Latest news with #LeahGavranich
News.com.au
12-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
2025 Scone Cup favourite Know Thyself in danger of missing a start
Know Thyself, the form four-year-old, is a firming favourite for the Listed $200,000 Scone Cup (1600m) on Friday – but is in very real danger of missing a start. The Scone Cup has attracted a bumper 43 entries and Know Thyself is only 23rd in the order of entry, with the race having a maximum of 16 starters. But so impressive has Know Thyself been this autumn – reeling off four successive wins including the Country Championships Final during the Sydney carnival and then The Coast at Gosford last Saturday – TAB Fixed Odds price assessors are taking no risks with the gelding, installing him a dominant $5 favourite for the Scone Cup. Paul Messara, who trains in partnership with Leah Gavranich, is sweating on Know Thyself squeezing into the Scone Cup field. 'Know Thyself has pulled up well after his win in The Coast and we are going to proceed this week as if he is in the race,'' Messara said. 'But it doesn't look good and if he misses out on a Scone Cup start, I won't take him to Brisbane, I'll send the horse for a spell and set him for the spring carnival. 'He's had a great preparation and it would be nice if we could get the chance to run in his hometown Cup on Friday but we will have to wait and see if he gets into the race.'' Know Thyself makes it four on the trot and wins The Coast! ðŸ'¥ @AshMorgan6 | @Paulmessara | @LGavranich — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 10, 2025 • If Know Thyself gets into the Scone Cup, he will carry only 53.5kg. Top jockey Ashley Morgan, who rode the gelding to his The Coast win, is on standby for Friday's race. The Scone stand-alone meeting on Saturday has attracted a massive 298 entries for the 10-race program. Clear Thinking, the classy imported mare trained by Messara and Gavranich, has been entered for two races, the Listed $200,000 Ortensia Stakes (1100m) and the Listed $200,000 Luskin Star Stakes (1300m). WOW! 🤯 How did Clear Thinking get there? @zaclloydx looked to be in a world of trouble on the short-priced favourite, but once clear she attacked the line to take the @tabcomau Highway! @PaulMessara @ArrowfieldStud — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) July 6, 2024 Messara said he was leaning towards starting Clear Thinking in the Ortensia Stakes in which the mare had firmed from $8 to $4.50 favouritism. 'The 1100m race is probably the race we will target with Clear Thinking. She's freshened up nicely and she is unbeaten in two starts at Scone,'' Messara said. #Meanwhile, Brisbane winter carnival contenders Private Eye, Flying Bandit, Kimochi and Verona Rose will have important barrier trials at Warwick Farm on Tuesday morning.
News.com.au
11-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Trainer Paul Messara keen to get Big Dance winner Know Thyself into the Big Dance
Trainer Paul Messara believes Know Thyself is an ideal $3 million Big Dance contender and plans to decide early in the week if The Coast winner will get his chance to qualify via Friday's Listed $200,000 Scone Cup (1600m). Know Thyself scored his fourth straight victory and second feature success this preparation with a sustained performance to prevail in the $500,000 The Coast at Gosford on Saturday. The son of The Autumn Son also captured the $1 million Country Championships Final at Royal Randwick last month. Messara, who trains alongside Leah Gavranich, is open to backing him up six days after his The Coast win on home turf at Scone. 'We will know a bit more midweek and see if there is much bounce in his legs and take it from there,' Messara said. 'That (The Big Dance) would be a lovely race for him to run in, it's perfect for him really. 'It might not be this preparation because he has done a great job already with four wins in a row but we will just see how he comes through.' Know Thyself makes it four on the trot and wins The Coast! ðŸ'¥ @AshMorgan6 | @Paulmessara | @LGavranich — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 10, 2025 The Kris Lees-trained Rustic Steel successfully backed up from his The Coast victory in 2022 and captured the Scone Cup before going on to salute in the inaugural Big Dance later in the same year. Know Thyself's victory in The Coast provided the ratings boost needed to guarantee him a start in the Scone Cup. Messara plans to nominate Know Thyself for Scone on Monday before making a decision. Meanwhile, trainer Mack Griffith will set his sets on the second leg of a country feature hat-trick when his speedster Compelling Truth contests Saturday's Listed $200,000 Ortensia Stakes (1100m). Compelling Truth took out the $200,000 Wagga Town Plate earlier this month for the biggest victory of his career and will be hunting a winning hat-trick at Scone's two-day carnival. Both the Listed $200,000 Luskin Star Stakes (1300m) and Ortensia Stakes were options at Scone. 'He is going to be nominated for both races but I am thinking the 1100m on the big long Scone straight will be the better race for him,' Griffith said. ' Braith Nock will ride. 'He went back to the farm for a few days after his win at Wagga which is his normal routine and he's done really well. 'We will see where he ends up (in terms of a Kosciuszko) but more short term we are looking at this and then a Ramornie with him.' The Listed Ramornie Handicap is held at Grafton in July.
