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NEW Baker Licking His Lips Ahead of New Season
Wednesday, 1st July 2026
A Warwick Farm spring team with genuine three-year-old firepower is beginning to take shape, with Bjorn Baker preparing Warwoven, Paradoxium and Blue Door for campaigns that could reach into Sydney and Melbourne’s best age-group races. The stable has already had all three make an impact at stakes level, reports racenet.com.au, and Baker is now looking towards the first trials of the new preparation before deciding how aggressively to place them through the early spring. Warwoven, once favourite for the Magic Millions 2YO Classic before being scratched on the eve of the race, went on to win the Gr3 Pago Pago Stakes before backing up seven days later to finish sixth in the Golden Slipper, and Baker has been pleased with the way the colt has returned. “He's been back in the stable for around a month and he's making smooth progress,” Baker said. “He's definitely developed since the autumn, he's an athlete and his attitude is great for a colt, he's quite laid back. He'll be aimed at the Golden Rose first and foremost and then we'll work it out from there. Expect him to trial mid-to-late July then again late July to early August.” Paradoxium, another colt who carried high juvenile expectations, won the Gr2 Todman Stakes before enduring a difficult Golden Slipper run and later finishing unplaced in the Sires’ Produce Stakes, and Baker is keeping a wider range of options open for him. He may yet meet Warwoven on a Golden Rose path, but Melbourne’s sprint programme is also being considered, including the Moir Stakes or races such as the Danehill Stakes. “He's a bit more of an open book at this stage compared with Warwoven,” Baker said. “He's developed a bit more physically than the other colt and you'll see him at the trials around the same time. The Golden Rose is a possibility but so could be a trip to Melbourne for races like the Moir or the three-year-old races like the Danehill Stakes. I'm not closing the door on anything.” The third member of the group, Blue Door, brings a different profile but no less intrigue, having won the Gr3 Kindergarten Stakes at her only start after just one trial. With the Listed Rosebud over 1100 metres only six weeks away as Sydney’s first three-year-old stakes race, the Stay Inside filly has given Baker every reason to think she can progress quickly. “She's a real surprise packet,” he said. “I'm really, really impressed with how she's come back. She's got so much upside. I'm not ruling anything out for her, three-year-old races and fillies races. She's a very quick filly and I think there some very exciting things ahead of her.” Blue Door is also expected to trial within the next month before resuming, while bigger targets remain in the background for the stable’s sprinting three-year-olds. Baker said the Gr1 Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington on October 31 was clearly on the radar, but any talk of the $20 million The Everest would require one of them to force the conversation through performance.

Paradoxium has an exciting spring ahead of him (pic: magicmillions.com.au)
NEW Dettori (Lazarus) Making Another Comeback
Wednesday, 1st July 2026
A brief return to the British saddle by one of racing’s most recognisable figures will add star power to Doncaster in September, with Frankie Dettori set to ride in the Betfred Leger Legends race during the St Leger meeting, notes racingpost.com. Dettori, now 55, appeared to have brought the curtain down on his riding career with a double in Brazil in February after extending his farewell far beyond the original plan to retire at the end of 2023, but the lure of the mile classified stakes for former professional jockeys will bring him back for his first British mount since that season. The race, first staged in 2010 and now switched to the ITV-televised Friday of the St Leger meeting on September 11, raises money for the Injured Jockeys Fund and has already attracted an impressive honour roll of past participants, with Mick Kinane and AP McCoy among previous winners. Andrew Thornton, the former Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning rider who sits on the race committee and organises the jockeys, said Dettori’s involvement would significantly lift the occasion. “We're absolutely delighted to have Frankie. He's huge box office and his presence will be an enormous help in raising the profile of the race,” Thornton said. Dettori’s connection with Doncaster is substantial, having ridden more than 150 winners at the track and won the St Leger six times, but for many in the sport his name remains inseparable from the day in 1996 when he rode all seven winners at Ascot, a feat Thornton still remembers from the old weighing room at Worcester. “Like every jockey and all racing fans, I can still remember where I was when Frankie rode his 'Magnificent Seven',” he said. “I was in the old weighing room at Worcester, where they were showing the TV coverage from Ascot. We were like kids in a sweetshop watching it and screaming like nine-year-olds!” Thornton joked that Dettori would be under pressure to follow the lead of Kinane and McCoy by winning the Legends race, though pressure has rarely seemed to trouble him, and said the Italian was eager to support a cause deeply understood by riders past and present. “Frankie was more than happy to help out the Injured Jockeys Fund, because he totally understands where all the money is going to,” Thornton said, pointing to the long-standing support provided through the IJF and its facilities, including John Oaksey House, Jack Berry House and Peter O’Sullevan House. The line-up will also feature Jamie Hamblett, the former apprentice later known as an X Factor semi-finalist and founding member of Union J, whose following is expected to bring a different audience to the race, while 71-year-old Kevin Mooney, remembered for winning the 1984 Whitbread Gold Cup on Special Cargo for the Queen Mother, adds another layer of nostalgia. Jimmy Quinn, Adam Kirby, Franny Norton, Sammy Jo Bell, Gary Bardwell, Niall Madden, Megan Nicholls, Gay Kelleway, Richard Patrick, Tom Scudamore and Adrian Nicholls are also confirmed, giving Doncaster a field built as much on memory and affection as competition.
NEW NZB Opens Entries to World Leading 2YO Sale
Wednesday, 1st July 2026
A sale that has become one of Karaka’s most reliable international shop windows is again open for business, with entries now being taken through the NZB Portal for New Zealand Bloodstock’s 2026 Ready to Run Sale of 2YOs. The two-day auction will be held at the Karaka Sales Centre on November 18 and 19, following Breeze Ups at Te Rapa on Monday, October 12 and Tuesday, October 13, and NZB will take the next edition to market with a powerful recent record behind it. According to the company, graduates of the sale have produced 33 Gr1 wins and 115 stakes wins across the past five seasons, a return it contrasts with the two Group 1 successes recorded by Australia’s combined two-year-old sales over the same period. The current season has again reinforced the sale’s reputation, with 26 black type wins credited to graduates including Ceolwulf, Mr Brightside, War Machine, Asterix, Patch of Stars and Single Choice, while the emerging talent list is headed by Hong Kong Derby winner Invincible Ibis. That racetrack performance has been mirrored by strong growth in the ring, with NZB coming off three consecutive record-breaking editions of the sale. The 2025 renewal lifted all key indicators, producing a record aggregate of $41.4 million, a record median of $100,000 and a record average of $156,255 – a fair reflection of the regard in which this sale is held. “This Sale continues to reach new heights on the racetrack and in the sale ring, with three consecutive record-breaking editions,” NZB managing director Andrew Seabrook said. “The results in the ring have grown rapidly year-on-year, with the aggregate rising 74% over seven years - from $23.8 million in 2019 to $41.4 million in 2025.” Seabrook said that growth had been supported by NZB’s drive to bring a deep buying bench to Karaka, with buyers from Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, China and beyond targeted for attendance. Entries close at 5pm on Friday, July 31.
