Latest news with #Femminile
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Femminile chasing South Australian and Queensland Derby double at Eagle Farm Saturday
A day's detour is unlikely to hinder Pakenham trainer Phillip Stokes 's bid for a second Queensland Derby triumph at Saturday's Eagle Farm meeting. The Stokes-trained Femminile will run in new colours in the Queensland Derby after Yulong Investments paid $1.5m for the South Australian Derby winner at a Gold Coast auction on Tuesday. Thankfully for Stokes, Femminile's preparation was not disrupted by days spent parading at the Magic Millions sales complex. I was very happy when they (Yulong) rang me straight after the sale to tell me we'd better get her back into her box,' Stokes said. 'She only had to spend one day at the sales, she didn't have to be there any longer.' The Queensland Derby wasn't on Stokes's mind when Femminile returned to work for her autumn campaign. The Group 1 Australasian Oaks was Femminile's initial target but Stokes decided to give the Dundeel filly a crack at the boys in the South Australian Derby. • 'She got beaten in the Oaks but I actually thought the fillies were better than the colts,' Stokes said. 'We were going to run her in the other 2500m feature (the Group 3 SA Fillies' Classic) the week after so thank God my racing manager pushed the button and nominated her for the Derby. 'She got a peach of a ride and got the job done. 'It wasn't the initial plan to go to the Queensland Derby but when she won the South Australian Derby, I thought, 'let's try and do this again'.' Stokes said recent history was on Femminile's side in the Queensland Derby. He noted several Queensland Derby winners, including his own galloper Mr Quickie, were beaten in the South Australian Derby before heading north. 'History tells you the South Australian Derby has been a good pointer for the Queensland Derby,' Stokes said. 'Last year, Warmonger was beaten in the SA Derby and won the Queensland Derby. 'Mr Quickie got beaten in the South Australian Derby and won the Queensland Derby and there's been a few others as well.' Magicool and Ruthven reinforce Stokes's point. Both horses were beaten in the South Australian Derby before claiming the Queensland Derby in 2015 and 2017 respectively. Femminile is a $8 chance to become the first filly to win the Queensland Derby since the Bart Cummings-trained Dariana prevailed in 2010. 'She's very clean-winded and Ethan Brown galloped her on Tuesday at the Gold Coast and he was really taken by her,' Stokes said. 'If we get any rain, which I think is forecast, she'll love it.'
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Trainer Emma-Lee Browne confident Statuario can reverse result on Femminile in Queensland Derby rematch
They're the Pakenham pair ready to pack a powerful punch in Saturday's Group 1 Queensland Derby at Eagle Farm. Victorian horses Statuario and Femminile delivered a thriller in this month's South Australian Derby, with the Phillip Stokes-trained filly Femminile holding on to win the major at $19 odds. • Racenet iQ members get full access to our Pro Tips service, where Greg Polson and our team of professional punters provide daily tips with fully transparent return on investment statistics. SUBSCRIBE NOW and start punting like a pro! Statuario's co-trainer Emma-Lee Browne is hoping they can again jag the quinella on Saturday, although this time she wants her grey gelding to take the chocolates. Blake Shinn, the Doomben Cup winner on Queensland hero Antino, will jump aboard Femminile while John Allen will ride Statuario, the $6 early favourite for the 2400m race ahead of King Of Thunder ($7), Party Crasher ($8) and Femminile ($9.50). Browne, who trains in partnership with husband David, said Statuario had travelled 'super' to the Gold Coast and would be primed to turn the tables on Femminile in the Queensland Derby. • 'You don't know how they're going to cope with the travel until they've had that race-day pressure but he hasn't missed a feed and his weight is super,' she said while enjoying an outing with her family at Gold Coast tourist attraction Dreamworld. Statuario was the warm favourite for the SA Derby but got caught behind horses on the inside of the track before eventually finding space and motoring home to finish just three-quarters of a length behind Femminile. They're a tight-knit racing community at Pakenham and the rivalry between stables is definitely more friendly than fierce. Stokes, who grew up at a cattle station near Marree in northern South Australia, even helped arrange the transport to Queensland for both his horses and Statuario. 'You've got to have everything go right in a Group 1 and you've got to have a bit of luck on your side,' Browne said about the $1m SA Derby (2500m) at Morphettville on May 3. 'But at least it was a Pakenham victory – we've taken that, with Phillip Stokes being from both places. 'We're incredibly lucky down at Pakenham, it's a fantastic group and we all support each other. It makes a difference – it's a good atmosphere. 'Phillip pretty much organised my trip up here so that's been incredibly helpful. 'We're hoping we can quinella the Queensland Derby too but we still want to turn the tables this time.' Browne said the four-week gap between races was ideal for Statuario and she was encouraged by the path of the Mick Price and Michael Kent Jr-trained Warmonger, who finished runner-up in last year's SA Derby before winning the Queensland edition. 'The way he (Statuario) travelled home from Adelaide and the way he bounced around the track made us think 'OK let's see how he pushes on',' she said. 'It was good to have the four weeks between races because you could really see how he was doing. 'We're very happy with the horse, he's had a super prep. It'd be a cherry on top if he goes well this Saturday.'
