Son of American and Kiwi winners on track for Gosford breakthrough
He's bred along cross-continental staying lines, and the best is well and truly ahead for a promising four-year-old resuming at Thursday's Gosford meeting.
Unusual Prospect, a very lightly raced gelding in the John O'Shea and Tom Charton stable at Randwick, is set to open his account in a moderate Super Maiden Handicap over 1600 metres.
He hasn't raced since charging home from the back to be beaten under a length at Kembla over the same trip in late January on his Australian debut.
Prior to that, he had opened his career with a narrow second placing in New Zealand early last spring.
But Unusual Prospect was quickly on the plane across the Tasman to find his new home at Randwick, and after that eye-catching first-up run, connections are confident he can plot his way through the middle distance and staying ranks, especially on winter's often rain-affected tracks.
Unusual Prospect is a son of high class American sire Unusual Suspect who was a nine-time winner in the US before heading Down Under to finish his career.
And he's out of a Kiwi mare by Irish superstar Cape Cross who was unbeaten from only three starts, twice winning the Queen Anne (1600m) at Royal Ascot.
Unusual Prospect will likely jump a short-priced favourite behind two progressive trials on what will be an improved surface, with predominantly fine weather forecast.
If all goes to plan he could quickly be aimed at some of the better Saturday city middle distance and staying races through winter.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
40 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Deal agreed over Postecoglou's successor at Spurs
Tottenham have reached an agreement with Brentford to make Thomas Frank their next head coach. The PA news agency understands that, after days of negotiations, a deal was struck between the two Premier League clubs on Thursday. Spurs had quickly set their sights on Frank after Ange Postecoglou was sacked last week - only 16 days after he secured Europa League success - and made an official approach to Brentford on Monday. Discussions between Tottenham and Brentford initially centred on Frank's current terms at the west London club, which were set to run until the summer of 2027 and contained a release clause reportedly in the region of £10million. Further talks were required over which backroom staff Frank would take to Spurs but, eventually, a deal has been struck. Highly-rated Brentford first-team coach Justin Cochrane is set to follow Frank to Tottenham and, in the process, return to the club where he started his coaching journey. London-born Cochrane has been part of Frank's backroom staff since 2022, after he initially developed as a coach in Spurs' youth-team before a spell at Manchester United. Cochrane, 43, has earned a reputation as one of the brightest coaches in England and earlier this year joined Thomas Tuchel's coaching staff for the national team alongside his role at Brentford under Frank. Frank would take over a Spurs side which won a trophy for the first time since 2008 with victory in the Europa League final last month but finished 17th in the Premier League. The ex-Brondby boss has transformed Brentford during his seven-year spell in charge, with promotion from the Championship in 2021 followed by him establishing the club as a Premier League regular despite a modest budget. Later on Thursday, Tottenham announced Australian Mile Jedinak, Nick Montgomery and Sergio Raimundo - three members of Postecoglou's backroom staff - had officially left the club. Ryan Mason departed earlier this month to accept his first managerial role at West Brom.
The Advertiser
3 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Swim king Chalmers plans to feast while he can
Kyle Chalmers says swimming faster than at last year's Olympics is icing on the cake - and he's planning to gorge. Chalmers posted the third-quickest men's 100m freestyle time in the world this year at Australia's selection trials for the looming world championships. He also owns the second-fastest time in what is supposed to be a post-Olympic let-down of a year. On a Thursday night in Adelaide when Lani Pallister set an Australian women's 800m freestyle record, Chalmers clocked 47.29 seconds to follow his 47.27 in Norway on April 5. "I'm not here with pressure and expectation; anything I achieve from this point is just icing on the cake of my career," Chalmers said. "I'm stoked my body is feeling this good. "And that's why I want to capitalise on it while I can because I know it's not going to feel this good forever." Chalmers won gold in the event at the 2016 Olympics and silver at the following two Games - at last year's Paris edition he touched in 47.48. "I'm physically, mentally and emotionally in a great place," the 26-year-old said. "When all of those buckets are topped up, I can swim well." Chalmers' latest triumph came after Kaylee McKeown posted the fastest women's 200m backstroke time of the year at the Adelaide trials. Unlike Chalmers, she dismissed the feat as irrelevant ahead of the world titles in Singapore starting July 27. "It doesn't matter what you do here, it depends what you do on