Extragalactic ready for Moir challenge
Trainer Trent Edmonds is chasing his first black type win since stepping out on his own, and hopes his mare Extragalactic (Deep Field) can do in style in Saturday’s G1 AJ Moir Stakes. “I scratched her from the Carlyon purely because I didn't want to rip the guts out of her first-up at 1000, knowing that my first big target for the preparation was in two weeks' time,” Edmonds told racingandsports.com.au.
“I wasn't running away from the Heavy, I was trying to protect her and have her cherry ripe this week rather than trying to patch her back up after a Heavy track run.”
Pride’s love for Private Eye
Joe Pride’s 9-year-old gelding Private Eye (Al Maher) will run in Saturday’s G2 Tramway Stakes and he’s exactly the type of horse that made Pride fall in love with racing. “Racing to me has always been about the horses and seeing horses like Private Eye and Mr Brightside, they are two of the champs of Australian racing for mine,” Pride told racingnsw.com.au.
Private Eye | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“They’re tough, they never give in, they’re so consistent. That’s the part of racing I enjoy, that’s what I want my stable to be where it can. I’d like to think I’ll have a few more of them because I love leaving horses to mature. To get horses that train on, they were the horses that I grew up on.
“I was watching Super Impose, Vo Rogue, Better Loosen Up. Tough horses that went around week in week out and took on the good horses. To me that made racing special.”
Marhoona’s Everest plans still unknown
Trainer Michael Freedman will resume multiple Group 1-winning mare Marhoona (Snitzel) in Saturday’s G2 Concorde Stakes but whether she heads to the G1 The Everest is still unknown. “It’s a very hot race, like most of them lining up in that race most of them would have similar thoughts and ambitions,” Freedman told racingnsw.com.au.
“She’s there to run well, though I haven’t had any discussion with Emirates about their desire for a runner in the Everest as yet. We’re all of the opinion you wait and see how they come back and if it becomes a discussion you need to have you have it then.
Marhoona | Image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography
“She seems to be in great order, her trials have been really good. I think it’s the best she’s been in my view. Emirates are big and prominent breeders and these mares are valuable to them. She’s very lightly raced, she’s only had nine career starts, she hasn’t been overly taxed.”
Bellatrix Star headlines Inglis Digital
G2 Schillaci winner and Group 1-placed Bellatrix Star (Star Witness) headlines a 275 lot Inglis Digital catalogue that opened for bidding on Friday and closes on Wednesday September 9. “James Price inspected her at Cranbourne earlier this week and said she’s a beauty,” Inglis Bloodstock Sales Manager and New Zealand representative Brett Gilding said.
“I have pestered John Galvin repeatedly about selling her and while it’s disappointing that he and his partners probably never got to see the very best of her – she only had 13 starts – we are determined to get them the very best result that we can through the sale.
“She makes a hell of a lot of appeal and it’s fairly obvious that she is going to breed million-dollar yearlings for someone if she breeds them looking like her!”
Manzelmann hopes to add proper Birdsville Cup
John Manzelmann won last year’s Birdsville Cup, six weeks after his horse The Driller (Sea The Stars {Ire}) ran second but was promoted when Clinton Austin-trained Testator Silens (Star Witness) was disqualified after a post-race blood sample was found to contain substances Bupivacaine and Lignocaine. He’s back this year as an owner with Lachie Manzelmann-trained pair of Our Missile (Smart Missile) and Raetihi (NZ) (Savabeel).
“Last year I watched the Birdsville Cup standing next to you, Ben (Dorries), and I thought my horse had run second and I was pleased with that,” Manzelmann told racenet.com.au.
“Probably about four to six weeks later, Emma Bell, who rode my horse, told me there was word on the grapevine that we were going to win the Cup. It felt a bit hollow, I really felt sorry for Clint Austin who is a good bloke. It would be good to win it as an owner this year, in different circumstances.
“Our Missile is the better horse, but the other one (Raetihi) has drawn good and he's a leader and the apprentice jockey who is riding him has won on him before. I think that horse will run really well. As for Our Missile, he has gone from one end of Queensland to the other. He travels really well and he is a bit of a dumb kind of horse. He just enjoys getting off the truck and eating and drinking and getting back on the truck, so the trip to Birdsville suits him.”
Edmonds wins Wayne Wilson Medal
At Thursday night’s Queensland Trainers Association awards, trainer Toby Edmonds won the Magic Millions Wayne Wilson Medal with 138 votes from Robert Heathcote on 133 votes. Emerald trainer Glenda Bell was also recognised for her decades of dedication to the thoroughbred industry, receiving Pat Duff Trophy. “This trophy is incredibly special to our family,” QTA executive Rich Andrews read on behalf of Bell’s family.
