Splash Back aimed at Stradbroke
Trainer Grahame Begg is planning a G1 Stradbroke campaign for imported mare Splash Back (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) who won the G2 Victory Stakes last start.
“She puts in every time you send her to the races,” Begg told racenet.com.au.
“Her biggest achilles heel is that she doesn't have a lot of early speed and that's why she's reliant on the pace of races. On Saturday, they went out at a good clip but once you get into that scenario, she's very effective because she's got a lethal turn of foot.”
Purton to ride Grafterburners
Champion Hong Kong jockey Zac Purton will ride 3-year-old colt Grafterburners (Graff) in Saturday’s G1 Doomben 10,000.
“I'm more than happy to have him on board, he's a superstar,” trainer Kelly Schweida told racenet.com.au.
Grafterburners | Image courtesy of Trackside Photography
“I contacted Zac and he rang me back this morning.” Grafterburners is equal favourite for the race.
Edmonds chasing first Group 1
Trent Edmonds is chasing his first Group 1 since going out on his own with Extragalactic (Deep Field) in Saturday’s G1 Goodwood Handicap.
“Everyone needs one to start them off… a really good horse and a big result,” Edmonds told racenet.com.au.
“I'm hopeful she's the one that can catapult me to the next level, and make people sit up and take notice. I've had some pretty good moments in my short career so far. Obviously when I won the Stradbroke with dad in the Covid year – there was no one there. It was a bit dulling, if you know what I mean?
“If this girl can get the job done on Saturday, that would be the biggest moment of my career, and one of the biggest moments of my life.”
Hobart Cup debacle investigation result
Tasmanian Racing Integrity Commissioner Sean Carroll announced his findings into the 2026 G3 Hobart Cup where the gates were incorrectly placed to make the race 40 metres shorter. Imogen Miller-trained Blonde Star (Starcraft {NZ}) won in a ‘track record’ and placings were kept when no one protested. The issue was found to that track operations staff relied on an incorrect Tasracing spreadsheet. Stewards knew of the issue the race prior to the Hobart Cup but didn’t change the gate position.
Sean Carroll | Image courtesy of Racing Integrity Victoria
“The Hobart Cup is the centrepiece event on the Tasmanian summer racing calendar, and I share the expectations of the Tasmanian racing industry and broader public that all races conducted by Tasracing are held to the highest standard of integrity,” Carroll said.
“Tasracing is reviewing and improving its race day systems and procedures, with a greater focus on supporting staff to deliver their roles effectively and to the highest standard, to ensure that such an incident does not happen again.”
Pride Of Jenni proves toughness
Pride Of Jenni (Pride Of Dubai) will run in Saturday’s G2 Hollindale Stakes.
“All her opposition had been falling away, all her old rivals, and Antino was one of the last to go,” owner Tony Ottobre told racenet.com.au.
Pride Of Jenni | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“Via Sistina's gone, Mr Brightside's not there, Alligator Blood's not there, Fangirl's not there. She's the grandmother of racing, I think, and she's still going strong. It was basically a last-minute decision to enter her in the Hollindale but she was travelling so well at home we thought it'd be wise to bring her up for a couple of runs and pick up some prizemoney. If she runs well in this one then she'll go to the Doomben Cup (over 2000 metres on May 23).”
Specialist sent to Rockhampton
Track specialist Martin Synan has gone to Rockhampton to assist with the sprinkler issue that caused Sunday’s $1 million The Archer slot race to be postponed until Tuesday.
“I am absolutely devastated for the Amateur Club because there's been strong momentum with this meeting over the last few years,” Racing Queensland (RQ) acting chief executive Lachlan Murray told racenet.com.au.
“This year, the field that was assembled was phenomenal and it really does attract great jockeys. It's a real showcase for Central Queensland as well so I'm gutted for the club. Ultimately we just want to see this meeting run tomorrow (Tuesday) and then we will do a full investigation into what happened and what's caused this sprinkler system leak.”
Byrne Burke on target for century
Erica Byrne Burke is on target for a century of wins this season after a treble at Hobart on Sunday. The treble took the Tasmanian jockey to 74 wins with 12 meetings to go in the season. She won on Nunkeri (Hanseatic), Lady Galadriel (Needs Further) and 3-year-old filly Khaleesi’s Dream (Ghaiyyath {Ire}).
“She’s still a second and a half off the track record, so she’s still got a bit of speed to find to match her mother,” trainer Adam Trinder told tasracing.com.au. Khaleesi’s Dream is the second foal of Dothraki Princess (Lope De Vega {Ire}) who won eight races in Tasmania.
First win for Thompson
Apprentice Chelsea Thompson celebrated her first win on Monday on Jamie Edwards-trained Come Along Jeffrey (Super One) at Kilmore. The 7-year-old gelding took his record to nine wins from 50 starts.
“I’m lost for words, to be honest,” Thompson told racing.com.
“Thanks to Jamie and the team for putting me on; I’ve had a few rides for him now, and it’s just great to get the first win out of the way, especially for a great trainer like Jamie. Mum and Dad, they’re here today. They drive me to the races whenever they can.
“It’s amazing; I’m very close to my family. To have them here… they’ve barely missed a meeting so far. They kept saying, ‘We’re not missing one until you get a winner’, so I’m glad the monkey is off the back now and they can start missing a few.”
Zousain double at Ipswich
Monday’s Ipswich meeting saw Zousain sire a double with Zouslayer and 3-year-old gelding Zoustrology who made it two wins in succession for trainer Jack Bruce. Zoustrology was purchased by his trainer and Clarke Bloodstock (FBAA) for $37,500 at the Magic Millions National Yearling Sale from Widden Stud.