NEW Dwyer Hoping Poor Atlantique Run a Blip
Wednesday, 1st July 2026
A forgiving view of one poor run will be tested at the Sunshine Coast on Saturday, where Henry Dwyer is giving Cote Atlantique the chance to reassert his earlier consistency in the $300,000 Glasshouse Handicap over 1400 metres. The Ballarat-trained five-year-old had shaped well through the first part of his campaign, running encouraging seconds in New Zealand and Brisbane across his first three appearances, but he was plain in the Listed Bernborough Handicap over 1600 metres at Doomben on May 16, beating only two runners home in a performance that left the stable searching for answers. “We don't know. He just put in a bad one,” Dwyer said. “He didn't have a great run but he just raced a bit flat.” Spelling him was initially on the table, but Dwyer instead opted to freshen the 2025 Seymour Cup winner and press on with a Queensland plan built around what he believes is a more suitable race shape and distance. Blinkers have also been introduced, and a Sunshine Coast trial last week gave the stable encouragement that the gear change had sharpened him. “We were going to tip him out then we thought we would freshen him up for this race,” Dwyer said. “We trialled him the other morning with blinkers on and he trialled really well.” The drop back from a mile is central to the thinking, with Dwyer unconvinced Cote Atlantique is at his best over a strongly run 1600 metres, particularly when wet ground turns the assignment into a deeper staying test. “I don't think he gets a strong mile, particularly on wet tracks,” he said. “He handles wet but it just makes it a tougher mile and I don't think he gets it. He's not a genuine top-rater, he's just that level below, so we're trying to skirt around the edges and find those second-tier Group races, which will give him his chance. He's a genuine horse and the Sunshine Coast 1400m on the nice big track will be ideal.” Dwyer also has stable flagbearer Asfoora back in action in England on Saturday night Australian time, with the mare set for a Gr3 set weights and penalties race at Sandown Park after her improved effort when beaten less than two lengths in the Gr1 King Charles III Stakes over five furlongs on the opening day of Royal Ascot. Dwyer said she was expected to start favourite and be well placed to return to winning form, with a Gr2 race worth about $600,000 at Goodwood three weeks later the next planned step.
NEW Jordan Signs Off for Now with Special Win
Wednesday, 1st July 2026
A Devonport farewell could hardly have fallen more neatly for Codi Jordan, who signed off before a long-term travelling holiday around Australia by winning the race named in her honour on Sunday afternoon. The leading jockey made every post a winner aboard the $2.80 favourite Wild Dancer in the Safe Travels Codi Class 4 over 1150 metres, turning what might have been a sentimental occasion into a practical reminder of why she will be missed while away from the saddle. “It’s a super way to finish. I keep reminding everyone that I’m coming back, I love the game, and I love the horses, but I couldn’t have written it any better,” Jordan said. The victory carried extra meaning because Wild Dancer is now raced by the family of Jordan and her partner Mason Cock, having been picked up as a recent bargain purchase after beginning his career in Victoria with Gr1-winning trainers Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman. The gelding has quickly justified the move, winning twice from three Tasmanian starts, and Jordan was keen to share the moment with those around her. “Just to get the win with the family horse and to have all our mates in it, I want to say a big thanks to all the team. I wouldn’t be doing it if it wasn’t for them,” she said. While Jordan owned the emotional headline, Erica Byrne Burke again underlined her premiership dominance with a treble on the eight-race card, taking the opening two races aboard Respite and Coloney Bogey before later adding the $18 outsider Kireina Marubrah. With four meetings left in the season, the 100-win mark appears beyond reach, but her 82 victories have her on track for the best Tasmanian tally since Craig Newitt’s 99 in 2018-19. Adam Trinder shared training honours after preparing Respite and Kireina Marubrah, while Trent Wells matched him with successive wins from It’s Jagger Time and Gladding through the middle of the program. Trinder said the double was welcome after a testing fortnight, having brought seven runners to Devonport without a winner two weeks earlier before not saddling a runner at Hobart last week, making Sunday’s response a timely lift for the stable.