“While Pat achieved a great deal during his lifetime in racing, what mattered most to him were the people. For that reason, it means a great deal to us to see the trophy presented to someone who has made such a lasting contribution to racing.
“Glenda, your involvement in racing spans more than three decades and your achievements speak for themselves. From your unique achievement of being both a successful trainer and jockey to the continued success of your stable today, you have become an enduring and highly respected part of the Queensland racing community.
“Beyond those achievements, what stands out is the way you have given back to racing and to the people within it. The way you value your team, support those around you and continue to contribute to racing and your community reflects the qualities Pat held close and we know he would be very pleased to see this trophy presented to you.”
The Rising Star award went to Todd Pollard who trained two stakes winners in his first season of training. The Rising Star award will be officially named the ‘Tony Gollan Trophy’ going forward in recognition of Queensland’s Hall of Fame trainer.
McAvaney added to SA Hall Of Fame
Legendary sports broadcaster Bruce McAvaney OAM will be inducted into the South Australian Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame at the Sportsbet SA Racing Awards on September 5. Born and raised in Adelaide, McAvaney began his broadcasting career with radio station 5DN, calling the Oakbank races after calling his first-ever race meeting at Mindarie-Halidon in 1977.
McAvaney received the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2002 for his service to sports broadcasting and the community. His many honours also include induction into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, TV Week Logie Hall of Fame and Australian Football Hall of Fame.
His induction into the South Australian Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame recognises a career that began in South Australian racing almost 50 years ago and a contribution that has continued well beyond.
Quartet for Brown at Mornington
Jockey Ethan Brown won four races at Mornington on Friday, opening with the first on Richard Laming-trained debutant 4-year-old gelding Iamabadguy (Russian Camelot {Ire}). He won the second on Cliff Brown-trained Mykindakandy (Admire Mars {Jpn}), and the fourth on Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr-trained 3-year-old gelding Come Together (Maurice {Jpn}).
Brown had to wait till the eighth race on the nine-race card to make it a quartet when victorious on Anthony and Sam Freedman-trained Tsarine (NZ) (Savabeel).
Cool Aza Beel sires double at Canberra
On Friday, Cool Aza Beel (NZ) sired a double at Canberra. Annabel and Rob Archibald-trained Feazabeel took his record to three wins from 12 starts. He is a half-brother to Group 2 winner and G1 Memsie Stakes-placed Beau Rossa (Unencumbered).
Gratz Vella-trained Deeply, who won his maiden at this track last start, made it two wins in succession. He is the first foal of unraced Mutual (Spirit Of Boom).
Prague filly looks a picture ahead of Sunline
Trainer Michelle Bradley is thrilled with the way She’s No Saint (Prague) has developed ahead of Saturday’s G3 Sunline Vase. “I took a video for the clients yesterday and she was standing perfectly still so I took a photo at the same time,” Bradley told Loveracing.nz.
“I haven’t gone back to look at the photo of her as a yearling and compared the two, but I have sat back and looked at that photo over the last couple of days and I have thought ‘geez, she is developing into a lovely filly’.
She's No Saint | Image courtesy of Race Images
“I think she is not far from being fully grown now, she has just got to fill out. You hear of these mares, like Well Written, and I haven’t seen her in person this time back, but it sounds like she has really filled out and matured. That is what this filly has to do now. She has put all her weight over spelling time into growing up. It is just time for her to start growing out and getting stronger, which will happen in time.”
She’s No Saint has won her last three in succession including a last start win in the G3 Northland Breeders’ Stakes.
Mucho Macho Man colt tops Canadian Yearling Sale
A colt by Mucho Macho Man (hip 131) topped the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society's Yearling Sale when bringing a final bid of C$140,000 (AU$141,000) from K & J Bloodstock, as agent for Al and Bill Ulwelling Wednesday at the Woodbine Sales Pavilion. The yearling was bred by Phoenix Rising Farms and was consigned by Susan Y. Foreman, agent. He is out of Ghost Painter (Munnings), a half-sister to stakes winner Friendly Ghost (Outwork). The Ulwellings, who won the 2025 King's Plate with Mansetti (Collected), also purchased a colt by Reload (hip 70) for C$27,000 (AU$27,200) at Wednesday's auction.
“It was an incredible effort by everyone involved in this year's sale,” said David Anderson, President of the Board. “Our breeders and consignors worked tremendously hard to present such a strong group of yearlings, our buyers showed tremendous confidence in the Ontario-bred and Ontario-sired product, and our staff did an outstanding job managing the challenging weather conditions and keeping the sale moving forward. We literally caught lightning in a bottle. A result like this is truly a team effort, and everyone involved should be proud.
