Racing

Kendall Jennings. With four group one race wins under his belt, former Myall lad, Jye McNeil, has been granted his international jockey licence. The 27-year-old heads to the Hong Kong Jockey Club for a six-week adventure, including the Longines Hong Kong International on December 11, with the possibility of the tenure increased.

148th Annual Cooktown Race Day, 5 November 2022

Tablelands trainer Ricky Ludwig says he’s not coming to Cooktown to run second with his leading Cup hope Lord of Light, who he expects to win this Saturday. “It’s a bit hard to say without seeing the fields but I think he’ll be good enough to win,” he said on Monday afternoon.

Victoria's annual awards for off-the-track Thoroughbreds and re-trainers have been presented at a luncheon at Werribee Mansion hosted by the program’s organising bodies, Racing Victoria and Equestrian Victoria. The awards for the 2021-22 season included specific acknowledgement for performances in several equestrian disciplines, as well as the people who helped get the horses there.

Jeff Hanson. Harness racing lost a legend last week, with Colin Pike passing away in his home town of Temora on Thursday at the age of 90 ... Pike's first horse, Rayjen began racing in 1956 and she was his first race drive ... Rayjen went on to produce one of the greatest pacers this country has ever seen. Paleface Adios (Deep Adios x Ray-den) started 240 times winning 108 races ...

Thomas Gallagher from Tyndale enjoyed a successful season in the 2022 Australian Kart Championship in the  Class Tag 125 Seniors division,  placing third overall and finishing first in the NSW round at Newcastle and second at Melbourne ... Finding venues to practice and compete has been a challenge since the Grafton Sporting Car Club ceased karting at Mountain View Motor Sport Complex, with the family often travelling to Coffs Harbour, Ipswich and Newcastle.

With wonderful prizemoney on offer and one of the final chances to gain a place in the $2 Million Big Dance at Randwick on Melbourne Cup day, outstanding nominations have been received for the $200,000 Carlton Dry Port Macquarie Cup at the circuit on Friday. The champion stable of Chris Waller has earmarked five horses for the club’s feature with Quality Time spearheading the team following two strong metropolitan wins by the German import.

Jeff Hanson. Nick Souquet has found his way back to the winner’s circle after landing good victories at Canberra on Saturday and Narrandera on Monday. On Saturday at Canberra, the Tumbarumba product and Wodonga-based hoop emerged victorious in the 1600m TAB Federal aboard the Mitch Beer-trained Scarlet Prince.

Xavier Jacobs-Twain. After a worrying week of torrential rains and local flooding, Grafton Sporting Car Club welcomed  a near capacity field of almost 70 cars and drivers with two fantastic blue-sky days for the running of the club's 5th and 6th rounds. The field  got off to a flying start as the track dried out and heated up.

Licences for any professional horse activity and events in Victoria could be brought in under proposed new animal welfare laws. The proposal has been outlined in a plan developed as part of the reform process for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 and states that anyone “showing and exhibiting animals for a commercial purpose” would be subject to new regulations, including that a “licence is required”.

A great appreciation for his home circuit and the ability to manage rain affected conditions provides Laphroaig with strong prospects to take the next step in the Stowe Australia Port Macquarie Cup Prelude at the track this Sunday ... The Paul Shailer trained gelding has amassed four wins and three placings with two local victories being on the heavy ground and the extra distance seems suitable for the upcoming campaign.

The Melbourne Cup visited Allora with guests from the Victoria Racing Club, Ray Dummett and jockey John Letts ... Cr Marco Gliori presented a poem he wrote about the thrill of the Melbourne Cup.

An elite stable of dedicated Post Entry Quarantine officers is ensuring some of the world’s most valuable shuttle stallions are happy, healthy – and won’t pose a biosecurity risk while on stud duties in Australia. The 55 horses – hailing from Europe, Japan, the USA and Canada, and worth a combined $450 million – have touched down in Australia for the Southern Hemisphere Thoroughbred breeding season.

Bob Burow was the only Mount Isa trainer to send a horse to Birdsville and he was duly rewarded when The Brotherhood scored an easy win on Saturday ... The two-day meeting was more like a circus ... The fields were already tiny before Todd Austin had to scratch his horses, but they continued to dwindle as rain hit the region.

Kendall Jennings. Local lad, Jye McNeil, was awarded his first Scobie Breasley Medal on Saturday night, with 56 votes. The Scobie Breasley Medal dates to 1996 when Damien Oliver won the inaugural award, an award he has won 11 times ... The annual jockey’s award sees votes cast by racing stewards on a one, two and three point basis of the best horse ride of the day, of which Jye has had a few this season with 114 wins and a Group 1 win.

Emma Pritchard. The name is synonymous with producing some of the most recognisable and sought-after speed-boats to race across the country, and the world ... Founded over 70 years ago by renowned shipwright Harry Hammond who was later joined in the family business by his son Mark, Hammond Craft built some of the most versatile speedboats in the country during the 1950s and 1960s.

Day 1 of the iconic Birdsville Races, originally scheduled to kick-off on September 2 has been postponed following unseasonal inclement weather that has made track conditions temporarily unsuitable for racing. The Saturday race program on September 3, which will include the headline TAB Birdsville Cup will proceed as scheduled.

All roads lead to Birdsville this week - or do they? While the Birdsville Race Club isn't expected to have its annual two-day meeting directly impacted by rain, there are concerns that roads leading there could be cut off to visitors. Unseasonal August rain hit the North West and parts of the Channel country earlier this week and some roads were quick to shut, albeit temporarily.

We know the Melbourne Cup is visiting Allora on Wednesday 14th September but what we didn’t know is the Melbourne Cup will be here for the whole day - not just an hour or so. This is wonderful news as everyone will get a chance to see and maybe have a photo taken with the Cup ... Touring with the Cup will be well-known Champion Jockey John Letts who rode two winners in the Melbourne Cup.

Despite resuming from a spell since scoring at the track last April, Miss Santorini is poised for a successful return in the Club North Haven Camden Haven Cup at Port Macquarie on Saturday. After breaking her maiden status with a commanding victory over Father’s Day at Mudgee earlier in the year, the daughter of Eurozone was sent to the spelling paddock after accounting for Luminoso at the Port circuit four months ago.

Has the last thoroughbred race been run and won at Camooweal? The president of the race club thinks so ... Camooweal had successfully raced for 132 years until last year when it was deemed by Racing Queensland that the track was no longer fit for racing ... Racing Queensland could have a crisis on its hands, with many other bush clubs under threat of losing their annual meetings due to a lack of funding for infrastructure, especially for track upgrades.

In stark contrast to public perception, a detailed investigation into Australia’s thoroughbred racing industry has found more than 90 per cent of horses retiring from racing go on to enjoy life outside the industry as pleasure or companion horses  or broodmares. Significant attention  has been  directed at the industry  recently regarding the fate of thoroughbreds retiring from racing.