the day in an international meet," McKeown said after finishing in two minutes 04.47 seconds, some 1.33 seconds outside her world record. "I could be doing world records here, get to an international meet and come in last, so it really doesn't matter. "I have just got to get my mind right and see what I can do in a few weeks' time." The five-time Olympic gold medallist won all three backstroke events in Adelaide, over 50m, 100m and 200m. She now has a shot at repeating her unprecedented achievement from the 2023 worlds in Japan when she became the first female to win three golds in any stroke over 50m, 100m and 200m at an international meet. Also eyeing success in Singapore is Pallister, who broke Ariarne Titmus' national 800m freestyle record. Pallister's 8.10.84 was inside Titmus' previous benchmark of 8.12.29 set when winning Olympic silver year. "That's an Australian record I have wanted for a long time, since making my first team in 2022," said Pallister. The 23-year-old's record came just two months after joining coach Dean Boxall who also guides Titmus, who remains on a post-Olympic break. But in a shock result in the women's 200m butterfly, Paris Olympian Lizzy Dekkers missed out. Dekkers, who finished fourth in the Olympic final, was third behind Brittany Castelluzzo (2:06.91) and Abbey Connor (2:07.14) who both qualified for the worlds. In the men's 200m individual medley, 25-year-old David Schlict (1:58.10) shaded William Petric by 0.15 seconds - both also made the world championship team. Kyle Chalmers says swimming faster than at last year's Olympics is icing on the cake - and he's planning to gorge. Chalmers posted the third-quickest men's 100m freestyle time in the world this year at Australia's selection trials for the looming world championships. He also owns the second-fastest time in what is supposed to be a post-Olympic let-down of a year. On a Thursday night in Adelaide when Lani Pallister set an Australian women's 800m freestyle record, Chalmers clocked 47.29 seconds to follow his 47.27 in Norway on April 5. "I'm not here with pressure and expectation; anything I achieve from this point is just icing on the cake of my career," Chalmers said. "I'm stoked my body is feeling this good. "And that's why I want to capitalise on it while I can because I know it's not going to feel this good forever." Chalmers won gold in the event at the 2016 Olympics and silver at the following two Games - at last year's Paris edition he touched in 47.48. "I'm physically, mentally and emotionally in a great place," the 26-year-old said. "When all of those buckets are topped up, I can swim well." Chalmers' latest triumph came after Kaylee McKeown posted the fastest women's 200m backstroke time of the year at the Adelaide trials. Unlike Chalmers, she dismissed the feat as irrelevant ahead of the world titles in Singapore starting July 27. "It doesn't matter what you do here, it depends what you do on the day in an international meet," McKeown said after finishing in two minutes 04.47 seconds, some 1.33 seconds outside her world record. "I could be doing world records here, get to an international meet and come in last, so it really doesn't matter. "I have just got to get my mind right and see what I can do in a few weeks' time." The five-time Olympic gold medallist won all three backstroke events in Adelaide, over 50m, 100m and 200m. She now has a shot at repeating her unprecedented achievement from the 2023 worlds in Japan when she became the first female to win three golds in any stroke over 50m, 100m and 200m at an international meet. Also eyeing success in Singapore is Pallister, who broke Ariarne Titmus' national 800m freestyle record. Pallister's 8.10.84 was inside Titmus' previous benchmark of 8.12.29 set when winning Olympic silver year. "That's an Australian record I have wanted for a long time, since making my first team in 2022," said Pallister. The 23-year-old's record came just two months after joining coach Dean Boxall who also guides Titmus, who remains on a post-Olympic break. But in a shock result in the women's 200m butterfly, Paris Olympian Lizzy Dekkers missed out. Dekkers, who finished fourth in the Olympic final, was third behind Brittany Castelluzzo (2:06.91) and Abbey Connor (2:07.14) who both qualified for the worlds. In the men's 200m individual medley, 25-year-old David Schlict (1:58.10) shaded William Petric by 0.15 seconds - both also made the world championship team. Kyle Chalmers says swimming faster than at last year's Olympics is icing on the cake - and he's planning to gorge. Chalmers posted the third-quickest men's 100m freestyle time in the world this year at Australia's selection trials for the looming world championships. He also owns the second-fastest time in what is supposed to be a post-Olympic let-down of a year. On a Thursday night in Adelaide when Lani Pallister set an Australian women's 800m freestyle record, Chalmers clocked 47.29 seconds to follow his 47.27 in Norway on April 5. "I'm not here with pressure and expectation; anything I achieve from this point is just icing on the cake of my career," Chalmers said. "I'm stoked my body is feeling this good. "And that's why I want to capitalise on it while I