Daily Telegraph
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Telegraph
'It's perfect for him really': Know Thyself's ideal target
Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News. Trainer Paul Messara believes Know Thyself is an ideal $3 million Big Dance contender and plans to decide early in the week if The Coast winner will get his chance to qualify via Friday's Listed $200,000 Scone Cup (1600m). Know Thyself scored his fourth straight victory and second feature success this preparation with a sustained performance to prevail in the $500,000 The Coast at Gosford on Saturday. • 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! The son of The Autumn Son also captured the $1 million Country Championships Final at Royal Randwick last month. Messara, who trains alongside Leah Gavranich, is open to backing him up six days after his The Coast win on home turf at Scone. 'We will know a bit more midweek and see if there is much bounce in his legs and take it from there,' Messara said. 'That (The Big Dance) would be a lovely race for him to run in, it's perfect for him really. 'It might not be this preparation because he has done a great job already with four wins in a row but we will just see how he comes through.' READ: Dream team to continue as Shinn makes tough suspension call The Kris Lees-trained Rustic Steel successfully backed up from his The Coast victory in 2022 and captured the Scone Cup before going on to salute in the inaugural Big Dance later in the same year. Know Thyself's victory in The Coast provided the ratings boost needed to guarantee him a start in the Scone Cup. Messara plans to nominate Know Thyself for Scone on Monday before making a decision. Meanwhile, trainer Mack Griffith will set his sets on the second leg of a country feature hat-trick when his speedster Compelling Truth contests Saturday's Listed $200,000 Ortensia Stakes (1100m). Compelling Truth is also headed for Scone. Picture: Bradley Photos Compelling Truth took out the $200,000 Wagga Town Plate earlier this month for the biggest victory of his career and will be hunting a winning hat-trick at Scone's two-day carnival. Both the Listed $200,000 Luskin Star Stakes (1300m) and Ortensia Stakes were options at Scone. 'He is going to be nominated for both races but I am thinking the 1100m on the big long Scone straight will be the better race for him,' Griffith said. 'Braith Nock will ride. 'He went back to the farm for a few days after his win at Wagga which is his normal routine and he's done really well. 'We will see where he ends up (in terms of a Kosciuszko) but more short term we are looking at this and then a Ramornie with him.' The Listed Ramornie Handicap is held at Grafton in July. Originally published as Trainer Paul Messara keen to get Big Dance winner Know Thyself into the Big Dance
News.com.au
10-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Bush star Know Thyself claimed a second feature for the autumn with a gritty win the Listed The Coast at Gosford
Country star Know Thyself enhanced his growing reputation as a big money race performer with a tough effort to score at Gosford on Saturday. The Paul Messara and Leah Gavranich -trained gelding backed up his $1 million Country Championships victory last month with an impressive win in the Listed $500,000 The Coast (1600m). It was Know Thyself 's fourth win in succession this preparation and solidifies his standing among the state's best country gallopers. He was left in front a long way from home but his quality shone through to capture the main event on Gosford stand-alone day. 'It was a tough win today,' Messara said. 'I thought the leader really ran along at a good clip and we planned to sit where we did. 'That went to plan but the winner went at a solid number so I thought he was really good to hold them off. 'We just got the blinkers on him and I just wonder if he waited for them to come up to him before he kicked on but he certainly held them at bay and it was a lovely ride by Ash (Morgan).' Morgan, who has enjoyed a career best start to 2025 that included a maiden Group 1 aboard Private Harry, took bad luck out of the equation from barrier 10 and settled outside the lead. Pacesetter Townsend ($10) made sure it was a genuinely run affair but Know Thyself had his measure from the top of the straight. Know Thyself gave his rivals something to catch but held the Annabel and Rob Archibald -trained Depth Of Character ($4.60) to a length margin with Chris Waller 's Mare Of Mt Buller ($9) in third. Know Thyself makes it four on the trot and wins The Coast! ðŸ'¥ @AshMorgan6 | @Paulmessara | @LGavranich â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 10, 2025 • Gai goes back to future with fourth Gosford Gold Cup 'I got to Rach (King on Townsend) early but I just had to work on him and trust that he was fit,' Morgan said. 