Vale Bert Harrison
Racing WA announced on Monday that recent Hall of Fame inductee and trainer Bert Harrison died, aged 94, over the weekend. “I’ve loved (horses) the whole time,” Harrison told racingwa.com.au on the eve of his Hall of Fame induction in August last year.
“They have so much personality. If they realise that you’re kind to them, they are all prepared to do their very best for you. If a horse runs a bad race, it’s usually because there is something wrong. It might only be minor, but it makes a difference in a big race.”
The late Bert Harrison | Image courtesy of Racing WA
A leading show horse rider, he began training harness horses, but gave it up when injured in an accident that killed his close friend Ron Fletcher. From there, he moved to Thoroughbreds. One of his greatest achievements was taking Fait Accompli (Little Empire {NZ}) from a horse who kept running off track into the 1972 Perth Cup winner. His previous trainer Bob Maumill sent the horse to Harrison, hoping that his show horse skills could cure the horse’s direction problems. Harrison also trained Asian Beau (Beau Sovereign {NZ}) to win the “triple crown” of the G1 Winterbottom Stakes, the Lee-Steere Stakes and the 1979 G1 Railway Stakes.
Berry’s outside chance at fourth Golden Slipper
Jockey Tommy Berry has won the G1 Golden Slipper three times and thinks outside chance 2-year-old colt Quietly Arrogant (Capitalist) can provide his fourth. “All the form around Quietly Arrogant stacks up really well,” Berry told racenet.com.au.
“He was unlucky in the Skyline when he ran a very close third and Skyhook came out of that race and was really good last Saturday. I've ridden Quietly Arrogant in his last two gallops and this colt is building confidence all the time. When I galloped him last Tuesday compared to the Tuesday before, there was a big improvement. He's getting better all the time.”
Berry’s winners have been on 2021 on Stay Inside, 2015 on Vancouver, and 2013 on Overreach (Exceed And Excel). If he wins four, he will equal the race record with Shane Dye and Ron Quinton who both have four wins in the race.
From Kiwi to Guineas
Wexford Stables trainers Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott will bring NZB Kiwi third placed Checkmate (NZ) (Mongolian Khan) to Sydney this week for the G1 Rosehill Guineas. “He’ll head to Randwick, where Ashley Handley will be looking after him for the week there,” Scott told Loveracing.nz.
Checkmate (NZ) | Image courtesy of Kenton Wright (Race Images)
“We had hopes that he may head this way, and he just pulled up so well from the Kiwi and performed very well in that race. The team is really excited, we let him do a bit of work here this morning (Monday) and he worked particularly well. We’re going over there with good levels of confidence that he will race well, but we’re under no illusion that it is a high level of racing.
“It will be interesting to see how he runs out the 2000 metres, that is another factor for next season if he can run out the distance. That gives him some other options at four. We are so looking forward to it.”
Fangirl’s redemption for G1 George Ryder
Last year, Chris Waller-trained Fangirl (Sebring) missed the G1 George Ryder after badly cutting her leg at home. This year, she’s recovered and is in top form. “Fangirl has touched our heart, she missed the race last year because of injury and she was in a bad way so it’s great to have her back racing well and winning,” Waller told racingnsw.com.au.
Fangirl | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“She was favourite in the race when the problem happened last year, she’s a pretty special horse to us. The Apollo Stakes was a special win and she pushed Via Sistina last start. And I think both horses needed it.” The 6-year-old mare has won 10 of her 31 starts and over $9 million.
First Settler to head to Sydney
Trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr will bring 3-year-old colt First Settler (Written Tycoon) north to Sydney for the G2 Arrowfield Sprint. “He was good this morning,” Price told racing.com on Monday.
“He's had two good trials … he's a pretty good horse, his ability takes him into the end of these trials. He'll run in the $500,000 Sunlight Saturday week down the Flemington straight, he loves the straight, so I think he'll show up there and I think he'll run very well.
“(The G2 Arrowfield Sprint) will be a good race as it is, that's where he'll go after the Sunlight.”
Victoria Racing Club make executive appointments
The Victoria Racing Club have made three appointments to their executive team. Tania Abbotto (Chief Operating Officer), Fran Vavallo (Chief Commercial Officer) and Adam Forsyth (Chief Financial Officer) were all announced by the club on Monday.
“Tania, Fran and Adam are all highly respected individuals and strong leaders with a proven track record of success in their respective fields. They each bring a skill set that compliments the current team and we look forward to collectively striving towards our vision to be a leader in world-class racing and experiences,” CEO Kylie Rogers said in a press release.