can because I know it's not going to feel this good forever." Chalmers won gold in the event at the 2016 Olympics and silver at the following two Games - at last year's Paris edition he touched in 47.48. "I'm physically, mentally and emotionally in a great place," the 26-year-old said. "When all of those buckets are topped up, I can swim well." Chalmers' latest triumph came after Kaylee McKeown posted the fastest women's 200m backstroke time of the year at the Adelaide trials. Unlike Chalmers, she dismissed the feat as irrelevant ahead of the world titles in Singapore starting July 27. "It doesn't matter what you do here, it depends what you do on the day in an international meet," McKeown said after finishing in two minutes 04.47 seconds, some 1.33 seconds outside her world record. "I could be doing world records here, get to an international meet and come in last, so it really doesn't matter. "I have just got to get my mind right and see what I can do in a few weeks' time." The five-time Olympic gold medallist won all three backstroke events in Adelaide, over 50m, 100m and 200m. She now has a shot at repeating her unprecedented achievement from the 2023 worlds in Japan when she became the first female to win three golds in any stroke over 50m, 100m and 200m at an international meet. Also eyeing success in Singapore is Pallister, who broke Ariarne Titmus' national 800m freestyle record. Pallister's 8.10.84 was inside Titmus' previous benchmark of 8.12.29 set when winning Olympic silver year. "That's an Australian record I have wanted for a long time, since making my first team in 2022," said Pallister. The 23-year-old's record came just two months after joining coach Dean Boxall who also guides Titmus, who remains on a post-Olympic break. But in a shock result in the women's 200m butterfly, Paris Olympian Lizzy Dekkers missed out. Dekkers, who finished fourth in the Olympic final, was third behind Brittany Castelluzzo (2:06.91) and Abbey Connor (2:07.14) who both qualified for the worlds. In the men's 200m individual medley, 25-year-old David Schlict (1:58.10) shaded William Petric by 0.15 seconds - both also made the world championship team.
The Advertiser
3 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Cummins reaches milestone in WTC final masterclass
Pat Cummins has become the eighth Australian to take 300 Test wickets after demolishing South Africa in the World Test Championship final at Lord's. Australia have secured a first-innings lead of 74, skittling the Proteas for 138 midway through the second session of day two on Thursday. The evergreen fast-bowling machine of Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc proved no match for South Africa, who ended the WTC cycle on top of the table. While Starc started the destruction on Wednesday evening, Cummins (6-28) was relentless in finishing the job. It was the 14th five-wicket haul of Cummins' brilliant 68-Test career. The first fast-bowler to captain Australia long-term, Cummins joins the country's greats in reaching 300 wickets. Shane Warne (708 wickets) and Glenn McGrath (563) sit one and two, while Cummins' teammates Nathan Lyon (553) and Mitchell Starc (384) are next in line. Dennis Lillee (355), Mitchell Johnson (313) and Brett Lee (310) are the others to take more than 300. Out of those eight players, only McGrath has a better average (21.64) than Cummins (22.08). The 32-year-old also becomes the first captain since England's Bob Willis in 1982 to take a five-wicket haul at Lord's. One of Cummins' six victims was Kyle Verreynne, who had to go after being trapped lbw. As Cummins was appealing, he and Verreynne collided with each other and tumbled over. The umpire gave the South Africa wicketkeeper not out, but Cummins successfully appealed. Starting day two in serious trouble at 4-43, the Proteas were able to frustrate Australia's star-studded bowling attack in the first session and move to 5-121 at lunch in pursuit of 212. But Cummins inspired a collapse of 5-12 to put Australia in pole position to defend the WTC title they won in 2023. David Bedingham (45) top scored for South Africa, while Proteas captain Temba Bavuma survived a controversial DRS decision. Adjudged lbw on 16 off Josh Hazlewood, Bavuma left it late to review, but eventually took the decision upstairs with four seconds remaining. The ball would have been smashing into the stumps, but a spike on snicko incredibly meant Bavuma had survived. Former England captain Alastair Cook said during radio commentary he didn't believe Bavuma had hit it. But after looking promising, highlighted by smashing opposing captain Cummins for six, Bavuma (36) scooped a drive to cover where Marnus Labuschagne pulled off a terrific diving catch. South Africa, who won seven-straight Tests to qualify for the final, are attempting to break a title drought in ICC tournaments dating back to 1998. This AAP article was made possible by support from Amazon Prime Video, which is broadcasting the World Test Championship final. Pat Cummins has become the eighth Australian to take 300 Test wickets after demolishing South Africa in the World Test Championship final at Lord's. Australia have secured a first-innings lead of 74, skittling the