News.com.au
21-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
South Australian Derby winner Femminile to have new owners for Queensland Derby
It's not often that a Group 1-winning filly is sold just four days before a shot at back-to-back majors but that's exactly the scenario with Queensland Derby contender Femminile. The three-year-old filly is expected to have new owners when she lines up in the $1m feature at Eagle Farm next Saturday in a field that her trainer Phillip Stokes believes is the strongest in many years. 'That's quite unique, although they do it quite a bit overseas,' Stokes said of the impending sale. 'So basically someone will have the chance to buy the horse that's going to run in a Derby four days later. It's quite a good carrot, I suppose.' Femminile held off the challenge of South Australian Derby (2500m) favourite Statuario to win this month's Group 1 at Morphettville by three-quarters of a length at odds of $19. The three-year-old filly is an $11 chance to salute in the Queensland Derby (2400m) behind favourite King Of Thunder ($6), Belle Detelle ($8) and Statuario ($8). The John O'Shea and Tom Charlton-trained gelding King Of Thunder finished third in the Rough Habit Plate (2000m) at Doomben last weekend, the traditional lead-up race to the Queensland Derby, while Chris Waller's filly Belle Detelle was sixth on a heavy track. 'I think it's not a bad Derby this year,' said Stokes, who won the 2019 Queensland Derby with Mr Quickie. 'I just think it looks stronger than previous years from what I've seen. 'We bring winning form, we don't mind wet tracks and we've got (jockey) Blake Shinn, they're our positives.' Stokes said he was encouraged by last year's formlines when the Mick Price and Michael Kent Jr-trained gelding Warmonger finished runner-up in the SA Derby and then emphatically won the Queensland Derby four weeks later. 'The formula seems OK,' he said. Shinn rode Warmonger last year and he will be back to defend his crown on Femminile, the daughter of Dundeel. Stokes said Ethan Brown would ride his other two runners on Derby Day – last-start Group 3 Cummings Stakes winner Regal Azmon and Stay Focused, which triumphed in the Listed Nitschke Stakes (1400m) in Adelaide on April 5. Stokes was hoping for a heavy track for the Queensland Derby given that Femminile 'sprouted wings' on a bog surface at Morphettville in her maiden win in June last year but he is unlikely to get his wish because the sun is finally shining in Brisbane this week.
Herald Sun
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Herald Sun
South Australian Derby winner Femminile to have new owners for Queensland Derby
Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News. It's not often that a Group 1-winning filly is sold just four days before a shot at back-to-back majors but that's exactly the scenario with Queensland Derby contender Femminile. The three-year-old filly is expected to have new owners when she lines up in the $1m feature at Eagle Farm next Saturday in a field that her trainer Phillip Stokes believes is the strongest in many years. • 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! 'That's quite unique, although they do it quite a bit overseas,' Stokes said of the impending sale. 'So basically someone will have the chance to buy the horse that's going to run in a Derby four days later. It's quite a good carrot, I suppose.' Femminile held off the challenge of South Australian Derby (2500m) favourite Statuario to win this month's Group 1 at Morphettville by three-quarters of a length at odds of $19. The three-year-old filly is an $11 chance to salute in the Queensland Derby (2400m) behind favourite King Of Thunder ($6), Belle Detelle ($8) and Statuario ($8). • Heathcote poised to spring upset with luckless $2.3m earner The John O'Shea and Tom Charlton-trained gelding King Of Thunder finished third in the Rough Habit Plate (2000m) at Doomben last weekend, the traditional lead-up race to the Queensland Derby, while Chris Waller's filly Belle Detelle was sixth on a heavy track. 'I think it's not a bad Derby this year,' said Stokes, who won the 2019 Queensland Derby with Mr Quickie. 'I just think it looks stronger than previous years from what I've seen. 'We bring winning form, we don't mind wet tracks and we've got (jockey) Blake Shinn, they're our positives.' • Shinn in emotional history-making Doomben Cup mission Stokes said he was encouraged by last year's formlines when the Mick Price and Michael Kent Jr-trained gelding Warmonger finished runner-up in the SA Derby and then emphatically won the Queensland Derby four weeks later. 'The formula seems OK,' he said. Shinn rode Warmonger last year and he will be back to defend his crown on Femminile, the daughter of Dundeel. Stokes said Ethan Brown would ride his other two runners on Derby Day – last-start Group 3 Cummings Stakes winner Regal Azmon and Stay Focused, which triumphed in the Listed Nitschke Stakes (1400m) in Adelaide on April 5. Stokes was hoping for a heavy track for the Queensland Derby given that Femminile 'sprouted wings' on a bog surface at Morphettville in her maiden win in June last year but he is unlikely to get his wish because the sun is finally shining in Brisbane this week. Originally published as South Australian Derby winner Femminile to have new owners for Queensland Derby