'I knew he would see the mile out well. 'I felt a little bit vulnerable a furlong and a half out but he dug in late and strongest late. 'He is really tough.' Know Thyself's career earning went soaring past the $1 million mark with his seventh victory in 10 starts. It's been an amazing autumn campaign already for the four-year-old, which has now put four wins together on the bounce. He won his way into the Country Championships Final by capturing the Northern Wild Card before winning the $1 million main event on day one of The Championships. Messara and Gavranich elected to keep him in work following the Country Championships win to target further late carnival riches with Know Thyself winning again in the lead-up to his The Coast assault. 'It's a fantastic program coming through that Country Championships race,' Messara said. 'There is plenty of races for him and it's hard to avoid these races, it's a Listed race and another stakes winner for The Autumn Sun, who we have up at stud. 'It's fantastic.' Never doubt yourself! A finish for the ages in the Country Championships Final, and Know Thyself wins it by a whisker for @Paulmessara and @LGavranich with @Aaronbullock90 aboard! ðŸ'� @aus_turf_club | @WorldPool â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) April 5, 2025 • Higher Achievement on cards for Waller colt Messara and Gavranich are considering backing up Know Thyself in Listed $200,000 Scone Cup (1600m) next Friday on their home track at Scone. The stable will wait to see how the gelding pulls up in the coming days before making the decision but are eager for Know Thyself to gain eligibility for this year's $3 million Big Dance, held at Royal Randwick on Tuesday, November 4. Rustic Steel successfully completed the The Coast-Scone Cup double in 2022 before claiming the Big Dance. 'That will get him in the race (Scone Cup),' Messara said. 'The horse comes first and we will see how he pulls up from today. 'It was a solid run today and we want to make sure he is a 100 per cent before we make that distance but we might have a wet week this week in Scone so if it's a heavy track we might be tempted to go around.' Messara plans to nominated Know Thyself for the Scone Cup on Monday before deciding whether the stable will run their stable star in the feature event. The first two runners home in the Scone Cup received eligibility for this year's Big Dance.
News.com.au
08-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
How trainer Leah Gravanich turned ‘slow and lazy' Know Thyself into a serious racehorse
The superbly-bred colt with the conformation to match was disappointingly slow and lazy in trackwork. In frustration, co-trainer Leah Gavranich decided one morning to ride the two-year-old herself – and what happened next left her stunned. 'He was one of those horses that early on when still a colt he was very lazy in his gallops,'' Gavranich recalled. 'His original rider couldn't even get him to go even time on the track. 'But I thought 'I'm not having this' so I jumped on him and gave him a bit of rev up to get him on the bridle. 'Immediately I could feel the power underneath me. In the space of two weeks, I gave him four pieces of work and I knew then he was a very good horse.'' Fast forward two years and that same colt is now a gelding named Know Thyself, already the winner of six of his nine starts including the $1m Country Championships Final at Royal Randwick last month. Gavranich, who trains in partnership with Paul Messara these days, has been Know Thyself's regular track rider ever since that morning when she took matters in her own hands. 'I ride him all the time now and he just gives you a different feel to other horses,'' she said. 'It's the way he drives with his back legs, it's so powerful but effortless at the same time.'' Messara said Gavranich and Know Thyself share a 'special bond'. 'Leah has ridden him right through and knows the horse so well,'' Messara said. 'She gets very attached to her horses and Know Thyself falls into her pet category. She spends half the day grooming and feeding him.'' But Messara said Gavranich's understanding of Know Thyself and her feedback about the horse's wellbeing is invaluable. 