Golden Slipper nominations are open
The Australian Turf Club announced on Wednesday that nominations for the 2027 G1 Golden Slipper are now open. First nominations of yearlings with a $440 entry fee must be lodged before 3pm on Tuesday, July 7. “From the moment a Thoroughbred is born, owners, breeders and trainers begin to live the dream of having a runner in the TAB Golden Slipper,” Australian Turf Club Head Of Racing and Wagering Nevesh Ramdhani said in a press release.
“No other race in Australia has the potential to shape the racing and breeding industries, most notably the potential value of a TAB Golden Slipper winning colt. The TAB Golden Slipper is an iconic event in world racing as part of Sydney’s renowned Autumn program.” The 2027 race is worth $5 million plus trophies.
Second winner for Splintex
West Australian first season sire Splintex celebrated his second winner on Wednesday when 2-year-old filly She’s A Splinter won for trainer Josh Brown at Pinjarra. The Group 2 winning son of Snitzel has also been represented by stakes placed winner They’reallsisters and stakes placed Yamanex.
She’s A Splinter | Image courtesy of Western Racepix
She’s A Splinter was bought by her trainer for $35,000 from Darling View Thoroughbreds’ Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale draft. She is the third winner for Toni May (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}) who won five races and is from the family of Group 1 winners Champagne (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}) and St Reims (NZ).
Esperenza to win sire’s race on Saturday
Eureka Stud hope their 2-year-old filly Esperenza (Spirit Of Boom) can win the race named for her sire on Saturday, the G2 Spirit Of Boom Classic. “It was a very sad and hectic day when Spirit Of Boom passed away last week and so many people sent texts and contacted me, I started to get very cut up (emotional) by the end of the day,” Scott McAlpine told racenet.com.au.
Scott McAlpine | Image courtesy of Inglis
“It would definitely be a very emotional moment if Esperanza could win in Spirit Of Boom's honour on Saturday. It is a tough race, but we hope the racing gods can smile on us. I will be trackside with (son) Angus and (wife) Grania and we will be cheering hard.”
Ten more stakes horses join Magic Millions
On Wednesday, Magic Millions announced that ten stakes performed fillies and mares have been added to the upcoming Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale to be held on May 26 and 27. Supplementary entries for the National Broodmare Sale close on Friday.
Lindsay Park-trained 2-year-old filly Free Flying (Snitzel), who placed in the Listed Debutant Stakes on debut, leads the new announcements. The $750,000 yearling is a half-sister to Group 2 winner Learning To Fly (Justify {USA}) is out of Group 3 winner Ennis Hill (Fastnet Rock).
Group placed Kitty Flash (NZ) (Ace High), a half-sister to recent G3 Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes victrix Satono Glow (NZ) (Satono Aladdin {Jpn}) is joined by Group 3-placed Phenom (Zoustar) who has three wins to her name.
Fearless Graham rides Reserve Bank
Jockey Cejay Graham has been tasked with keeping Reserve Bank (Capitalist) sensible in Saturday’s G1 Doomben 10,000. “She's a very confident, fearless young rider so we just wanted to keep her on,” co-trainer Michael Kent Jnr told racenet.com.au.
Michael Kent Jnr | Image courtesy of Racing Photos
Scratched from the G1 Galaxy after being unsettled in the gates thanks to a lightning storm, Reserve Bank had issues again in the G2 Victory Stakes, but ultimately took place in the field. “I was in Adelaide watching at the time and I must admit I was a little worried. But when Cejay came back in, she said ‘no, he wasn't that bad at all'. She thought that they (barrier attendants) possibly overreacted a little bit and that they shouldn't have taken him out.”
Stradbroke aims for small Estadio Mestalla
Trainer Joe Pride will make a decision on a trip to Queensland for the G1 Stradbroke Handicap for Estadio Mestalla (Ire) (Galileo Gold {GB}) after Saturday’s Listed Luskin Star Stakes at Scone. “He ran really well in the Hunter second-up last preparation off a poor draw,” Pride told racingnsw.com.au.
Joe Pride | Image courtesy of Inglis
“He has a good draw here, he’s always in the finish. When I say the finish I mean the first five or six, he doesn’t know anything else. He’s become very genuine the longer I’ve had him, I love him. He’s such an honest horse and he races over a wide range of distances.