Around the Nation: Monday's highlights
Monday was quiet with two meetings, Taree and Beaudesert. At Taree, 4-year-old gelding Tajawal (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) took his record to two wins from 14 starts, and he is very closely related to Monday’s Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale sale-topping Written Tycoon filly. Her dam, Saaryaa (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) is a half-sister to G3 UAE Oaks-placed Feedyah (Ire) (Street Cry {Ire}), who is the dam of Tajawal.
At Beaudesert, Outreach sired a double with Reachover and Jumeirah Triangle.
Drury hospitalised after fall at Taree
Racing NSW stewards reported that jockey Jessica Drury will be hospitalised for more checks after a fall at Taree on Monday. “Jessica made heavy contact with the ground and lost consciousness for a short time but she is now conscious. She is experiencing dizziness and headaches and will be transferred to hospital for further examination,” stewards told racingnsw.com.au.
Jessica Drury | Image courtesy of Sportpix
Petroglyph (Wandjina) bucked shortly after the start of Race 6 causing Drury to fall.
Nicely bred Able Yellow set for Wednesday
Trainer Blake Ryan thinks Able Yellow (Justify {USA}) deserves the favourite tag for Wednesday’s run at Hawkesbury. “It looks the right race for him, and it’s his to lose. But I feel his price is more reflective of the opposition,” Ryan told racingnsw.com.au.
“He is still learning and has done a few things wrong so far as I expected he would. I’m sure he has a couple of races in him, but I’m definitely not going there tomorrow thinking he is unbeatable.”
The fourth foal of Group 1 winner Srikandi (Dubawi {Ire}), whose first two foals are winners, Able Yellow has placed in both his two starts to date.
Country Clubs funding open
Racing Queensland announced on Monday that applications for the next round of Country Club Asset Funding are open and will close on April 14. Providing $3 million per year for infrastructure repairs, the grants have seen 76 projects completed in the past two years. “The Country Club Asset Funding has a proven track record of delivering important upgrades and maintenance enhancements to our country clubs spanning the state,” Racing Minister Tim Mander told racingqueensland.com.au.
Tim Mander | Image courtesy of Timmander.com.au
“The Queensland racing industry is responsible for generating more than $2.4 billion in value added contribution to the Queensland economy, of which 51 per cent directly benefits regional economies.
“We’re delighted to see this funding available once again, supporting the creation of hundreds of jobs across the state. The Crisafulli Government acknowledges country racing is the fabric of many rural Queensland towns, which is why we are committed to ensuring its ongoing viability and success.”
Atzeni back on Johannes Brahms for Derby
Jockey Andrea Atzeni gave up the ride on Johannes Brahms (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) for the Classic Cup, riding Noisy Boy (Real Steel {Jpn}) instead, but is back aboard for the Hong Kong Derby. “Obviously I won on him before and it’s nice to get back on him,” Atzeni told scmp.com.
Andrea Atzeni | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“He could be the class horse in the race. It looks like it’s very open at the moment and there’s all these new horses coming in, but he’s got the form in the book.
“I think the Classic Cup is the strongest form going into it and there wasn’t much between the first three – Rubylot, My Wish and Johannes Brahms. They’re all stepping up to 2000 metres, which is a question mark for most of them, but it’s a good ride to get.”
Second runner, a winner for Space Blues
The opening juvenile Maiden at the Curragh on Sunday saw Darley's first-season sire Space Blues (Ire) get off the mark as 2-year-old colt Power Blue (Ire) ran out an emphatic 3.75l winner in the hands of David Egan. It was also a third consecutive win in the race for trainer Adrian Murray after those of Bucanero Fuerte (GB) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in 2023 and Arizona Blaze (GB) (Sergei Prokofiev {USA}) last year.
“He was the ultimate professional really,” Egan told Racing TV. “For a horse who travels with such ease, he showed a little bit of greenness but really quickened up in the last 100 yards and galloped out all the way to the boards afterwards. He’ll be getting a bit further than five furlongs, that's for sure. He won by a wider margin today than Arizona Blaze, who is a Breeders' Cup-placed horse. Bucanero Fuerte probably won it in similar fashion, but he's a nice horse who is sure to make plenty of improvement.”
Representing the LNA Racing Syndicate, Power Blue was a 44,000 gns (AU$94,000) purchase at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale, having initially sold for €30,000 (AU$52,000) at the Goffs November Foal Sale. He was bred by Finanza Locale Consulting and is the first foal out of the G3 Premio Elena e Sergio Cumani third Visions (Ire) (Worthadd {Ire}) who, in turn, is out of the G3 Premio Tudini winner Charming Woman (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). The dam also has a yearling colt by Starman (GB).
Space Blues (Ire) | Standing at Darley
The three-time Group 1 winner Space Blues, who is based at Kildangan Stud in Ireland, was out of luck with his first runner earlier on Sunday as Amelia (Fr) brought up the rear in Lyon Parilly's Prix du Premier Pas.