'Good riders are such an important part of the puzzle in training,'' he said. On Saturday, Know Thyself is poised to win another big-money race in the Listed $500,000 The Coast (1600m) at the Gosford stand-alone meeting. In early TAB betting, Know Thyself is the $3.60 favourite ahead of Queensland raider Depth Of Character at $4.40 and Mare Of Mt Buller at $7. Then its $10 or longer the rest. Messara and Gavranich are in their second season as a training partnership and since August 1 they have prepared 32 winners on all tracks at an outstanding strike rate of nearly 29.4 per cent, or nearly one winner every three starters. Know Thyself has led the stable charge this season and goes to Gosford chasing a fourth successive win. The talented four-year-old followed his Country Championships defeat of Lisztomania and Fukubana with another Randwick win, this time over the famous 16000m course when he ran down his old rival Fukubana near the line. 'Know Thyself has a great will-to-win and we are really happy with the way he came through his last win,'' Messara said. 'He's a straight forward horse to train, he's very fit and now it is just maintenance gallops between races. It's all systems go for Gosford.'' With regular rider Aaron Bullock unable to make Know Thyself's 53kg impost, former jockey Ashley Morgan has been booked to partner the horse in The Coast. Know Thyself could earn himself a Brisbane winter carnival campaign if he can continue his winning streak in The Coast. 'Brisbane is a possibility,'' Messara said. 'I would love to give him a crack over 2000m to see how he goes.'' • Shayne O'Cass's race-by-race tips, analysis for Gosford on Saturday The Listed $200,000 Scone Cup (1600m) at Scone next Friday was also an option Arrowfield Stud supremo and owner John Messara was considering for Know Thyself. But the Scone Cup is likely to attract a very good field and Know Thyself, with a rating of 86, was in danger of missing a start. 'We were concerned Know Thyself won't get a run at Scone and a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,'' John Messara said. 'If we wait for Scone what if we don't get a run so we miss both races.'' Know Thyself is impeccably bred by Arrowfield's emerging champion sire The Autumn Sun out of the Dubawi mare, Mantra Of Life, and was in the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale three years ago. But Paul Messara, who also manages Arrowfield Stud, had taken a particular liking to Know Thyself as a yearling and was reluctant to sell. 'I loved this horse as a type,'' Paul Messara said. 'I told our partners in Mantra Of Life that her colt was so good we should put more than the $200,000 reserve we initially planned for him. 'In the end, we put a $300,000 reserve on the horse but he was passed in at $220,000. 'Our partners in the horse were obviously a bit disappointed so we decided to buy them out at $300,000. 'They were happy with that result and obviously we are happy with how Know Thyself has turned out on the racetrack which only makes his dam's progeny even more valuable now.'' John Messara revealed he drew on his experiences in the breeding industry spanning more than five decades before making the difficult decision to geld the horse. 'Know Thyself was a very good-looking colt from an early crop by The Autumn Sun,'' Messara said. 'But after Paul told me the colt needed gelding, I agreed immediately. 'I remember making a mistake with Danehill and particularly Redoute's Choice when I didn't geld some of their colts. 'I kept thinking we might have a stallion prospect here but quite a few colts that could have been serious racehorses didn't quite make it. 'So, with The Autumn Sun we felt if there was any colt that needed gelding we wouldn't hesitate as that would also help the sire get established. 'I think this comes with experience – when I was younger I kept thinking I have a stallion in the making but then nothing happens.'' Messara admitted he has taken great pride in watching the success his son and Gavranich have had as a training partnership and, in particular, Know Thyself's Country Championships Final win last month. 'Paul and Leah are going very well, they are a good team, very dedicated,'' he said. 'They get the horses we couldn't take to the sales due to setbacks or injuries, they also get some of the pass-ins so they don't get the cream of the crop but their stable is still doing really well. 'Know Thyself was home-bred by an emerging stallion and we felt early on he was a good horse in the making. 'I've learned over my years in racing that you can't take anything for granted in this game but I got a lot of personal satisfaction watching Know Thyself win the Country Championships. I got as excited that day as I did 50 years ago.''
