Taree Racecourse underwater
The floods impacting the mid-north coast of NSW have been most severe around Taree with the racecourse currently underwater. “It's the worst I have seen in a long, long time. It is just devastating,” local trainer Tony Ball told racenet.com.au.
“It's gone through our house and we've lost everything. It's nearly up to the roof they tell me because we had to leave yesterday. We stayed in a motel last night. We saved my truck, horse float, my ute, my wife's car, my dog and a bag of clothes each and we won't be able to get home for probably a week.
“We got the horses out the day before but our biggest downfall now is our produce shop has about four feet of water in it. I've got enough feed to feed mine and Glen's for tonight and tomorrow but we've got to get feed for them.”
Trainer Glen Milligan lives at the track, and while his horses are safe, half his house is underwater. “There's just no end to it … the track is an ocean. There's a metre of water in the courtyard I reckon and we've been here 30 years and there never has been any. The horses are all safe here but my house will probably just go under further.
“So many people have offered to help but it's a bit hard when you can't get in and out and you can't get out of Taree either. From the 400 to the 200 metres is about the only bit of grass you can see at the racecourse.”
Femminile ready for Derby
Trainer Phillip Stokes gave Femminile (Dundeel {NZ}) an unconventional jumpout on Wednesday when the barriers at Pakenham couldn’t be used due to frost. “It all went very well and it served its purpose,” Stokes told racing.com.
“I have no problems with her going the reverse way. She did everything here nicely this morning and I was happy with the way she swapped her legs and everything. She didn't actually jump out as we couldn't get the barriers out so we had five horses and they just basically galloped over 1200 metres and it all went very smoothly. We'd had a frost and they couldn't get the barriers out on the track without causing damage.”
Femminile | Image courtesy of Racing Photos
Femminile will go through the Magic Millions National Yearling Sale four days before the G1 Queensland Derby. “She will be presented to be sold but we'll still have her for the Derby. She'll go up there in the next couple of days to the Gold Coast and she'll do one more piece of work up there to get her ready.”
Shinn looking for history in Doomben Cup
Blake Shinn has won the G1 Doomben Cup three times, including for the late Guy Walter who died just days after they won with Streama (Stratum) in 2014. No jockey has won the race four times, and he will ride Antino (NZ) (Redwood {GB}) for trainer Tony Gollan. “His engine allows me to do what I do on him, he's got a huge motor,” Shinn told racenet.com.au.
“He's just got great aerobic capacity. As for my tactics on him, some of it is preconceived and some of it is just me thinking during the run. It is a bit of both. It is me knowing the capabilities of the horse and also riding the race as it is unfolding.
Blake Shinn | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“This race always brings back a lot of memories for me and a lot of emotions, remembering Guy (Walter). He was a big influence on my career. Pride Of Jenni being there this year makes for an interesting race, doesn't it? We will just have to wait and see how the race unfolds on Saturday.”
Unibet fined $1 million
An Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) investigation has found that Betchoice Corporation, trading as Unibet, did not close the account of 954 customers despite the customers registering with BetStop - the National Self-Exclusion Register (NSER).
Overall, the investigation found Unibet had broken more than 100,000 contraventions of Australia’s Interactive Gambling Act. Unibet were fined $1 million.
Waugh takes team to Goulburn
Trainer Kim Waugh will take a team to Goulburn on Thursday looking for better ground. “It’s not ideal to have to travel but there aren’t many other options,” Waugh told racingnsw.com.au.
“(Estephania) is resuming on Thursday after having her share of problems, but she’s looked good in her trials and is set to run well. She’s a big mare and will be better for the run but she has the class to give it a shake.”
Kim Waugh | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Estephania (Pride Of Dubai) has had two starts for a win. “She won well on debut at Gosford in October of 2023 and she had a break after that and ran last at Wyong in July last year.”
Call Da Vinci makes it two at Ipswich
Juvenile gelding Call Da Vinci (Under The Louvre) made it two wins from three starts with a win at Ipswich on Wednesday. He ran second on debut to Cool Archie (Cool Aza Beel {NZ}) who went on to win the G2 Spirit Of Boom Classic. “It was a good ride. It wasn't our plan but in hindsight it was good that the horse could sit off the speed, peel out and really put them away like he did,” said Richard Laming, son of trainer Bevan Laming.