Eurell Has an Exciting 3YO Prospect
Wednesday, 1st July 2026
A Caulfield debut delivered the kind of result Greg Eurell had been quietly building towards, but what most excites the trainer about Lucky Brook, according to racing.com, is not simply the speed and strength she showed on raceday, but the temperament that first drew him to her as a yearling. The $95,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast purchase, raced by an all-female syndicate, was well supported before last weekend's first start and justified that confidence with a polished performance, racing like a filly who already understood her job. Eurell had watched those qualities long before she carried silk, returning more than once to inspect her at the sales because her physical correctness was matched by an unusually settled attitude. "We just kept going back to have a look at her," he said. "Conformation-wise she was absolutely spot on, and what we liked more than anything is her attitude – she just never changed. These yearlings at the sales, they're in, they're out, they're in and they get a bit sick of it in the end. But she's just coped with it very well, never changed in her demeanour at all." For a trainer who knows what an elite horse looks and feels like, having prepared the outstanding Apache Cat, that calm mind is no small advantage. Eurell said natural ability can take a young horse only so far if pressure exposes flaws in their character, particularly during the demanding transition through their two and three-year-old seasons. "A lot of these horses can show ability, but they can't handle pressure," he said. "That's the big thing, that's why the good horses are what they are, and she's heading in the right direction. She's still got a long while to go, but she ticks a couple of boxes, that's for sure." Lucky Brook had earned confidence before race day by winning all four of her lead-in jumpouts, and Eurell said the stable had deliberately aimed to win first-up so she could bank the experience, take a break and then be placed with more ambition in the spring. "It was a big day for us – we really targeted the win first-up just so we could give her a breather and then map out something a little bit more difficult," he said. "She's come out of that run the other day like she hadn't even gone around, it was incredible how she is." No spring target has been locked in, but the next stage of her preparation is expected to test whether that rare composure can carry her into better company. By Lucky Vega, Lucky Brook is out of a half-sister to Gr1 Myer Classic-placed multiple Group performed mare Denmagic, and closely related to high quality performer Magic Albert.

Lucky Vega is the sire of Lucky Brook (pic: Yulong)
Eagle Farm Ready to Stand and Deliver
Wednesday, 1st July 2026
A landmark transition for Brisbane racing began in earnest at Eagle Farm last Saturday, where the final winter carnival meeting also marked the closing chapter for the ageing John Power Stand before its scheduled demolition later this year. Built in 1957, the stand has been deemed by engineers to pose a health and safety risk to patrons, forcing its closure and setting in motion a redevelopment that the Brisbane Racing Club hopes will preserve the venue's raceday heartbeat while replacing a structure that has long been part of the Eagle Farm landscape. Demolition is expected to begin in August and take between four and six months, with construction of a new $75 million grandstand unlikely to start before the new year at the earliest. The BRC has already secured $25 million towards the project and remains in discussions with the State Government for the remaining $50 million, a process complicated by the significant infrastructure demands building across Brisbane ahead of the 2032 Olympic Games. Chief executive Karl deKroo said the club remained confident the budget could deliver a facility suited to Eagle Farm's needs, even if it would not match the scale of Australia's largest metropolitan racecourse developments. "While there's been continued escalation in building costs, we're confident that ($75m budget) will enable us to deliver a really good facility," deKroo told News Corp. "I think it's important to note, this isn't a Taj Mahal, it won't be like Randwick or Flemington in terms of scale and size, but nor does it need to be. The main thing we want to be able to deliver is a facility that gives racegoers a great race-day experience each and every Saturday." With Olympic-related funding pressures acknowledged, the BRC is also pressing Eagle Farm's broader economic case, and deKroo said temporary marquees could be used during major carnival periods to expand capacity when required. The course may also have a role beyond racing in 2032, with the club already fielding inquiries from nations seeking a Brisbane base and Eagle Farm identified as a potential hospitality hub for entertaining sponsors. In the shorter term, racegoers will notice a very different Eagle Farm when Saturday racing returns on July 25, with both the John Power Stand and the adjoining heritage stand, which is also set for upgrades, closed to the public. The BRC has spent months planning around that disruption, and deKroo said the club's central commitment was to keep the racing product intact. "One thing that we've absolutely committed to is the continuity and delivery of the racing product," he said. "Yes, it will be a different experience for each of those key stakeholders but we're also pretty confident that with the work we've done, we will be able to deliver a good experience." Members will be briefed at an information night at Eagle Farm on July 14, while chairman Richard Morrison said the priority was to avoid losing any meetings, with exclusion zones expected to allow racing to continue. The proposed four-level replacement will include bars, a tiered-seating restaurant and five private suites capable of being reconfigured into a large function space, giving Eagle Farm a modern focal point without erasing its working racetrack purpose.
