Tough conditions set to suit rugged Rebel's Edge
On an expected Heavy 8 or 9 rating, the Muswellbrook-based six-year-old is primed to capture a seventh career win at his 53rd start, deep into a drawn out and sparingly raced campaign.
Stabled with Cassandra Stummer, Rebel's Edge is on an 11-day back-up after a game closing effort from last in the tougher Benchmark 78 Gunnedah Cup, finishing only five lengths from the winner despite that torrid run.
And that already looks a strong country form line, given second-placed Fiorsum Fred was coming off a dominant Highway win at Scone on the Stand-Alone Saturday meeting on May 17.
Prior to the Gunnedah run, Rebel's Edge was only a bit over three lengths from a smart winner of the Country Cup over 1400m, run on the opening day of the Scone Cup carnival.
Over the testing mile at Taree, connections quickly booked leading jockey Aaron 'Raging Bull' Bullock to ride.
While he hasn't won for nearly a year, Rebel's Edge has a sound wet track record, with four of his six career wins coming on either soft or heavy tracks.
But there's no shortage of well-placed challengers here on the Mid North Coast.
Wyong five-year-old Wealthy Investor has placed in two from three runs this prep against deeper opposition; tough mare Veandechance reloads four weeks after failing to run home in a BM 82 over 1435m on the North Coast; while progressive home tracker Otium is out to capture a fourth win from just 17 starts.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Herald Sun
3 hours ago
- Herald Sun
A-League: Sydney FC fear Douglas Costa won't return
Don't miss out on the headlines from Football. Followed categories will be added to My News. Sydney FC has started planning for life without Douglas Costa, with fears growing that the former Juventus and Bayern Munich star won't return for the upcoming A-League season. Costa remains in his home country of Brazil for personal reasons, and while Sydney officials are remaining patient with the 34-year-old winger, they need the issue resolved so they have time to find a replacement, if needed, before the transfer window closes next month. While the Sky Blues remain hopeful Costa returns, the club's other Brazilian import, midfielder Leo Sena, is set to be cut loose by the club. Sydney's head of player management Alex Baumjohannn on Monday told club supporters at a fan forum that Sena was no longer part of the Sky Blues' plans despite having a season to run on his contract. Douglas Costa may not return for a second season in the A-League. Picture:Sky Blues coach Ufuk Talay on Wednesday said Sena, 29, was 'mentally and physically not in the place we want him to be'. 'Personal issues that he's had off the field has definitely hindered his physical side of the game, so it's disappointing in that sense because we still believe he's a quality player that definitely adds value to our team, but we'll see how things pan out in the next couple of weeks with him,' Talay said. 'He's still part of the group, he's still here with the team, but moving forward we'll see how that pans out.' As for Costa, Talay said the club had no choice but to be prepared for the potential non-return of its marquee man. 'We want Douglas back. He's dying to get back,' the Sydney mentor said. 'There's no definite timeline, but for us, at the same time, we're thinking ahead. If things don't go to plan, we don't need to be sitting on our hands. 'We're hoping that we can get him here as soon as possible, but in the background, there is some work being done, so if it doesn't plan out the way we want it to be, we'll have to move forward in another direction. 'We're very wary as a team and as a club that the transfer window is closing pretty soon, and we need to make sure that we're not left in the lurch without getting a player across the line.' Costa and former Manchester United star Juan Mata were the A-League's two prized recruits ahead of the 2024-2025 season. However, there's now a chance that neither will be part of the competition going forward, with Spanish veteran Mata yet to decide if he will re-sign with Western Sydney Wanderers, where he received little game time last season under coach Alen Stajcic. The A-League futures of Juan Mata (left) and Costa remain clouded. Picture:Mata, 37, has also been linked with a move to Central Coast; however, the Mariners have been reluctant to sign new players due to financial constraints. While the Gosford-based club last week announced the signing of former Socceroos goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne, it's understood the Mariners had to go through with the acquisition of the ex-Sky Blues gloveman after intervention from Professional Footballers Australia because the veteran custodian signed a contract with Central Coast for the new season in March. Originally published as Sydney FC forced to plan for potential exit of Brazilian star Douglas Costa
Sydney Morning Herald
12 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
The trophy in Trump's Oval Office is everything that's wrong with world soccer
