Converge takes it in stride
Converge (Frankel {GB}) has come through his G1 JJ Atkins heroics without turning a hair.
“He’s done particularly well and he continues to amaze us, he’s a really tough horse,” said Adrian Bott, who prepares the 2-year-old with Gai Waterhouse.
“He’s out in the paddock for a freshen-up and then he’ll be back for the spring.”
Converge capped off an outstanding juvenile campaign with his victory at Eagle Farm with his three wins and three placings from seven appearances and more than $960,000.
Well-bred mare scores
Well-related mare Promise Of Success (GB) (Dansili {GB}) made the perfect start to her Australian career at Warwick Farm on Monday and add to Rosemont Stud’s run of success.
An easy winner of the Robrick Lodge H., the John O’Shea-trained 5-year-old is out of a three-quarter sister to the great Galileo (Ire) with Anabaa Blue (GB) and Tamayuz (GB) other Group 1-winning sires in the pedigree.
“She’s got a lot to offer, she’s a big, strong mare. She’s a lot better than midweek company, that’s for sure,” rider Hugh Bowman said.
Rosemont Stud, whose colours were carried by Saturday’s G2 Dane Ripper S. winner Brooklyn Hustle (Starspangledbanner), bought Promise Of Success at the Tattersalls December Mares’ Sale for 27,000 gns (AU$51,450).
Kosciuszko take two
Trainer Geoff Duryea has high hopes of a crack at this year’s The Kosciuszko with his stable star Front Page (Magnus).
Duryea was on target for the Country Championship in 2020 only to suffer eye and leg injuries in the float on the way to Sydney, which forced him out of the race.
"It’ll be great to see him back. He’s ready to go and I can’t wait,” he told Racing.com. "It was breaking my heart when I’d walk past looking at him in the paddock.
"We turned him out for a while after that but when he came back, he wasn’t handling the hard tracks.
"We got him vetted and while there was nothing major, they said we were wasting our time with the hard ground, so we tipped him out for six months.’’
Payne back in action
Michelle Payne will return to the saddle at Sandown on Wednesday after a six-week break to manage her training commitments.
Michelle Payne | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
"I haven’t had many runners and it’s just too hard to ride all year round," Payne told Racing.com. "So, I thought I would take a little break.
"I’ve been keeping fit, but it was just a good time to have a break especially now as I’ve got a few more runners coming up.
"I am trying to take a step back and put other riders on because I want to learn to hand the reins over. At some point, I am going to have to retire.”
Apprentice out
Apprentice Carleen Hefel will be side-lined for a period after a fall.
She was concussed on Sunday after parting company with Pres De Toi (Helmet) in the final 400 metres of the Apsley Cup at Edenhope.
“I’m just bruised and battered, but very lucky,” Hefel told RSN. “There’s the concussion rule so I’ll be out for at least 12 days, but hopefully I’ll be back riding on Saturday week.”
Double for Doudle
Morphettville trainer Travis Doudle is developing quite a liking for New Zealand horses.
He picked up a double at his home track on Saturday with New Zealand-sourced horses Jaguary (NZ) (Niagara) and Not Usual Glorious (Fiorente {Ire}), and an interstate trip could be on the cards for the pair of them as a result.
“They both went really well,” Doudle said. “Not Usual Glorious has got the hat-trick now and Jaguary is going for one next start. I think Jaguary is Melbourne city class at his absolute peak, whether or not he goes there next start I am not sure yet.”
Doudle is also excited about the prospects of Not Usual Glorious.
“There is a possibility of setting him for the Banjo Paterson, which is a 2600 metre race at Flemington. He would be fourth-up in that and that looks like a nice little target for him, and I will make some decisions after his next start if he qualifies for it.”
Coventry hope purchased
Len Green's DJ Stable has purchased a majority interest in Masseto (GB) (Territories {Ire}), who will run in this week’s G2 Coventry S. at Royal Ascot.
The 2-year-old colt will race in the name of DJ Stable and will continue to be trained by Donnacha O'Brien with minority partners involved in the ownership.
Masseto was a debut winner on Good ground in Ireland in April and was then a beaten favourite on Heavy ground at The Curragh when second in the G3 Marble Hill S.
“After months of thorough analytics and evaluations, we felt ready to invest in a handful of European horses,” Green said. “We currently own seven Irish-breds and, with the assistance of bloodstock agent Kim Valerio, are aggressively seeking out talented horses on a worldwide scale.”
Decade ban for Waddell
Former leading New Zealand jockey, Jason Waddell has been disqualified from racing for 10 years for threatening to kill and posting an insulting message.
In May, a committee of the racing industry’s Judicial Control Authority found Waddell, 35, made a threatening phone call to a racing official stating, “You’re dead, watch your back”, and posted an insulting message on social media about another person and also threatened him via a phone call.
In disqualifying him for 10 years in a decision recently released, the committee said the threats the Group 1-winning rider made in December 2020 were a direct threat to the integrity of the industry.
Subjectivist scare
The 4-year-old entire, who won the G1 Prix Royal-Oak at ParisLongchamp last October and the G2 Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan in March, fell en route to the gallops.
Group 1 winner Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) emerged from a Friday training incident in good order and is the second choice in the G1 Ascot Gold Cup to dethrone Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}).
“We had a scare on Friday, he fell over and skinned both knees and his hocks but just superficial grazes,” Mark Johnston told Sky Sports Racing. “It happened on the way to the gallops. Obviously, it was a big scare because it was him. There was no swelling and so all should be well.”
