1 JJ Atkins S., she was given an easy time by her jockey Kerrin McEvoy in her 900-metre trial at Rosehill on Tuesday, where she eventually finished sixth.
Co-trainer Paul Snowden said the filly would now follow the remaining races left in the Darley Princess Series, first kicking off with the G2 Furious S. at Randwick on Saturday week.
“It was only a little while ago that she raced but she had a good break, about three and a half weeks, and came back to us in good order,” he said.
“Whatever she does in the Furious, she is going to improve on as she gets up in trip and further into the Princess Series.”
Illation looks likely for Memsie
The Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr-trained Illation (So You Think {NZ}) looks likely to sneak into the field for this Saturday's G1 Memsie S., the opening Group 1 feature of the Victorian season.
The 4-year-old, who has been successful in all of his three lifetime starts, sits 19th in order with a maximum field of 16. However, Price said on Tuesday that the horse is likely to make the cut, after speaking to jockey managers.
Illation after galloping at Caulfield on Tuesday | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
"Jockey managers usually know everything that is going on and they have said there is at least five that are not going to run, so he gets into the 16," Price said.
"We haven't calculated whether he gets a run in the Open H. and he's also in the BM78.
"So, there is some race he'll run in on Saturday."
Snapdancer eyeing second Group 1
The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Snapdancer (Choisir) will be out to add a second Group 1 to her record when she tackles the G1 Memsie S. at Caulfield on Saturday.
A winner of the G1 Robert Sangster S. last season, the daughter of Choisir was denied a second elite-level win when she was narrowly beaten in the G1 Tattersall’s Tiara and she tuned up for her first assignment at Caulfield on Tuesday.
"She loves her runs spaced, her form would suggest that she really goes well fresh," Maher told Racing.com.
"She's got a lot of residual fitness and she's an on-pace horse, so she needs to be hard fit when she races, and I think she'll present pretty well on Saturday."
Odeum nearing return
Group 1 winner Odeum (Written Tycoon) warmed up for her imminent racetrack return with a jump-out at Cranbourne on Monday.
The 2020 G1 Thousand Guineas winner has not raced since the G2 Rose Of Kingston S. last year, the same race she is set to return in this spring.
"Everything has progressed naturally," managing owner Sheamus Mills told Racing.com.
Group 1 winner Odeum | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
"The idea was to get her up and feeling good regardless if she was going to stud or not. She didn't look very happy or healthy, she is a horse that enjoys doing something.
"I thought she went super, I was really happy with her trial. She has never been a horse who loves a wet track and yesterday would have been a Heavy 12.
"Damian Lane rode her and he said she felt super and all her riders have also said her action feels great."
Lickety Split to target Australia
Group 1 winner Lickety Split (NZ) (Turn Me Loose {NZ}) will bypass the remainder of the New Zealand spring and focus on the G1 Thousand Guineas.
The Andrew Forsman-trained Lickety Split returned to racing with a brave victory in the G3 Northland Breeders' S. at Ruakaka last Saturday.
"What she did last season was all on natural ability but it is also hugely beneficial for her future broodmare, being a Group 1 juvenile winner," Forsman told NZ Herald.
"With that already alongside her name her owners want to have a crack at a big Australian race because really there isn't much she can do here to increase her value.
"So she will head over there soon and her first race will be the Guineas Prelude at Caulfield on September 17. Then she has about three weeks until the Guineas but that first run will tell us a lot."
Heath Stakes for Star Patrol
Clinton McDonald’s stable star sprinter Star Patrol (Starspangledbanner) will kick off his preparation in the G3 Heath S. at Caulfield.
The 4-year-old has won three of his four starts since joining Clinton McDonald's stable, including two impressive victories down the straight at Flemington, but his trainer is keen to see him racing around a bend again this weekend.
"It will just keep him interested, something a little bit different for him, so it will fit in well," McDonald told Racing.com.
Star Patrol
"He's already been to Caulfield for a gallop before and he handled it really well, so I don't think it will be a problem. It just fits in well, 1100 metre at Caulfield, so it's a nice option for him.
"Then he gets a nice break until the Gilgai and then hopefully on to the Manikato and the Darley Sprint."
Hokkaido Summer Sale features Australian mares
At the Hokkaido Summer Sale in Japan, the progeny of a handful of Australian mares have been made available to buyers. On Tuesday, Day 2 of the Sale, one which featured was Nights End (End Sweep {USA}), whose yearling colt (Lot 362) sold for ¥5,940,000 (AU$62,800).
Bago (Fr) x Nights End (colt) | Image courtesy of Hokkaido
The sale topper so far is Lot 371, a Mikki Isle (Jpn) colt out of High Knowledge (Jpn) (Manhattan Cafe {Jpn}), who is inbred 3 X 3 to the great Sunday Silence (Jpn) and sold for ¥40,700,000 (AU$430,000).
The North Island Sale ends on Friday.
Inaugural Greg Ryan Medal for Dubbo
Racing NSW has announced that this year's Dubbo Gold Cup meeting, due to occur on Sunday, September 11, will feature the inaugural Greg Ryan Medal for the day's most successful jockey.
Ryan officially retired from riding in June 2021 with 4035 winners to his name, putting him second to just Robert Thompson in the Australian racing record books.
"We wanted to find a way to recognise Greg's illustrious career, while noting that he has never been a person keen to seek the limelight," said Chris Davis, the president of the Dubbo Turf Club. "His record in the saddle is almost without peer and it will be a long time before we have someone from our region achieve a similar status in Australian racing history."
The Club has also announced plans to introduce Horse of the Year and Trainer of the Year prizes, with points to be tallied across the 2022/23 racing season.
Support for Nini keeps on
In a week that will mark the first anniversary of the death of Nini Vascotto, a social media sensation and former social media manager for the Australian Turf Club (ATC), the Club has once again pledged its support to the McGrath Foundation.
Vascotto, the wife of Murray Conallin, died last August after a long battle with breast cancer, and Conallin walked 150km in January in the fundraising effort, The Big Three Trek. He's doing it again this year with support from the ATC.
Nini Vascotto
Vascotto's journey through her breast cancer became a touching story the world over, and all proceeds will directly go to the McGrath Foundation and, in particular, its nurses.
Trial winner for Performer
Aquis Farm-based sire Performer was responsible for trial winner at the Sunshine Coast as the Les Ross-trained Mishani Cruise.
Ross sent out Performer’s first trial winner when Mishani Star landed a jump-out earlier this month and Mishani Cruise surged clear to beat stablemate Mishani Ambitious (Rothesay) by 0.2l.
Performer - a son of Exceed And Excel - will stand for a fee of $6600 (inc GST).
