Derby runner’s pedigree a key to success
Arrowfield Stud’s Jon Freyer loves the linebreeding in G1 Australian Derby contender One Step Closer (Castelvecchio)’s pedigree. “He is in-bred to Deputy Minister and that's why we put the mare to Castelvecchio,” Freyer told racenet.com.au.
“Deputy Minister was a great sire and a terrific influence. Those successful stallions (like him) that were dirt stallions can play a little stouter so that's a very good influence to get the mile and a half – that double of Deputy Minister.
Jon Freyer | Image courtesy of Inglis
“(One Step Closer) wasn't a big, huge, robust horse but he was a beautifully made horse with beautiful balance and full credit to John O'Shea and I think James Bester was helping him. They found him.” He has one win from 10 starts and was fourth last start in the G1 Rosehill Guineas.
“He was a horse at the time that wanted to get a bit stronger and I think he has. Occasionally (the ATC Derby) turns up a bit of a (rough) result and if you look at this year, he is certainly a horse that could jump out of the ground, getting to the distance. He looks like he could be a real out-and-out stayer so the 2400m is going to suit him down to ground.”
Pricey Plaintiff to be tested
Trainer Peter Snowden will test unbeaten filly Plaintiff (Zoustar) in Saturday’s G3 PJ Bell Stakes, her first attempt at black type. “The good ones they still run well, they still find a way to run well and that’s what I want to see on Saturday,” Snowden told racingnsw.com.au.
Plaintiff | Image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography
“She’s going to face adversity but the good ones do find a bit more. If they are going to be any good they need to come through adversity and have tough runs and still put their hand up and have a crack. I want to see her do that.” Plaintiff was a $2.2 million yearling and is unbeaten in three starts.
Under Focus set for Kindergarten Stakes
Kris Lees is pleased with 2-year-old colt Under Focus (Too Darn Hot {GB}) ahead of Saturday’s G3 Kindergarten Stakes. “Under Focus has had only the two starts, and run well both times,” Lees told racingandsports.com.au.
“After finishing second on debut at Warwick Farm, he won nicely at the Kensington track. Under Focus is a nice young colt ready to step up to Group company.”
TJ Smith then Royal Ascot for Joliestar
The plan to take Joliestar (Zoustar) to Royal Ascot is on track, and her last local run will be in Saturday’s G1 TJ Smith Stakes. “I can't fault her. She is two from two this 'prep', and she is a confident lady who is taking the next step with consistency,” trainer Chris Waller told racingandsports.com.au.
Joliestar | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“You just see that with more mature horses. That's the difference between your 5-year-olds and your 4-year-olds. Your 4-year-olds still do a few little things wrong, but the 5-year-olds, they know what they're doing. They can race themselves.”
Classic Gem’s classic tilt uncertain
Trainer Dom Sutton won’t make a decision on running Classic Gem (Maurice {Jpn}) in the G1 Australian Oaks until after the G3 Adrian Knox Stakes on Saturday. “We think she’s a very good filly and we’re trying to get as much black type on her page as possible,” Sutton told racingnsw.com.au.
“We thought this was a good opportunity or that. We have the Adelaide Oaks as a potential target and this fits in a little better than a couple of other options we had. She’s owned by the same person as After Summer so it’ll be dependent on how she runs on Saturday as to whether we back up and run in the (Australian) Oaks or bring her back home.”
J-Mac documentary gets global distribution
Racing NSW announced on Thursday that a global distribution agreement had been reached for the J-Mac documentary, featuring “the world’s best jockey” James McDonald, with DAZN, alongside Foxtel, Kayo Sports and BINGE in Australia.
The show premieres on Fox Sports (Foxtel channel 502) on Tuesday, 14 April at 7.30pm, with simultaneous release on Kayo Sports and Binge, and international distribution via DAZN to its 400 million global subscribers. “James McDonald’s rise to the peak of international racing is an extraordinary story, and this Racing NSW documentary captures it perfectly,” Foxtel Group CEO, Patrick Delany told racingnsw.com.au.
“As part of the DAZN family, the Foxtel Group now has the scale to take world-class storytelling like J-Mac to audiences not only across Australia through Kayo SPORTS, BINGE and Foxtel but to over 200 countries around the world.”
Moody makes it 50 in Queensland
Popular bush race caller Brett Moody will reach the unusual milestone of having called at 50 different tracks when he heads to the Nanango meeting on Easter Saturday. “It is a personal milestone. And, once it got a bit close, I was keeping an eye on it. I know there are lot of other blokes who call races and are well over 100 tracks,” Moody told racingqueensland.com.au.