On the latter, Infantino has been the subject of intense hostility from domestic leagues and players' unions, to the point FIFA has been fighting legal fires over the world governing body's alleged 'abuse of dominance' and lack of consultation when adding to an insanely congested international calendar. This is understandable. A Europe-based player who participates in Euro 2024, the 2025 Club World Cup and the 2026 World Cup will effectively have zero rest for three straight off-seasons. There is no room to move, and how the Club World Cup affects the domestic season of Chelsea and PSG et al may yet be revealing. Then back into the oppressive North American summer heat they will go for a World Cup across three countries in the US, Canada, and Mexico. There's nothing like watching an injured player doing his best work. 'FIFA was put on earth really to regulate the global game and to run international football, and the Club World Cup is a move into club football,' Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said earlier this month. FIFPro president Sergio Marchi, meanwhile, labelled it 'nothing more than a fiction created by FIFA' and its 'grandiloquent staging inevitably reminiscent of the 'bread and circuses' of Nero's Rome'. There are so many more voices in this debate, but for the sake of brevity, let's stick with former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp, who called it 'the worst idea ever implemented in football in this regard'. Arsene Wenger, a vocal critic of fixture congestion throughout his previous role overseeing Arsenal, has now taken a 'fantastic competition' view in his current capacity as FIFA's chief of global football development. 'A real Club World Cup was needed,' said Wenger, who recently campaigned for a World Cup every two years. He added that every club involved would favour this format moving forward – and of course they would when the prize fund is $US1 billion. Chelsea received an estimated $US114.6 million; it is little surprise other big European clubs would like a piece of the pie. Real Madrid's reported push for a biennial cycle is apparently supported by other clubs who failed to qualify for this year's tournament, including Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool and Napoli. The proposal for 48 teams fits that agenda given that, unless FIFA lifts its cap of 12 European entrants and two from each country, expansion is the only way to ensure more European clubs (notwithstanding other cross-continental quirks in the qualifying criteria). But this tells us what the Club World Cup is not. It is not a bucket-list trophy like the World Cup or continental championships. The value is not in the prestige of the title. Had Inter Miami (demolished by PSG in the round of 16) won, Lionel Messi would not have retired any more contented for the privilege (he already has three of the old Club World Cups with Barcelona). There is no way he would have picked this space-age trophy over the World Cup he finally added to his otherwise complete CV in 2022. That is not to say the football was bad. Despite the naff, corporate anti-culture, the actual football was quite good, headlined by novelty rivalries and upsets galore. Al Hilal knocked out Manchester City and Auckland City drew held Boca Juniors to a draw. Then there was the standout quality and colour of Brazilian sides Flamengo (beat Chelsea), Botafogo (beat PSG), Fluminense (beat Inter Milan and made the semi-finals) and Palmeiras (topped their group and made the quarters). In this sense, the organisers were savvy, offering an extended hand to the peripheral or uninitiated football fan, and to America's diaspora who comprised a portion of these numbers (not that this was intended given the Trump administration's stance on diversity and immigration). It offered hope for the future of such an event, if treated more modestly. But FIFA is nothing if not bloated, and the money speaks for itself: the revenue averaged out at $US33 million per match. At that rate, why not add even more games? The problem here is that the world governing body is failing to recognise the law of diminishing returns that are less tangible than cold, hard cash. All that money has cheapened the global football ecosystem, in a surreal sort of inflation that disrupts its delicate balance without actually distributing wealth in a more equitable way. Diluting the game's meaning without addressing the yawning gap between rich and poor. Infantino, presumably the Nero in Marchi's metaphor, nevertheless hailed his pet project as 'a huge, huge, huge success' on the eve of the final. He did so from New York's Trump Tower, where FIFA has set up a base and where he refused to answer any questions regarding anything unrelated to the Club World Cup (like Saudi Arabia being awarded hosting rights to the 2034 World Cup) and even some things related to the Club World Cup (like Saudi's Surj Sports Investments largely bankrolling the tournament). And so, once again, propaganda wins the day. Soft power and influence and sportswashing remain the modus operandi, and Trump's trophy will keep playing its geopolitical part from the Oval Office. Loading Infantino is somewhere up in space, mapping the approximate positions of planets at the time of FIFA's foundation in 1904 and the Club World Cup's opening match in 2025. Orbiting the earth in pursuit of celestial symbols to engrave on his trophy, just to give others the chance to 'hold the world of club football in their hands'.