“We want to recognize and thank the Government of Ontario for its commitment to the Thoroughbred Industry and for the new funding that is making a real difference,” he continued. “The enhanced incentives and opportunities now available for Ontario-bred and Ontario-sired horses are a significant investment in the future of our breeding and racing programs. We are excited about what these programs mean for our breeders, owners and the entire Ontario Thoroughbred Industry, and we look forward to building on this momentum.”
Gross receipts of C$4.47 million (AU$4.5 million) was the highest in over 10 years and improved by 22% on last year's figure. The average of C$30,828 (AU$31,000) was also the highest in over a decade while the median price finished on C$17,000 (AU$17,100). Each of those was ahead by 13% over 2025. The buyback rate was 23%.
LaMonica succeeds Cox at Darley USA
Katie LaMonica has been promoted to Director of Marketing at Darley America, while Matt Daubeney has joined the operation in Nominations Sales. LaMonica steps into the Director of Marketing role after more than two decades with Godolphin. Since joining the company in 2003, she has worked across much of the operation, holding roles in stallion nominations and in marketing, and most recently serving as Charities Manager. In her new role she will lead marketing for the Darley America stallion roster. LaMonica succeeds Jim Cox, who retired in July after 19 years with Godolphin.
Daubeney will join Darren Fox and Kate Galvin on the Nominations Team as a point of contact for breeders using the Darley America stallions. Originally from Jersey, in the Channel Islands, Daubeney completed the National Stud course in Newmarket in 2024. He went on to graduate first in his class from Godolphin Flying Start in 2026, completing work placements at Keeneland and at Waikato Stud in New Zealand.
“There is very little about Godolphin and the Darley stallions Katie hasn't touched, and she brings a new perspective to our marketing,” said Godolphin America's chief operating officer Dan Pride. “We are also excited to welcome Matt, who topped his Flying Start class and arrives with real enthusiasm for the stallion business.”
Light Up Racing’s free communications package
Light Up Racing today launched its free, online Welfare Communications Workshop, making the communications training delivered to 200 Thoroughbred industry participants across six tracks over the past two years available industry-wide for the first time.
The seven-topic, self-paced program gives trainers, owners, racetrack staff, executives and other industry participants practical tools to communicate clearly, confidently and credibly when welfare issues emerge–whether in the media, across social platforms or in everyday conversations about the sport.
The workshop is available now at: www.lightupracing.com/welfare-communications-workshop/ and is free to anyone in the Thoroughbred racing industry.
The online workshop expands the reach of Light Up Racing's signature cohort training program, which spent two years traveling across the country and working directly with participants throughout the industry. The curriculum has now been adapted into an online format so that the lessons and tools developed through that work remain accessible to the industry anytime, anywhere.
“The need for this kind of training extends far beyond any one organization,” said Price Bell, Chair of the Light Up Racing Board of Directors. “We made this investment because we believe the industry is stronger when the people within it are equipped to communicate openly, thoughtfully and credibly about the issues that matter. As Light Up Racing approaches the conclusion of its work, we wanted to leave behind something practical and lasting–an industry resource that can continue meeting this need long after Light Up Racing itself is gone.”
Solitary Man tops GoffsGo Sale
Ten-time winner Solitary Man topped the GoffsGo Early September Sale when selling for £60,000 (AU$113,000) to Ed Bailey Bloodstock and Harry Derham on Thursday. Sold as lot 10 from Enda Bolger's Howardstown Stables, the Champs Elysees gelding landed this year's Midlands National at Kilbeggan.
“Harry and I were delighted to buy Solitary Man today” said Bailey, “I've been following him for a while – he is a high-quality horse who is ready to run in races with good prize money, so I was thrilled when he appeared on GoffsGo for the early September Sale.”
American man arrested over anti-slaughter laws
Robert M. Seitz, a Pennsylvania man hauling 25 horses through New York, allegedly with the intent of transporting the equines to Canada for slaughter, has been arrested as a New York law banning slaughter was enforced for the first time, according to a report in the Times Union. The horses have been rescued.
The anti-slaughter legislation took effect in 2024 but had never been called into play until Seitz came to the attention of New York authorities due to the joint efforts of the New York State Humane Association, the office of State Sen. Daniel Stec from Warren County (N.Y.), equine welfare organization Horsepower Inc., and a nonprofit animal rights organization called Animals' Angels. The groups worked together, alerting New York State Police about the intended transport. According to the Times Union, an investigation of the Pennsylvania-based Rotz's Livestock was launched, looking into allegations that horses there were being purchased and transported through New York to Canada for slaughter.
Seitz was pulled over just before 2:30 a.m. Wednesday on U.S. Highway 11, approximately 25 miles from a border crossing in Ogdensburg, according to the Times Union. He was allegedly towing a livestock trailer with the 25 horses inside tagged for slaughter in Quebec. Seitz is first person ever to be arrested under the 2024 New York law banning equine slaughter.