So Far So Good for Young Sire Hilal
Wednesday, 1st July 2026
A limited but well-received showing at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Weanling Sale has given Grangewilliam Stud further encouragement around Hilal, whose first crop is beginning to test market opinion with positive results. The young son of Fastnet Rock was represented last week by a colt from the placed Pierro mare Drama Series, offered by Gordon Cunningham's Curraghmore on behalf of Nearco Stud, and the youngster found strong competition before being knocked down to Paul Pertab Bloodstock for $65,000. Cunningham, a 12-time leading vendor at the New Zealand Weanling Sale, said the price was no surprise given the impression the colt had made from birth and the progress he had continued to show through preparation. "I wasn't surprised that he was very popular and made a nice price," Cunningham said. "From the time he was born he impressed us and continued to progress. Even in the early stages, we rated him so sufficiently that we decided to breed the mare back to Hilal." Curraghmore had three Hilal foals born on the farm last year, and Cunningham said all had developed well enough to be regarded as genuine racing prospects. Drama Series is a smaller mare, making Hilal an attractive physical match, while his background only strengthened the case, being by Fastnet Rock and from a deep Australian family that now includes his half-sister Marhoona, winner of the Gr1 Golden Slipper. The sale result also fitted into a broader positive week at Karaka, where Cunningham had fewer entries than usual but felt vendors were rewarded by increased demand and the now-established mid-June timing. He said the sale remained pivotal for the New Zealand industry, noting strong Australian participation and the presence of New Zealand pinhookers who have often travelled across the Tasman to buy weanlings, with bidding levels consistent with what they might have expected in Australia. For Grangewilliam principal Mark Corcoran, the $65,000 colt added to a strong foundation for a stallion who has drawn rare second-season growth, covering 137 mares in his first book before rising to 154 in his second. "We're really pleased with the type of foals he's been leaving, and he's been very well supported in his first two seasons," Corcoran said. "We knew people were keen on his pedigree and race performance but it's good to see the market bullish on him too." Hilal's profile sharpened after his first season at stud when Marhoona won the Golden Slipper, but Corcoran said his own race record was already compelling: a sharp debut winner over King Of Sparta, then runner-up to Anamoe in the Gr1 Sires' Produce Stakes and to Captivant in the Gr1 Champagne Stakes. Standing at $7,500, Hilal gives breeders in a contracting New Zealand stallion market access to precocity, pedigree and type at a workable fee, and Corcoran expects strong support again this season. Grangewilliam plans to take 16 or 17 Hilal yearlings to Karaka next January, with Corcoran describing them as physically strong, good-tempered bays raised on quality South Taranaki country.

The Hilal-Drama Series weanling colt made $65,000 (pic: nzb.co.nz)
Magnier Unconvinced About Geldings in Arc
Wednesday, 1st July 2026
A proposed change to one of the world’s defining Flat races has drawn a fierce response from John Magnier, with the Coolmore supremo warning that the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe would lose part of its essence if geldings are admitted from next year. France Galop’s board has given overwhelming approval to a plan from president Guillaume de Saint-Seine to seek European Pattern Committee backing for a change to the Arc’s conditions, a move aimed at broadening the race’s global reach and allowing the likes of high-class geldings Calandagan and Goliath, recent winners of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes at Ascot, to compete for Europe’s premier middle-distance prize. Magnier, whose Coolmore interests have been involved in four Arc winners through Montjeu in 1999, Hurricane Run in 2005, Dylan Thomas in 2007 and Found in 2016, made clear at the Curragh on Sunday that he regards the proposal as a threat to the race’s breeding significance rather than an enhancement. “I hope they don’t let the geldings into the Arc. I think most of the purists would be against it,” Magnier said. “There are two sides to every coin but I’m only giving it from the breeding side and from the breed as a whole. The Arc is one of the real races and it won’t be any more if you include geldings.” His position reflects the traditional view that the Arc is not merely a championship contest, but a race that helps shape the breed by identifying entire horses, colts and fillies capable of influencing pedigrees beyond their racing days. Magnier also reached for family history to make the point, recalling the view of his father-in-law, the legendary Vincent O’Brien. “My father-in-law used to always say that if he was training a yard of geldings the bookmakers would be in worse trouble!” France Galop has presented the proposed reform in very different terms, describing it as a landmark decision and part of its ambition to establish the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe as the undisputed global benchmark in Flat racing. Should 2026 become the final Arc run without geldings, Coolmore may yet have a powerful chance to preserve the older model with another victory, as Paddy Power has last year’s winner Daryz at 7-2, followed by Coolmore-owned Minnie Hauk at 8-1 and Constitution River and Diamond Necklace at 10-1, giving Magnier’s team three of the first four in the market.
