Latest news with #LindsayPark
News.com.au
5 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Darryl Hewitt tackles Lightning Stakes with determined winner Sir Now at Morphettville
Sir Now savaged the line for a fourth straight win last start, and Darryl Hewitt 's tough sprinter doesn't like settling for second place. A determined will to win has him chasing a fifth consecutive win at Morphettville on Saturday, this time at Listed level in the Lightning Stakes (1050m). A deluge of rain across Adelaide has runners likely to encounter a heavy track for Saturday's nine-race card, and rain, hail or shine, you can trust Sir Now will be hunting the line late. 'He's hard work, that will to win is competitiveness,' Hewitt, a former SANFL footballer of over 200 games, said. 'On the footy field, you want to fight to get the ball, he's much the same, he's very competitive, he wants to get to the front. 'Maggie (Collett) said she got goosebumps the last 100m (last start) because he just flattened out and attacked the horse rather than the line.' Sir Now, a son of Sir Prancelot, flew home inside the final 100m to deny Lindsay Park galloper, Beast Mode, in a Benchmark 80 (1000m) on the Parks circuit on June 28. 'They put two or three lengths on the third horse, it wasn't like Beast Mode was stopping greatly,' he said. '(Beast Mode) ran well next start, finished fourth at Flemington last Saturday – so the form stacks up.' • SA premiership-winning trainers to split Freshened, four weeks between runs, Hewitt is pleased with his three-year-old ahead of a stakes tilt, but admits keeping the fiery customer ticking over has been a challenge. 'He came through it good, the only trouble is we've had four weeks off between runs – he's a fairly active horse,' he said. 'It wasn't much good putting him out for a week in the paddock because he's that well he would probably hurt himself. 'I've had to monitor him in the box for the last four weeks and keep him ticking over, hopefully he's still right enough to go tomorrow. 'I would have liked to have had a three-year-old lead-up race, but there was only a (Benchmark) 66 and he would've got 68kg or something.' A heavy track won't concern Hewitt, Sir Now has won five of seven career wins on rain-affected circuits, including a win on heavy ground. Sir Now just keeps on winning! ðŸ'¥ Darryl Hewitt's 3YO gelding comes from a long way back & was four-wide at the turn to show an electric turn of foot late to salute for the fourth time in a row 😤 — (@Racing) June 28, 2025 The gelding, who will be piloted again by Maggie Collett, has earnt his chance at stakes level, but it's been no mean feat getting there. 'I'm sort of counting on the heavy, being a wide draw (11), it might even suit being wide,' Hewitt said. 'It (Lightning) was never really on the radar, with this horse, it's one race at a time. 'He can be a handful, he can dump a rider here and there, you don't know whether he's going to do a lap or two with no rider. 'Maggie, she's not scared of him, he can put the wind up jockeys.' Hewitt also has stakes-winning gelding, Snoopy Now, ready to fire in a Benchmark 72 over a mile, with Connor Murtagh booked to ride. 'We've put the work into him again for the 1600m and he's bouncing around,' he said. 'He ran second in the Sires' Produce on a heavy last year to Colmar – he'll handle it all right too.'