“It was very good to see him be strong through the line like he was there today. It's all strong form (around him) so it's good heading to where we're heading (the BTC Sires Produce). They had me on the radio this morning and I was nearly going to say ‘we should be backing him (Call Da Vinci) now just in case he does win (in Ipswich)'.
“I'm pretty sure he won't be one hundreds. But he's got to pull up OK and it's only 10 days away. He's only a 2-year-old and there's plenty of water to go under the bridge. He'll go back to the farm and be back in town next week for the water-walker and a bit of beach work.”
Pair of juvenile winners in New Zealand
New Zealand’s Wednesday meeting on the Cambridge synthetic track saw wins by 2-year-old filly Miss Moet All (Russian Revolution) and 2-year-old filly Pink Gin (NZ) (Time Test {GB}). Pink Gin was having her fifth start for the Pink Drinks Syndicate managed by trainer Tony Pike.
Miss Moet All, trained by Stephen Marsh, had placed at her first two starts and was an $80,000 purchase by her trainer from Lime Country Thoroughbred’s Inglis Classic Yearling Sale draft. She is a half-sister to Listed winner Kentucky Miss (Foxwedge).
Around the nation: Wednesday’s other moments
With five meetings across Australia, it was at Sandown that Rich Enuff had a double with Stokke and Empressive Enuff. Exceedance had a double at Warwick Farm. At Balaklava, 2-year-old gelding Si Senora (Yes Yes Yes) won on debut. He was purchased by Richard and Chantelle Jolly for $30,000 from North Bloodstock’s Inglis Classic Yearling Sale draft, and was the first leg in a treble for jockey Jake Toeroek.
Group 1 performed mare Express Yourself on Gavelhouse
G1 Telegraph Handicap-second Express Yourself (NZ) (Shamexpress {NZ}) is being sold on Gavelhouse this week. “I had set her up for that race (Telegraph) after she won at Awapuni in her previous campaign, and I thought ‘we have got a really good horse here’,” trainer Nikki Hurdle told Loveracing.nz
“I planned a campaign based entirely on getting to the Telegraph and she nearly won (runner-up to Mercurial by a nose). An ounce of luck and she would have won eight in a row, but instead it was a few seconds by noses. It was a terrific run.”
Winner of six races, she also placed in the Listed Alinghi Stakes during the spring. This is the family of Group 1 winner Great Normand (USA) (Monteverdi {GB}).
Express Yourself (NZ) | Image courtesy of Gavelhouse
“We thought it was her time to move on as a broodmare, and she will be a brilliant broodmare. She is a beautiful type and is just a natural athlete. She has been the most wonderful horse for us. Half of the people in the syndicate were having their first experience of horse racing, and she has taken us on a fantastic ride.
“We bought her thinking we could win two or three races, but we ended up in Australia and we nearly won a Group 1. She owes us nothing, we love that horse, she is an absolute beauty. She was the only one I had in work at the time and it is going to be very hard to get another one like her. You don’t come across horses with x-factor every day, and I think she had that.”
Hong Kong Derby winner Cap Ferrat chasing history
Only five horses have won the Hong Kong Derby and G1 Champions and Chater Cup in the same season, and Cap Ferrat (Snitzel) is looking to join them. “He’s good, it’s just the distance – we don’t know. I think he can handle it. He ran well last start but he used a little bit more energy because the draw (eight) wasn’t ideal,” trainer Francis Lui told hkjc.com.
Cap Ferrat | Image courtesy of The Hong Kong Jockey Club
“It’s easier for European horses to handle the distance. Cap Ferrat is an easy horse, a healthy horse and he is happy. I think Dubai Honour and Voyage Bubble are the ones to beat. I think at least 1800 to 2000 metres are his (Cap Ferrat) best distances.”
The Lion In Winter still on top for Epsom Derby
A total of 25 colts remain in the June 7 G1 Epsom Derby (In Honour of His Highness Aga Khan IV) at the latest scratching stage. Part of a seven-strong Irish-trained contingent is The Lion In Winter (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who is still the narrow 5-2 favourite, for Aidan O'Brien and the Coolmore partners, despite running sixth in the G2 Dante Stakes behind 4-1 chance Pride Of Arras (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), who is trained by Ralph Beckett.
Godolphin has two in the race, the G1 2000 Guineas hero and 7-2 second choice Ruling Court (USA) (Justify {USA}) and the fourth-place finisher Tornado Alert (Ire) (Too Darn Hot {GB}) for trainers Charlie Appleby and Saeed bin Suroor, respectively.