“Generally you wouldn’t want a small weak horse to carry a big weight but he’s a well balanced horse. And quality helps him carry weight. I’m very happy with him, he will peak third-up but he will run a very nice race at Scone.”
Churchill’s Choice aiming for Cup double
Trainer Nathan Doyle thinks Churchill’s Choice (Churchill {Ire}) can win Listed Scone Cup if she brings her last start winning G3 Hawkesbury Gold Cup form to the plate. “I thought she’d be hard to beat in a maiden at Scone but she continued to trend the right way and it was a well deserved and overdue win in the Hawkesbury Cup,” Doyle told racingnsw.com.au.
Churchill’s Choice | Image courteys of Sportpix
“We haven’t done a lot with her. She was super first-up at Newcastle, it was a bit of a head scratcher her next run. I thought she might be a fresh horse so we went a month between runs and a trial and it seemed to work with her and we haven’t done a lot with her with the two week turn around into Scone.”
He also has 3-year-old filly Mercy Me (Hellbent) running the Listed Denise’s Joy Stakes on Saturday. “We identified this race as soon as she won at Canterbury. I wanted to get her in with no weight, she’s had two trials to bring her back up to speed and she’s definitely ready to go.”
Leek faces Tribunal
Trainer John Leek Jnr faced the Victorian Racing Tribunal on Wednesday with regards to allegations of tubing a horse on race day. He was found guilty and is likely to be given a mandatory minimum 12-month disqualification for treating The Storyteller (NZ) (Roc De Cambes {NZ}) on July 24, 2025 on the way to Warrnambool races.
John Leek Jnr | Image courtesy of Racing Photos
“We will provide written reasons for our decision in hopefully a few days' time,” Judge Harbison said.
“All I will say at the moment, on behalf of the tribunal, is that the matter of most significance is what we take to be clear admission by Mr Leek at the time, shortly after the offending took place. The matters which were addressed in submissions we'll take on board and provide written responses in detail as to the view that we take.” The Storyteller was scratched that day and has since won twice.
Racing SA releases economic impact report
The Economic, Social & Community Benefits of the South Australian Racing Industry report by leading sports industry specialists IER has been released and found that in 2024/25, racing added $729.3 million to the state's economy and supports 5,041 FTE roles.
“Pleasingly but not surprisingly, the report confirms what we have known about our industry – that it is a key contributor to the economic and social fabric of our state,” Racing SA Chair Rob Rorrison said.
“This strength is being reflected at every level of thoroughbred racing in South Australia, including in our field sizes, which, at 10.8 starters per race, are the best in the nation. The strategic path we are taking to grow our industry is benefiting not only racing but also our state as a whole.”
Double for Omaha Beach at Bendigo
Former shuttle sire Omaha Beach (USA) sired a double on Wednesday at Bendigo with Robbie Griffiths-trained 3-year-old gelding Path Of Heroes coming off a last start second to record his first win.
Patrick Payne-trained Clevor Trever made it two wins in succession, having placed in both his first two starts to take his record to two wins and two seconds from four starts. The 3-year-old gelding is a half-brother to Listed winner Jimmy The Bear (Jimmy Creed {USA}).
Savabeel double in New Zealand
Champion Sire Savabeel sired a double at Matamata’s Wednesday meeting with Mark Walker & Sam Bergerson-trained 2-year-old gelding Honour Roll (NZ) victorious at his second start while stablemate 4-year-old mare Luvabeel (NZ) won her maiden.
The Te Akau stable’s 4-year-old mare Sabatini (NZ) (El Roca) stayed unbeaten in winning for the second time and gave the training duo a treble for the day.
Romantic Warrior relation added to Tattersalls Breeze Up
Four wildcards have been added to next week's Tattersalls Ireland Breeze Up Sale, led by Lot 276 – Cormac Farrell's CF Bloodstock will offer a Siyouni colt out of a dual-winning Exceed And Excel half-sister to the 14-time Group 1 winner Romantic Warrior. The sale takes place on Thursday, May 21 and Friday, May 22.
Strong field for Lockinge Stakes
A high-class edition of the G1 Lockinge Stakes is in prospect at Newbury on Saturday, with Damysus (Frankel), Opera Ballo (Ghaiyyath) and Zeus Olympios (Night Of Thunder) headlining a 13-strong list of contenders for the Group 1 showpiece.