He is the second foal of Jewelled Princess (Hallowed Crown) who is an unraced half-sister to Listed winner and Group 1-placed Whispered Secret (High Chaparral {Ire}). At the same meeting, the juvenile race was won by 2-year-old filly I’lltellyouanytime (Wanted).
Queensland beckons for Excite
Roger James and Robert Wellwood-trained 2-year-old colt Excite (Wootton Bassett {GB}), a last start Listed winner, will head to Listed class again before a potential trip to Queensland.
“He’ll definitely run in the mile at Ellerslie and we’ll just watch Incandescent for the next two or three days, he’ll either go there or to the paddock,” James told Loveracing.nz.
“I nominated Excite this morning for the JJ Atkins, if he strung another one together impressively then we’d be inclined to think, all going well, we’d have a go.”
Most-watched Kentucky Derby on record
An average of 19.6 million viewers on NBC and Peacock made NBC Sports broadcast the most-watched G1 Kentucky Derby on record, according to a Sunday release from the network. The broadcast topped by 11% last year's Derby audience (17.7 million viewers), which was the event's largest in 36 years (18.5 million viewers in 1989), according to preliminary data from Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics.
Viewership peaked at 24.4 million viewers from 7-7:15pm ET, as jockey Jose Ortiz guided Golden Tempo around the final turn to win by a neck over Renegade. The peak audience was also the largest ever for an NBC Sports presentation of the Kentucky Derby (up 12% from 21.8 million last year).
Friday night's G1 Kentucky Oaks, which was contested for the first time under the lights in primetime, averaged a record 2.4 million viewers on NBC and Peacock. That was four times the prior Kentucky Oaks record (593,000 viewers in 1997 on ESPN) and nearly eight times the average of the last three years' audiences (304,000 on USA Network).
G2 Dahlia Stakes won by Jancis
Granted the ideal scenario of fast ground and a fast pace to aim at, Arturo Cousino's Jancis (Tamayuz) finally had her big day in Sunday's G2 Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket. Held up off the strong tempo set by Shadwell's free-going Falakeyah (New Bay), the Willie McCreery-trained 5-year-old was able to deliver an even surge under Sean Levey to take command inside the final furlong and stretch to a 1.75-length verdict over Cathedral (Too Darn Hot) in a fast time. There was an 8.5-length gap back to the Group 1 filly Survie (Churchill) in third.
“You can't get quick enough ground for her,” McCreery said of the lightly raced homebred, whose finest hour to date had come when winning the 2024 G3 Brownstown Stakes. “She loved it and won well - Sean said she did everything right. She danced all the dances last year and was a bit unlucky at times, but she needs quick ground and for them to go quick up front.”
“We'll go to Royal Ascot,” McCreery added. “Arturo has a farm in Chile and will be over for it. He is a longstanding owner and those colours have been in his family for over 90 years.”
“This mare was in utero on the plane in Amsterdam to go to America and then on to Chile, but her dam was uncomfortable on the plane and came back to Ireland - sadly she died two weeks after having this foal. Arturo boards his horses at Ballylinch Stud and I also train for Ballylinch Stud, so that is how the connection came about. Arturo has a vineyard and every time Jancis wins we get a case - so we try to win as much as we can as it's beautiful wine! She is named after the wine critic Jancis Robinson.”
Best Secret wins Group 3
In the space of two and a half minutes at a rain-soaked ParisLongchamp, Wathnan's Best Secret (Persian King) became the operation's worst kept secret as he produced an impressive display to take the G3 Prix d'Hedouville.
Benefitting from the strong tempo set by the Dubai Sheema Classic runner-up West Wind Blows (Teofilo), the 15-2 shot delivered an impressive penultimate furlong of 11.22 given the testing conditions to overwhelm that even-money favourite. Cajoled to the line by Christophe Soumillon, he stayed on strongly to score by three lengths with the rest strung out behind.
“We've always held him in high regard,” Richard Brown said. “Luckily, he's one of those horses who will go on any ground and he's only going to get better with age.”
Pretty Polly won by Jennifer Jane
The Johnston barn had not annexed Newmarket's Listed Pretty Polly Stakes since Marie De Medicis won in 2010 and bridged a 16-year gap with an impressive front-running performance by Russell Trew and Townbraccan's Jennifer Jane (New Bay) in the 10-furlong Oaks trial at HQ.
“She's in the (G1) Irish (1000) Guineas, but I wouldn't have thought you would come back two furlongs after that. She hadn't wintered great and was quite light through the spring so, frustratingly, I haven't been too ambitious with the entries. That might have to change now. She's not in the (G1) Oaks, but this trip feels right and she has a nice blend of speed and stamina,” said trainer Charlie Johnston.
Classic quandary for Graffard
One of two entered in the Oaks by Francis Graffard along with the talented Gilded Prize, Behrayna (Sea The Moon) made light work of her first serious task in Sunday's Listed Prix de la Seine at ParisLongchamp.
While Epsom and the Prix de Diane are considerations, Graffard, who won this 12 months ago with the class act Sunly, is considering going the same, more conservative route with Behrayna as that Juddmonte filly and take in the G3 Prix de Royaumont and G2 Prix de Malleret during the summer.
“She confirmed the class she showed last time, had the speed to get an early position and to really quicken and maintain it well,” he said. “There are two possible routes, either the Royaumont/Malleret one or to give it a go in a bigger target so I'll talk to Nemone and Princess Zahra and see how she comes out of this.”
“I always thought she would be a mile-and-a-half filly, but Mikael said she could do the Diane trip without any problem.”