Crawford Can Land Another Blow at Sha Tin
Wednesday, 1st July 2026
A public holiday card rich with emerging talent gives Brett Crawford another chance to press his early Hong Kong claims on Wednesday, when Public Attention steps up to 1400 metres in the Class 2 Hong Kong Reunification Cup Handicap at Sha Tin. The first-season trainer has made a bright start in his new jurisdiction and the New Zealand-bred son of Written Tycoon, already a Group 3 winner in Australia, still counts as a young horse by Hong Kong standards at four, with the scope to turn consistency into a first local win. Public Attention has placed four times from seven Hong Kong starts and has shaped encouragingly in two outings since joining Crawford, who believes the grey is ready to show further improvement over a more suitable distance. "I've been very happy with his two runs in the yard so far," Crawford said. "I think he's going to be much better and I'm looking forward to seeing him run over the 1400." Karis Teetan, who enjoyed Group 1 success for Crawford in South Africa before establishing himself in Hong Kong, takes the ride from gate five and is also expecting the rise in trip to suit. "Stepping up in distance will help him. He comes here with a beautiful weight on his back and a nice draw. I think he has a good opportunity," Teetan said. "His progression has been good, and we are happy with him." Rated 82, Public Attention meets a competitive field of nine rivals headed in the weights by Packing Hermod with 61kg and Invincible Shield with 60.5kg, while Storm Rider carries 59kg, Gorgeous Win 55kg, Emblazon and Top Dragon 54kg, Beauty Bolt 53kg, Regal Gem 52.5kg and Ka Ying Attack 52kg. The same Sha Tin programme comes as Hong Kong's brightest sprinting star, Ka Ying Rising, begins building towards a return to Australia for the Gr1 The Everest over 1200 metres. Trainer David Hayes said the Shamexpress gelding is in excellent order as he prepares for the opening day of the 2026-27 season before travelling to Sydney. "He's in great shape. He's doing strong canters at the moment. He'll start doing three-quarter pace at the end of the week and gradually build up to The Everest," Hayes said. The plan is to mirror last season's approach, with a Sha Tin run followed by Australia, and Hayes said two trials, one on turf and one on dirt, would sharpen a horse who has returned from his spell heavier and stronger at around 530.5kg.

Brett Crawford has made himself at home in Hong Kong (pic: hkjc.com)
Golden Tempo Skipping Dandy for Travers
Wednesday, 1st July 2026
A patient path to Saratoga’s summer showpiece has replaced a planned stepping stone for Golden Tempo, with trainer Cherie DeVaux confirming the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner will miss the Gr2 Jim Dandy Stakes on August 1 and train up to the $1.25 million Gr1 Travers Stakes on August 29. The Curlin colt, a homebred for Phipps Stable and St Elias Stable, had been expected to use the $500,000 Jim Dandy as his lead-in to the Travers, but, according to Horse Racing Nation, a minor illness has cost him about 10 days of work and left DeVaux unwilling to force a schedule that no longer fits. Speaking to FanDuel TV’s Caton Bredar at Churchill Downs, DeVaux made it clear the issue was not serious, only inconvenient, and that the colt’s welfare remained the stable’s guiding principle. “He got a little sick, so we're probably going to end up skipping the Jim Dandy and train right up to the Travers,” DeVaux said. “He's fine, but the timeline isn't going to suit us to get there, and we'll continue to do what got us here and put him first.” The adjustment means Golden Tempo will tackle the Travers off a break rather than with the benefit of a Saratoga prep run, a scenario his trainer had not mapped out but one she is prepared to manage. “We're going to come off a layoff, and that wasn't really by design. But it's the hand we've been dealt,” DeVaux said. “We have all the confidence in Golden Tempo's abilities, and it's just up to us and our team to get him there and have him ready to go.” The update came during a reflective return to Churchill Downs for DeVaux and the colt’s owners, who visited the Kentucky Derby Museum for a private tour of the revamped Winner’s Circle exhibit honouring Golden Tempo’s Derby success. The display includes a replica horse remade in his likeness, his halter, and the red blazer and custom shoes DeVaux wore on Derby day, providing a chance to pause after a hectic few weeks. “Walking through the museum has really brought, I think all of us, back to a few weeks ago where Golden Tempo won the Derby,” DeVaux said. “It's been a really busy few weeks since, so I've been looking forward to coming here and just letting it all sink in.”