Damysus kicked off his four-year-old campaign with an impressive victory in last month's G3 Earl Of Sefton Stakes at Newmarket, while Opera Ballo had Zeus Olympios back in third when winning the G2 bet365 Mile at Sandown.
“He's in great form and will definitely come on fitness-wise for his run at Sandown,” said Zeus Olympios’ trainer Karl Burke. “It's an open-looking Lockinge and I've not lost any confidence in him for getting beat. Obviously, it was disappointing to lose his unbeaten tag, but in the long-term that is irrelevant.”
Aidan O'Brien | Image courtesy of The Hong Kong Jockey Club
Charlie Appleby, the trainer of Opera Ballo, could also be represented by last year's GI Breeders' Cup Mile hero Notable Speech (Dubawi), while Aidan O'Brien's main contenders, The Lion In Winter (Sea The Stars) and Expanded (Wootton Bassett), will be joined by Mississippi River (Lope De Vega), who was supplemented on Monday at a cost of £20,000 (AU$37,400).
O'Brien said, “The Lion In Winter goes to Newbury. We supplemented a horse Mississippi River this morning to make the running for him and Expanded is there as well.
“We haven't seen the best of The Lion In Winter yet. If we get the right set up for him, we might see it. We'll go to the Lockinge and see what will happen. I think he's come forward from Leopardstown. He needs to, but I think he has.”
Gavelhouse live for bidding
The Gavelhouse Plus May Premium Broodmare Sale is live with five premium lots to close next Wednesday. Marsh Racing’s recently retired Hitabell (NZ) (Embellish {NZ}) and Glamour Tycoon (Written Tycoon) are joined by Haunui Farm and Frantic Bloodstock’s trio of mares; Rondinella (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}), Sudbina (NZ) (Almanzor {Fr}) and Tinnelly (NZ) (O’Reilly {NZ}).
Rondinella and Sudbina are in foal to Super Seth.
Blessed Flyer tops Fasig-Tipton Digital
With a clearance rate of 91%, the Fasig-Tipton May Digital Sale closed Tuesday with gross sales of US$2,229,500 (AU$3 million). Topping the 69 sold was Blessed Flyer (Dialed In), who hammered for US$270,000 (AU$373,000) to Mike Tomlinson, agent for Mark Farrar and Patricia's Hope LLC. Consigned by Evergreen Equine, agent and sold as hip 1, Blessed Flyer is a 2-year-old colt who captured his debut in a Keeneland maiden special weight on April 16.
“I'm really excited about the results, especially as we had only a week from the April sale to put together this catalogue,” said Fasig-Tipton's Director of Digital Sales Leif Aaron. “Every segment of the market was strong, including breeding stock, and the repository was busy as well. The market is showing that there is still a huge demand for horses of all types.”
Lowest reported fatality rate by HISA
The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) released its 2026 First Quarter Metrics Report Tuesday with a new low 0.95 racing-related fatalities per 1,000 starts for the quarter.
During the first three months of the year (January 1-March 31), racetracks operating under HISA rules reported that 99.91% of starts occurred without a fatality. Of the racing-related fatalities recorded this quarter, 81% were attributable to musculoskeletal causes, 16% to sudden death and 3% to other causes.
Racetracks operating under HISA rules (and training centers owned by them) also reported 0.67 training-related deaths per 1,000 workouts during the same time period. Of the training-related fatalities recorded this quarter, 82% were attributable to musculoskeletal causes and 18% to sudden death. HERF similarly benefitted training safety this quarter, saving two horses (Chrissy and Pie) who would otherwise have been training-related fatalities. Both horses are thriving and will soon transition to second careers.
“HERF's work is a powerful complement to the progress we already have seen from HISA's racetrack safety and anti-doping rules,” said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus. “Our rules are driving meaningful, measurable improvements in safety across the industry, and now when a horse suffers an on-track reparable injury despite those protections, HERF gives us a way to fight for that animal's life so they can go onto a second career. Together, these efforts reflect what HISA was always meant to be: a comprehensive, unified approach to making this sport safer for horses and riders alike.”
During the first quarter of 2026, HISA recorded an average of 11.7% scratches per entry at HISA tracks, compared to 11.6% in the same period last year–essentially flat year-over-year. The report notes that HISA is continuing its comprehensive review aimed at updating the Veterinarians' List and Stewards' List categories across U.S. Thoroughbred racing, with changes targeted for later this year.
