Latest news with #CiaronMaherRacing
West Australian
24-05-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
Two-year-old debutant takes the eye as Belmont is postponed prior to Sprint
Following two encouraging trials and hot betting support, newcomer Too Darn Stormy made a winning start to his career courtesy of a brilliant William Pike ride. From gate 11, Pike pushed his way to be prominent and wedged his way into a position one-off the fence in fifth place. The son of Too Darn Hot, who was backed from $7 down to $2.45 on TABtouch, travelled powerfully into the home bend as Moonwalk ($5.50) mastered Queen Selyse ($126). As Moonwalk committed for home 250m out, Pike unwound Too Darn Stormy down the outside, making his run with Playin'it Sweet ($5). At the 150m, both Moonwalk and Pony Up ($34) dipped while Queen Selyse stumbled noticeably, further enhancing Too Darn Stormy's already tight winning claims. Despite a gallant fighting effort from Moonwalk, Too Darn Stormy drew away to win by a half-length on his fellow debutante. Passed in as a yearling for $400,000 at a 2024 Easter Sale, the bay has an eye-catching ownership group featuring Ciaron Maher Racing and their head of bloodstock Will Bourne. Dan Morton turned out some capable youngsters earlier in the season and Too Darn Stormy appears yet another Ascot carnival prospect for the trainer later this year. 'It was a little bit sticky being wide early, but he slotted in nicely and the horse was good enough to get it done,' Morton said. 'I'll probably give him another go around. He's been well looked after to this point, so he's fit and ready to go around again. 'We'll get a couple of runs under his belt and then look at the end of the year. 'It goes a long way when they're schooled up good for you, which he has been. 'Hopefully he can keep building on that for us. He's a nice horse.' Pike also credited the attitude of the gelding, saying he was a ready-made racehorse despite his inexperience. 'Initially I thought, 'this is good, I'll get across easily' but a couple kicked up quite strongly,' Pike said. 'I was umming and ahhing on what to do, whether I give him a good kick and go around. 'Luckily for me, two-year-olds are green and they're wobbly and a couple of holes appeared, and I was able to get a nice cart up behind them. 'He was actually an absolute ripper. He jumped cleanly, came back to me when the pace steadied and, most importantly, has a lovely turn of foot. 'He trialled professionally, he's racing professionally, and there's definitely some upside there.' Upon review of the race footage, stewards were accompanied by senior jockeys and trainers to assess the portion of the track near the 150m where the three horses had stumbled. Stewards could find no identifiable reasons for numerous horses reacting to the area, but the track was deemed unsafe for racing to continue and subsequently postponed the meeting. There was no new date advertised for the Group 3 Belmont Sprint to be held. + Zaza Rock ($3.10) and Fat Roy Slim ($3f) continued their battles in the staying ranks with the scorecard now reading 2-0 in favour of the former across the last fortnight. As Zaza Rock peeled three wide passing the 600m, Fat Roy Slim latched onto her back to give chase. Zaza Rock reached the front rounding the turn and it was a case of déjà vu as Fat Roy Slim came off her heels but fell more than a length short.
The Australian
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The Australian
Punters in a ‘Daze' as import causes a boilover
Given his history, the aptly-named import Glory Daze was always going to find an off-season Benchmark 88 easier than some of the races he has found himself in. Now a resident of Bong Bong in the southern highlands, Glory Daze's opening seven starts in his native Europe included a tussle with future stablemate and Caulfield Cup winner Duke De Sessa in a Group 3 at Leopardstown at start number three. Fast forward to starts six and (finally) seven and the grandson of our own Exceed And Excel contested both the English and Irish Derbies during June 2022. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Saturday's 2000m assignment at Royal Randwick tested the stamina as much, or more, as either of the two classics, illustrated by a 60 length margin between winner Glory Daze and the French import Behtar at the back. The result wasn't just an Irish-bred quinella, it was a double celebration for syndications firm, MyRacehorse whose racehorses, Glory Daze and Adam Hyeronimus' ride Bear On The Loose, pocketed over $100,000 between them for their hard earned efforts. 'He (Glory Daze) was looking for a trip and he was looking for a wet track,' Ciaron Maher Racing's Johann Gerard-Dubord said. 'This has been a long time between drinks but a couple of preps ago when he won here with Nash (Rawiller), it was very impressive. • Queensland Oaks on radar for Let's Fly 'He is a horse that has had a few issues. The owners have been very patient and it was good to see they got rewarded. 'He's just got a big action and he needs to use that. It is the first time he found a Heavy track but I think the heavier the better and you won't get much heavier than that today. That will give him plenty of confidence too. 'He is in a good spot at the moment and will improve again off the back of that.' Glory Daze's heroics marked win 107 for star apprentice Benjamin Osmond. 'He's huge. He's got a massive stride,' the jockey said. 'The race panned out well. I always felt like I was going to get to Adam but it just took a long time to get there.'
News.com.au
24-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Patience pays off as Glory Daze finds his best form to claim an upset win on a wet Randwick
Given his history, the aptly-named import Glory Daze was always going to find an off-season Benchmark 88 easier than some of the races he has found himself in. Now a resident of Bong Bong in the southern highlands, Glory Daze 's opening seven starts in his native Europe included a tussle with future stablemate and Caulfield Cup winner Duke De Sessa in a Group 3 at Leopardstown at start number three. Fast forward to starts six and (finally) seven and the grandson of our own Exceed And Excel contested both the English and Irish Derbies during June 2022. Saturday's 2000m assignment at Royal Randwick tested the stamina as much, or more, as either of the two classics, illustrated by a 60 length margin between winner Glory Daze and the French import Behtar at the back. The result wasn't just an Irish-bred quinella, it was a double celebration for syndications firm, MyRacehorse whose racehorses, Glory Daze and Adam Hyeronimus ' ride Bear On The Loose, pocketed over $100,000 between them for their hard earned efforts. 'He (Glory Daze) was looking for a trip and he was looking for a wet track,' Ciaron Maher Racing's Johann Gerard-Dubord said. 'This has been a long time between drinks but a couple of preps ago when he won here with Nash (Rawiller), it was very impressive. Glory Daze powers home to win at Randwick for @cmaherracing at big odds! ðŸ'° â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 24, 2025 • Queensland Oaks on radar for Let's Fly 'He is a horse that has had a few issues. The owners have been very patient and it was good to see they got rewarded. 'He's just got a big action and he needs to use that. It is the first time he found a Heavy track but I think the heavier the better and you won't get much heavier than that today. That will give him plenty of confidence too. 'He is in a good spot at the moment and will improve again off the back of that.' Glory Daze's heroics marked win 107 for star apprentice Benjamin Osmond. 'He's huge. He's got a massive stride,' the jockey said. 'The race panned out well. I always felt like I was going to get to Adam but it just took a long time to get there.'