Bret Moody | Image courtesy of Racing Queensland
“But, for me doing a lot of bush meetings and that being almost all in Queensland, I treat it as a personal milestone, anyway. It is a nice little box to tick because I'm sort of getting to the twilight of my career now.”
Cos I Am wins on debut at Belmont
Dan and Ben Pearce-trained 2-year-old filly Cos I Am (I Am Invincible) won on debut at Belmont on Thursday. She was sold by Silverdale Farm at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale for $500,000 to Pearce Racing, Boomer Bloodstock (FBAA), and Yarradale Stud.
She is the first named foal of L’Cosmo (Lonhro) who won three races and is a daughter of dual Group 1 winner Cosmic Endeavour (Northern Meteor).
Juvenile winner for Xtravagant
At Gosford on Thursday, Xtravagant (NZ) added a juvenile winner when Adam Duggan-trained 2-year-old filly Shalash won on debut. She was sold by Newhaven Park Stud for $70,000 at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale to Salvador Bloodstock.
She is the third winner, from six to race, for Windrunner (Commands) who is a winning half-sister to Group 3 winner and sire Unencumbered and G3 Rising Fast Stakes victrix Maharba (Pride Of Dubai).
Dub Stepping leads Dubious double
Dubious sired a double at Mackay on Thursday, led by 2-year-old gelding Dub Stepping, who took his record to two wins from five starts for trainer Tom Button. He was a $30,000 graduate of Waylon J Stud’s Capricornia Yearling Sale draft and purchased by his trainer. Dub Stepping is the second foal and second winner for Stella Maris (Lope De Vega {Ire}).
Clinton Taylor-trained 3-year-old filly Don’tdoubthelady took her record to four wins from ten starts. She placed in the Listed Bill Carter Stakes at two. Her trainer paid $40,000 for her from Kenmore Lodge’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale draft.
Apprentice Yuen wins at her second ride in Hong Kong
Apprentice jockey Nichola Yuen enjoyed her first win at only her second ride at Hong Kong’s Sha Tin meeting on Wednesday night. “I’m very excited. I can’t believe that at my first meeting here in Hong Kong I’ve got a win straight away,” Yuen told scmp.com.
“I’m very happy to have the opportunities – and for Mr Yip of course. Thank you so much to the Hong Kong Jockey Club Apprentice Jockeys’ School, [headmistress] Ms Amy Chan (Lim-chee) and (chief riding instructor) Mr Felix Coetzee – they’ve really taught me a lot and I’m very grateful.”
She has previously ridden winners in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and Wednesday’s victory was on Pi Legend (I Am Invincible) for trainer Dennis Yip. It was the first win in Hong Kong for Pi Legend, who won in Australia for Ciaron Maher when named Railway Man. He was sold by Coolmore at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for $2.5 million, and then on-sold to Hong Kong interests for $210,000 via Inglis Digital. He’s the first foal of Group 1 winner Booker (Written Tycoon) whose second foal is stakes placed Ernaux (I Am Invincible).
At the same meeting, trainer Tony Cruz became only the third trainer in Hong Kong history to record 1600 victories.
NYRA and Fox to fill gap left by FanDuel
It will be very hard for the racing industry to replace what FanDuel TV meant to the sport with its wall-to-wall coverage of races from across the country and its ability to attract new fans to the sport. But according to Tony Allevato, NYRA's chief revenue officer and the president of NYRA Bets, his team is ready to do what it can to bring more racing to the television audience in an effort to make up for the loss of FanDuel TV.
FanDuel announced last week that it will soon start showing only the track feeds, which will not include commentary from its stable of on-air talent. FanDuel TV is expected to go off the air completely around the end of 2027.
NYRA has worked with Fox since 2016, and the partnership has meant extensive coverage of racing from NYRA, along with coverage of major races from other tracks. In 2025, Fox, and its affiliate sports networks, aired about 1,000 hours of racing coverage through the shows America's Day at the Races, Saratoga Live, and the broadcast of the GI Belmont Stakes.
“I preface this by saying it's been five days since the announcement, which caught everybody a little bit by surprise,” Allevato said. “It's a very fluid situation and we're trying to wrap our heads around it. But the short answer is, yes, we are looking to help fill a void in a couple of different ways. (FanDuel TV) gave fans easy access to racing. Regardless of the other ways that you can consume racing, it was a very easy, digestible way that you could watch racing with commentary. That's a big hole that's now going to exist.
“Obviously, our number one priority is to grow racing in New York, but we also are aware that for New York racing to succeed, we need a strong industry across the country. So right now, our goal is to create a plan and figure out what we're going to do and how we can get the distribution.”