Pride’s Poison Chalice in Winter Stakes Mix
Wednesday, 1st July 2026
A familiar Winter Stakes force will arrive at Rosehill with strength in numbers on Saturday, as Joe Pride chases another win in the $200,000 Listed 1400-metre feature with Cool Jakey, Accredited and Poison Chalice, reports racingnews.co.nz. The Warwick Farm trainer has made a habit of striking in the race, winning it last year with Estadio Mestalla (see below) after first taking it three years earlier with Taksu, and while he is again well armed, he is not expecting a soft target in a race that has drawn 23 nominations. “They've been competitive these races this time of year, the winter noms this year have been really strong I feel, and that lead-up the other day was a good, strong race,” Pride said. “I wouldn't expect it's an easy race, but they're competitive older horses.” Pride’s team gives him options across a range of surfaces, which could be important with Rosehill rated a Soft 6 last Saturday, showers forecast from Tuesday to Thursday and clearer weather expected on Friday and raceday. Cool Jakey, a son of Pierro who comes through a third placing behind Midnight Dynamite in the Listed Civic Stakes, would be best served by genuine give in the ground, while Accredited, by All Too Hard, is at his most effective when tracks firm back towards Good range. Poison Chalice, the New Zealand-bred son of Savabeel, offers a more flexible profile and is expected to handle either wet or dry conditions. “A wet track would be lovely for him, he's an absolute swimmer,” Pride said of Cool Jakey. “But I've got him and Accredited and one wants it really wet and one doesn't, so someone will be really happy. The last thing you want is two who want the same thing because you know what will happen then.” The main opposition may include Bjorn Baker’s in-form pair War Eternal and Midnight Dynamite, with the latter already having the Civic Stakes form around Cool Jakey, but Pride’s interest also extends to learning more about Poison Chalice, who is second-up for the stable after finishing 12th, beaten 6-1/2 lengths, in the Civic Stakes at his first run since arriving from Victoria. “I think he's going to be a decent horse for the stable, I've just got to get in and around his head and see what makes him tick,” Pride said. Bred by Waikato Stud and raced by the Ultra Horse Syndicate, Poison Chalice was bought for A$350,000 at the 2021 Gold Coast Yearling Sale, and Saturday gives Pride another chance to assess where he fits while pursuing a race that has become a reliable winter hunting ground.