New Paper
19-05-2025
- Sport
- New Paper
Femminile to be ridden by Shinn
BRISBANE Trainer Phillip Stokes is doing everything in his power to ensure Group 1 winner Femminile gets the best chances in the A$1 million (S$832,000) Group 1 Queensland Derby at Eagle Farm on May 31. The Pakenham trainer has engaged one of Australia's top hoops to take the reins on Femminile and he has received a commitment from Blake Shinn to ride the three-year-old daughter of Dundeel. The 2,400-metre event will be run four days after the recent winner of the Group 1 South Australian Derby (2,500m) is offered for the sale at the Magic Millions National Broodmare sale on May 27. Stokes said the bay filly, who will trial at Pakenham on May 20, presents a great opportunity for prospective buyers. "She's going through the sale a few days before, so the new buyers can have a runner in the Derby," said Stokes. "She'll have a reverse trial on Tuesday and then go up at the end of the week. She seems well." Femminile became the second filly in a row to upstage the boys in the South Australian Derby on May 3, after Coco Sun won the Adelaide classic in 2024. Femminile was then ridden by Lachlan Neindorf, who carried the OTI Racing colours to victory at Morphettville. 2008 Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Shinn, who also bagged eight winners over two stints in Singapore in 2015 and 2022, will be chasing back-to-back Queensland Derbys in the same colours. in 2024, he partnered the OTI Racing Stable-owned Warmonger to a brilliant 10½ length-win. Femminile will be one of three Stokes-trained runners Shinn rides on May 31. He is also booked on Regal Azmon and Stay Focused. Stokes is keen to test the seven-year-old Regal Azmon beyond 1,600m after his barnstorming win in the Group 3 Cummings Stakes at Morphettville on May 10, with the Group 2 Lord Mayor's Cup (1,800m) on May 31 identified as a good option. "I thought he's in his career-best form, so we might as well have a crack at that," he said. "He's an older horse, but he's going as good as ever." The Queensland Derby is one of two Group 1 races to be run at the Queensland Winter Racing Carnival at Eagle Farm on May 31. The other highlight is the A$1 million Kingsford Smith Cup (1,300m). On May 24, the Group 1 spotlight will be shining on Doomben instead, with the clash of 2024 Australian Horse of the Year Pride Of Jenni and Queensland star Antino in the A$1 million Doomben Cup (2,000m) set to turn heads. After finishing last in the Group 1 Champions Mile (1,600m) at Flemington on Nov 9, 2024, Pride Of Jenni bled and was initally retired by her owners, but the Ciaron Maher-trained mare surprised many by coming out of retirement in early 2025. The seven-year-old daughter of Pride Of Dubai has since won twice from three starts, including the Group 2 Peter Young Stakes (1,800m) on March 15 and her last start in the Listed Anniversary Vase (1,600m) on May 3. Both races were run at Caulfield. Craig Newitt, who was her winning partner in the two races, will take the reins on Pride Of Jenni. Recent Group 2 Hollindale Stakes (1,800m) winner Antino will be ridden by Shinn again. Then, given an astute ride by Shinn, the Tony Gollan-trained six-year-old dashed clear to win by 3½ lengths at Gold Coast on May 10. The Brisbane Racing Club will "shout the bar", or give a free round of beers to racegoers should favourite Pride Of Jenni or Antino wins the Doomben Cup. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's homegrown talent Matthew Poon has also earned a ride in the Doomben Cup on Klondike for trainers John O'Shea and Tom Charlton. The Galileo five-year-old last won the Group 3 Prix De Reux (2,500m) at Deauville in France last August, when under the care of William Haggas. "I was really surprised. I was very happy to get the opportunity because it is one of my career goals to ride in a Group 1 overseas, so I'm really keen on this opportunity and I really appreciate it," Poon told the Hong Kong Jockey Club. "I think this will be a really good experience to get rides, especially in a Group 1, in a different country." The 2015/16 South Australian champion apprentice's biggest career win was on Straight Arron in the Group 2 Chairman's Trophy (1,600m) at Sha Tin on March 30. SKY RACING WORLD