$350k Yaupon filly tops Texas 2-Year-Old Sale
A Kentucky-bred filly by Yaupon (hip 59) brought a sale-record US$350,000 (AU$509,000) when topping the Texas Thoroughbred Association's 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale on Wednesday at Lone Star Park. From a catalogue of 74 juveniles, 66 went through the ring and 43 were reported sold for a gross of US$1,604,500 (AU$2.3 million). The average was US$37,314 (AU$54,000) and the median was US$21,000 (AU$30,600). At last year's auction, 60 head sold for US$1,689,100 (AU$2.47 million), for an average of US$28,152 (AU$40,900), and a median of US$18,000 (AU$26,200).
“It's great to see a big price like that at our sale, and she appears to be an exceptional filly,” said sales director Foster Bridewell. “While that was obviously the highlight, we also had strong demand at every level and both the average and median were up, so we are very pleased with the results. This bodes well for the yearling sale this summer.”
Gun Runner colt tops second chance auction
Prancing Horse Farm LLC purchased a bay colt by Gun Runner for US$90,000 (AU$131,000) to top the OBSOnline March “Second Chance” sale, a digital auction held March 27-31 for horses that were either unsold or breezed and scratched from the recently concluded OBS March Two-Year-Olds In-Training Sale.
Hip 507 - Gun Runner x Willow (Ire) colt | Image courtesy of OBS Online
Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables consigned the colt, who breezed in :10 3/5 during the March under-tack show, as Hip 507. The colt is out of the winning G3-placed Willow (Ire) (American Pharoah), who is out of European champion Peeping Fawn (Danehill).
Chelmsford faces uncertain future
Racing has been “forcibly abandoned” at Chelmsford City Racecourse on Thursday and Friday following a decision by the board of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) not to grant a licence to Golden Mile Racing Limited (GMRL). The latter is the name of a new company formed to operate Chelmsford City Racecourse (CCR) in place of the previous licence holder Great Leighs Estates Limited (GLEL), which has been placed in administration.
A turn of events described by Chelmsford City's CEO Nathan Holmes as “a scandal” included declarations being taken on Wednesday morning by Weatherbys for the track's Good Friday meeting, which was set to carry total prizemoney of £251,000 (AU$482,000). Two hours later the BHA made an announcement regarding the cancelled fixtures, stating that its “reasons for this decision are confidential”. A preliminary decision over licensing had been made by the BHA board on Sunday. GMRL was then allowed to make oral and written representations to board members on 31 March but failed to have the decision overturned.
Chelmsford City Racecourse now once again faces an uncertain future. Its meeting scheduled for April 9 has also been cancelled, with the possibility of future fixtures going ahead being dependent on the outcome of an appeal.
The BHA's statement released just after noon on Thursday read, “Having considered the matter carefully and taken full account of the points raised, the board's position remained that it did not consider it appropriate to grant a racecourse licence for CCR to GMRL.
“The Board's decision means GMRL is not licensed to stage any fixtures, pending the outcome of any appeal. This means that regrettably no further fixtures will be staged at CCR pending the outcome of any appeal process.”
The lateness of the announcement from the BHA, after running plans for Friday had been finalised through the declaration process, has elicited some criticism from participants. Trainer Stuart Williams, who had runners entered for all three all-weather meetings on Good Friday, said on social media, “This decision seemed inevitable from what had been in the press, but to pull the trigger after taking declarations for Friday's meet at 10am is a real slap in the face for owners/trainers and [jockeys]. Some of these races have been targeted for months. Tone deaf from [the BHA].”
Jockey Paddy Bradley said on his X account, “To allow declarations at 10am on the richest day of all weather racing of the year and then cancel the fixture an hour later leaving jockeys unable to ride at other meetings is disgraceful.”
Hurdler headlines Tattersalls Online
A total of 68 lots have been entered in the Tattersalls Online April Sale, including the Grade 1-placed jumper Tullyhill. Maiden winner Politely (Advertise) (lot 22) won a Lingfield one-mile affair by five lengths two weeks previously. Rated 80 by the British Horseracing Authority, she is related to Group 2 winner Eminent (Frankel), who was also trained by consignor Martyn Meade.
Also on the Flat is the Timeform 85-rated Uniting (Mehmas) (lot 36). Offered by Ian Williams's Dominion Racing Stables, he is a multiple winner. Sophomore filly Cerelia (Wootton Bassett) (lot 45) is part of the William Haggas draft. She is out of a half-sister to dual Group 1 winner Silasol (Monsun).