Rodd Shares Strong Belief in Anemacore
Wednesday, 1st July 2026
A home-track Listed assignment at the Sunshine Coast will ask Anemacore to combine all his talent with all his toughness, and Michael Rodd is confident the gelding will empty himself in Saturday’s Glasshouse Handicap over 1400 metres if he can be kept comfortable through the run. The Shaun Dwyer-trained galloper has had more than his share of setbacks, reveals racenet.com.au, including a bleeding attack and a back issue, but he has continued to race with admirable consistency and retains the turn of foot that makes him dangerous against the likes of Bjorn Baker’s in-form Sydney visitor Midnight Dynamite. Rodd, who won the 2007 Melbourne Cup aboard Efficient, has partnered Anemacore in five of his six wins and knows better than most that the gelding can require careful handling, particularly when he hits a flat patch around the 600 metres as he changes legs. “You know that wherever you are, he's going to give you his best and that's enough to win a Glasshouse for sure,” Rodd said. “As long as you can get him out and get him comfortable, because he can lose his action a little bit through the run. He normally does that around the 600m mark, just when he goes to change legs. He's not an easy horse to ride but if you can get him comfortable and get him going through his gears then you'll definitely see the best of him.” Anemacore’s most recent victory came in the Listed Sunshine Coast Cup over 1400 metres on January 24, and he again advertised his quality when close up in the $1 million The Archer over 1300 metres at Rockhampton early last month. The barrier draw on Wednesday will be important because he can miss the start and drift back, leaving Rodd needing to balance patience with the need to keep the leaders within range. “But he's got an amazing turn of foot,” Rodd said. “If he's not too far off them on Saturday and he's travelling and he's feeling good then he'll be very hard to beat.” Dwyer, already a dual Gr1-winning trainer, is looking beyond the winter if Anemacore continues to progress, with the $1.5 million Gr1 Epsom Handicap over 1600 metres at Randwick in October among the races under consideration. “I've probably got three or four horses that could go on a flight down there in the spring, if they measure up to what I think they will,” Dwyer said. “He's quite an amazing horse. He just eats and works and does his job. People keep telling me he's a great sprinter but this horse, if I could get him to 2400m, he'd be as good as anything, certainly up here.”
Flemington Finals Day to Offer Spring Clues
Wednesday, 1st July 2026
A winter meeting at Flemington can often look modest when measured against the glare of spring, but, according to racing.com, recent history suggests Saturday’s Finals Day card may again contain form worth remembering well beyond July. Several races on the program have become reliable launching pads for horses capable of progressing to Group company, and in some cases all the way to Gr1 success, with names such as Nature Strip, Gytrash, Tuvalu and Apache Cat having used this part of the calendar as a stepping stone to far bigger prizes. The Winter Championship Series Final over 1600 metres has its own spring relevance, most notably through Tuvalu, who won the race for Lindsey Smith in 2022, had a short break and returned to claim the Gr1 Toorak Handicap at Caulfield two starts later. Other winners of the mile final have also advertised the race’s strength, with Reykjavik taking out the 2019 edition before winning the Gr3 Chatham Stakes during Melbourne Cup week, Magic Consol using his 2018 victory as the springboard to a next-start win in the Gr2 Feehan Stakes, and Sircconi becoming Gr2-placed two starts after his 2020 success for Nick Ryan. Royal Symphony’s 2017 Finals Day win also belongs in that conversation, as he later finished fourth behind Winx in the Cox Plate, while Buffalo River, Ability, Front Page and Cherry Tortoni all went on to make their mark at Group level after winning at the meeting. The Creswick Stakes has been especially potent in recent seasons, producing Nature Strip in 2018 and Gytrash in 2019, both of whom later became Gr1 winners, with Gytrash landing the Lightning Stakes just two starts after his Flemington winter success. More recent Creswick winners have gone desperately close to joining them at the top level, with last year’s winner Bridal Waltz beaten on the line by Geegees Mistruth in the Sangster Stakes in April, while Right To Party, the 2024 winner, was edged out by Sunshine In Paris in the VRC Champions Sprint later that year. Passive Aggressive, the 2022 winner, adds further depth to a recent honour roll that also includes Renosu, Free To Move, Front Page, Highland Beat and Lord Von Costa, reinforcing the idea that this sprint is one of the sharper winter pointers on the Flemington calendar. The juvenile features have provided their own spring clues, and the Taj Rossi Series Final, formerly the Gibson Carmichael Stakes, has been a particularly productive race for Billy Egan and Patrick Payne, who have combined to win three of the past six editions, including with Cherry Tortoni. They are set to reunite in Saturday’s renewal with Give It A Year, giving punters another reason to treat the day as more than a winter finale. The Spring Carnival may still feel distant, but Finals Day has repeatedly shown that horses capable of winning at headquarters in the cold can reappear when the stakes, and the lights, are much brighter.

Gytrash used Finals Day as a Spring stepping stone (pic: Mark Gatt)

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Gytrash used Finals Day as a Spring stepping stone (pic: Mark Gatt)

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