The Age
12 hours ago
- The Age
The trophy in Trump's Oval Office is everything that's wrong with world soccer
On the latter, Infantino has been the subject of intense hostility from domestic leagues and players' unions, to the point FIFA has been fighting legal fires over the world governing body's alleged 'abuse of dominance' and lack of consultation when adding to an insanely congested international calendar. This is understandable. A Europe-based player who participates in Euro 2024, the 2025 Club World Cup and the 2026 World Cup will effectively have zero rest for three straight off-seasons. There is no room to move, and how the Club World Cup affects the domestic season of Chelsea and PSG et al may yet be revealing. Then back into the oppressive North American summer heat they will go for a World Cup across three countries in the US, Canada, and Mexico. There's nothing like watching an injured player doing his best work. 'FIFA was put on earth really to regulate the global game and to run international football, and the Club World Cup is a move into club football,' Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said earlier this month. FIFPro president Sergio Marchi, meanwhile, labelled it 'nothing more than a fiction created by FIFA' and its 'grandiloquent staging inevitably reminiscent of the 'bread and circuses' of Nero's Rome'. There are so many more voices in this debate, but for the sake of brevity, let's stick with former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp, who called it 'the worst idea ever implemented in football in this regard'. Arsene Wenger, a vocal critic of fixture congestion throughout his previous role overseeing Arsenal, has now taken a 'fantastic competition' view in his current capacity as FIFA's chief of global football development. 'A real Club World Cup was needed,' said Wenger, who recently campaigned for a World Cup every two years. He added that every club involved would favour this format moving forward – and of course they would when the prize fund is $US1 billion. Chelsea received an estimated $US114.6 million; it is little surprise other big European clubs would like a piece of the pie. Real Madrid's reported push for a biennial cycle is apparently supported by other clubs who failed to qualify for this year's tournament, including Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool and Napoli. The proposal for 48 teams fits that agenda given that, unless FIFA lifts its cap of 12 European entrants and two from each country, expansion is the only way to ensure more European clubs (notwithstanding other cross-continental quirks in the qualifying criteria). But this tells us what the Club World Cup is not. It is not a bucket-list trophy like the World Cup or continental championships. The value is not in the prestige of the title. Had Inter Miami (demolished by PSG in the round of 16) won, Lionel Messi would not have retired any more contented for the privilege (he already has three of the old Club World Cups with Barcelona). There is no way he would have picked this space-age trophy over the World Cup he finally added to his otherwise complete CV in 2022. That is not to say the football was bad. Despite the naff, corporate anti-culture, the actual football was quite good, headlined by novelty rivalries and upsets galore. Al Hilal knocked out Manchester City and Auckland City drew held Boca Juniors to a draw. Then there was the standout quality and colour of Brazilian sides Flamengo (beat Chelsea), Botafogo (beat PSG), Fluminense (beat Inter Milan and made the semi-finals) and Palmeiras (topped their group and made the quarters). In this sense, the organisers were savvy, offering an extended hand to the peripheral or uninitiated football fan, and to America's diaspora who comprised a portion of these numbers (not that this was intended given the Trump administration's stance on diversity and immigration). It offered hope for the future of such an event, if treated more modestly. But FIFA is nothing if not bloated, and the money speaks for itself: the revenue averaged out at $US33 million per match. At that rate, why not add even more games? The problem here is that the world governing body is failing to recognise the law of diminishing returns that are less tangible than cold, hard cash. All that money has cheapened the global football ecosystem, in a surreal sort of inflation that disrupts its delicate balance without actually distributing wealth in a more equitable way. Diluting the game's meaning without addressing the yawning gap between rich and poor. Infantino, presumably the Nero in Marchi's metaphor, nevertheless hailed his pet project as 'a huge, huge, huge success' on the eve of the final. He did so from New York's Trump Tower, where FIFA has set up a base and where he refused to answer any questions regarding anything unrelated to the Club World Cup (like Saudi Arabia being awarded hosting rights to the 2034 World Cup) and even some things related to the Club World Cup (like Saudi's Surj Sports Investments largely bankrolling the tournament). And so, once again, propaganda wins the day. Soft power and influence and sportswashing remain the modus operandi, and Trump's trophy will keep playing its geopolitical part from the Oval Office. Loading Infantino is somewhere up in space, mapping the approximate positions of planets at the time of FIFA's foundation in 1904 and the Club World Cup's opening match in 2025. Orbiting the earth in pursuit of celestial symbols to engrave on his trophy, just to give others the chance to 'hold the world of club football in their hands'.