The G1 Epsom Oaks field is down to 14 for the race held the day prior to the Derby at Epsom Downs. Standout G1 1000 Guineas heroine Desert Flower (Ire) (Night Of Thunder (Ire)) is as low as 15-8 for Godolphin and Charlie Appleby.
Alvarado appeals whip fine from Kentucky Derby
Junior Alvarado was granted a stay of suspension on Tuesday while the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) begins the process for hearing his newly-lodged appeal for allegedly using his whip two times above the six-strike limit when winning the GI Kentucky Derby aboard Sovereignty (USA) (Into Mischief {USA}) on May 3.
Alvarado is facing a fine of $62,000 (AU$96,000) and a two-day suspension if the infraction is upheld. The rule infraction is HISA-based, but the Churchill Downs stewards were in charge of interpreting and reporting purported violations of it.
Junior Alvarado with Sovereignty (USA) | Image courtesy of Churchill Downs
The severity of the sanction–believed to be the second-largest monetary penalty ever imposed on a United States jockey–was triggered because of a “multiplier effect” related to a previous one-strike-over-the-limit whip infraction that Alvarado had incurred within the past 180 days, on Dec. 1, 2024, also at Churchill Downs.
0.85 fatalities per 1,000 starts at HISA tracks
The 2025 First Quarter Metrics Report, released Tuesday by HISA, shows racing-related fatalities largely on par with previous averages. The first quarter, which runs from Jan. 1-March 31, saw racetracks operating under HISA's umbrella report 0.85 racing-related fatalities per 1,000 starts, consistent with the 0.84 fatalities reported through the same period last year. Additionally, this first quarter's 0.85 represents a 37 per cent decrease compared to the 1.35 fatalities per 1,000 starts from two years ago through the same time frame. This also is 5.6 per cent lower than the aggregate racing-related fatality rate of 0.90 per 1,000 starts for the 2024 period.
For the first time, HISA is also publishing data on fatalities' subclassifications: musculoskeletal injury, sudden death and other causes (i.e., traumatic injury not related to musculoskeletal injury). 94 per cent of the racing-related fatalities recorded though the first quarter were attributable to musculoskeletal causes, with 3 per cent to sudden death and 3 per cent to other causes.
From a training standpoint, the same first quarter of 2025 reported 0.73 training-related fatalities per 1,000 workouts. Of the training-related fatalities recorded this quarter, 76 per cent were attributed to musculoskeletal causes, 20 per cent to sudden death and 4 per cent to other causes.
Mario Gussago joins Sumbe
After four years with the bloodstock team at Arqana, Mario Gussago has this week joined Sumbe as nominations and racing manager. The Italian native previously had a long stint in Newmarket, spending five years with Marco Botti as travelling head lad and another three as second assistant to Roger Varian.
Mario Gussago | Image courtesy of Sumbe
“I never wanted to train so I was looking to work on the other side and I am so grateful to Arqana,” says Gussago. “They've been so good to me, and not many other people would have given me this opportunity. Freddy (Powell), Ludo (Cornuel) and Eric (Hoyeau) took a chance on me and invested much time in teaching me the ropes. I know that I have been a lucky person to have been put in this position and thanks to them I have a new opportunity – I am very conscious of that.”
Goffs and France Gallop partnership in London
France Galop has teamed up with Goffs as an official partner of the London Sale on June 16. Under the terms of the partnership, Goffs will become the new sponsor of the G2 Prix Robert Papin at Chantilly on Sunday, July 20.
French interest at the Goffs London Sale on the eve of Royal Ascot included Al Shaqab buying into Sparkling Plenty (Fr) (Kingman {GB}) at £5 million (AU$10.4 million) just over 24 hours after her victory in the G1 Prix de Diane.
“This new relationship further strengthens our growing ties with the French market, supported by increased engagement from both buyers and vendors at the Goffs London, Premier, Orby and November Sales in recent years,” said Goffs Group chief executive Henry Beeby.
Elie Hennau, chief executive director of France Galop, added, “This event is one of the most important in the European calendar, bringing together owners and trainers from around the world in search of horses destined for careers at the highest level, both on the racecourse and at stud. This partnership fully aligns with our desire to enhance the visibility of the France Galop programme and its major races among international stakeholders.”