Proteas for 138 midway through the second session of day two on Thursday. The evergreen fast-bowling machine of Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc proved no match for South Africa, who ended the WTC cycle on top of the table. While Starc started the destruction on Wednesday evening, Cummins (6-28) was relentless in finishing the job. It was the 14th five-wicket haul of Cummins' brilliant 68-Test career. The first fast-bowler to captain Australia long-term, Cummins joins the country's greats in reaching 300 wickets. Shane Warne (708 wickets) and Glenn McGrath (563) sit one and two, while Cummins' teammates Nathan Lyon (553) and Mitchell Starc (384) are next in line. Dennis Lillee (355), Mitchell Johnson (313) and Brett Lee (310) are the others to take more than 300. Out of those eight players, only McGrath has a better average (21.64) than Cummins (22.08). The 32-year-old also becomes the first captain since England's Bob Willis in 1982 to take a five-wicket haul at Lord's. One of Cummins' six victims was Kyle Verreynne, who had to go after being trapped lbw. As Cummins was appealing, he and Verreynne collided with each other and tumbled over. The umpire gave the South Africa wicketkeeper not out, but Cummins successfully appealed. Starting day two in serious trouble at 4-43, the Proteas were able to frustrate Australia's star-studded bowling attack in the first session and move to 5-121 at lunch in pursuit of 212. But Cummins inspired a collapse of 5-12 to put Australia in pole position to defend the WTC title they won in 2023. David Bedingham (45) top scored for South Africa, while Proteas captain Temba Bavuma survived a controversial DRS decision. Adjudged lbw on 16 off Josh Hazlewood, Bavuma left it late to review, but eventually took the decision upstairs with four seconds remaining. The ball would have been smashing into the stumps, but a spike on snicko incredibly meant Bavuma had survived. Former England captain Alastair Cook said during radio commentary he didn't believe Bavuma had hit it. But after looking promising, highlighted by smashing opposing captain Cummins for six, Bavuma (36) scooped a drive to cover where Marnus Labuschagne pulled off a terrific diving catch. South Africa, who won seven-straight Tests to qualify for the final, are attempting to break a title drought in ICC tournaments dating back to 1998. This AAP article was made possible by support from Amazon Prime Video, which is broadcasting the World Test Championship final. Pat Cummins has become the eighth Australian to take 300 Test wickets after demolishing South Africa in the World Test Championship final at Lord's. Australia have secured a first-innings lead of 74, skittling the Proteas for 138 midway through the second session of day two on Thursday. The evergreen fast-bowling machine of Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc proved no match for South Africa, who ended the WTC cycle on top of the table. While Starc started the destruction on Wednesday evening, Cummins (6-28) was relentless in finishing the job. It was the 14th five-wicket haul of Cummins' brilliant 68-Test career. The first fast-bowler to captain Australia long-term, Cummins joins the country's greats in reaching 300 wickets. Shane Warne (708 wickets) and Glenn McGrath (563) sit one and two, while Cummins' teammates Nathan Lyon (553) and Mitchell Starc (384) are next in line. Dennis Lillee (355), Mitchell Johnson (313) and Brett Lee (310) are the others to take more than 300. Out of those eight players, only McGrath has a better average (21.64) than Cummins (22.08). The 32-year-old also becomes the first captain since England's Bob Willis in 1982 to take a five-wicket haul at Lord's. One of Cummins' six victims was Kyle Verreynne, who had to go after being trapped lbw. As Cummins was appealing, he and Verreynne collided with each other and tumbled over. The umpire gave the South Africa wicketkeeper not out, but Cummins successfully appealed. Starting day two in serious trouble at 4-43, the Proteas were able to frustrate Australia's star-studded bowling attack in the first session and move to 5-121 at lunch in pursuit of 212. But Cummins inspired a collapse of 5-12 to put Australia in pole position to defend the WTC title they won in 2023. David Bedingham (45) top scored for South Africa, while Proteas captain Temba Bavuma survived a controversial DRS decision. Adjudged lbw on 16 off Josh Hazlewood, Bavuma left it late to review, but eventually took the decision upstairs with four seconds remaining. The ball would have been smashing into the stumps, but a spike on snicko incredibly meant Bavuma had survived. Former England captain Alastair Cook said during radio commentary he didn't believe Bavuma had hit it. But after looking promising, highlighted by smashing opposing captain Cummins for six, Bavuma (36) scooped a drive to cover where Marnus Labuschagne pulled off a terrific diving catch. South Africa, who won seven-straight Tests to qualify for the final, are attempting to break a title drought in ICC tournaments dating back to 1998. This AAP article was made possible by support from Amazon Prime Video, which is broadcasting the World Test Championship final.