News.com.au
19-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Lindsay Park colt Shining Smile continues sprint dominance at Flemington with fifth straight win
Shining Smile refused to break his winning habit at Saturday's Flemington meeting. Shining Smile strung together four straight wins before going for a break following a Listed success at Flemington in March but had to work to make it five in a row in the VRC Member Sarah Hart Trophy (1000m). The Spirit Of Boom colt carried 59.5kg after apprentice Logan Bates' claim but would not wilt in the last 200m, getting the better of Oyster Lane late in the race despite giving the runner-up 4kg. The youngster's latest win took his stakes tally to more than $480,000 in seven starts, thrilling co-trainer Ben Hayes. 'He's done a great job today,' Hayes, who trains Shining Smile in partnership with his brothers Will and JD, said. 'To carry a big weight and give weight to all his competition like he did and be as tough as he was through the line, it's really exciting. 'Arguably, he's the best performed two-year-old for the whole year, albeit not in the big races. 'He's won three stakes races and he's got an exciting future ahead of him.' Shining Smile + Flemington Straight = ðŸ˜�ðŸ˜�ðŸ˜� Five in a row for the Hayes trained colt, he's a beauty! @Logez27 @lindsayparkrace â€' 7HorseRacing ðŸ�Ž (@7horseracing) July 19, 2025 • Derby path looms for Busuttin-Young stayer The Lindsay Park operation has always been known as a prolific producer of two-year-old winners, a reputation that stretching back decades to family patriarch Colin Hayes's days. Hayes said two-year-old winners had been a focus for the stable in the last two seasons, an approach that has borne fruit this season. 'It's been our best year to date with two-year-olds,' Hayes said. 'I think we've had nearly 30 winners for the year. 'It's something that we've really worked on in the last couple of years and something that our father (David) was very good at. 'It's nice to have a very good season and we've got some really exciting horses coming into the spring now.' Shining Smile will be one of Lindsay Park's representatives in three-year-old sprints early next season, including the Group 3 Vain Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield on August 16. Hayes said the consistent galloper's prowess down the Flemington straight could lead him to tackle top company later in the spring as part of a Lindsay Park three-year-old assault on the carnival. 'He's a tough horse and he loves a fight,' Hayes said. 'We're really looking forward to seeing what he's got. 'He's got a pretty good record down the straight so he could be a horse for a race like the Coolmore. 'He's going to be right in a race like that.'
News.com.au
29-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Tasmanian apprentice Jackson Radley set to move to Lindsay Park with the backing of riding great Damien Oliver
Tasmania's latest riding talent is on the verge of qualifying to ride in Victoria full-time and he has riding legend Damien Oliver behind him. Jackson Radley is set to move across Bass Strait to ride for the powerful Lindsay Park stable of Ben, JD and Will Hayes once he completes a requirement to shift his indentures to the mainland. Radley sits second on the Tasmanian jockeys' premiership and had his bags packed to move to Melbourne before being informed he had to wait a little longer for his crack at the Victorian riding ranks. 'I think I've ridden 77 winners and I think I was on 70 winners three or four weeks ago and had everything ready, all my paperwork signed to make the move over,' Radley said. 'My partner and I were ready to move over with everything signed then the Hayes stable rang and said, 'we've got some bad news, you can't come over until you've ridden your 80 winners'. 'They said I could either try my hardest to ride 80 winners, which I don't think was possible in Tassie at the time, because it would take longer than a month, which it has. 'If they're still happy for me to fly in and out, I'll do that, then go over when I can.' Radley could make an immediate impact when he rides full time in Victoria, given he can still claim 1.5kg at the provincials and 3kg in the metropolitan arena. He will also have many lessons learned from hours spent discussing his rides with Hall of Famer Oliver, with whom he speaks often. Radley said he and Oliver had a mutual friend through which the 125-time Group 1 winner offered to help the youngster learn his craft. 'Obviously, when you get an offer of help like that, you'd be mad to turn it down,' Radley said. 'He (Oliver) said, 'you've got to get into a good stable' and that's exactly what he did. 'He rang the Hayes boys and asked if they would be interested in an apprentice from Tassie. 'I was still claiming three in town and they indicated they would be so it just went from there.' Radley rode at Moe without success on June 19 but could post his first Victorian wins from a strong book of seven rides at Monday's Pakenham Synthetic meeting. '(Tasmanian premiership leader) Anthony Darmanin rides a lot of trackwork over there and he knows a lot of the horses so I said to him, 'do you reckon I've got any chances' and he said I could have a big day,' Radley said. Melbourne-based Tasmanian Craig Newitt, who helped Radley when the apprentice regularly found himself in the stewards' room early in his career, said the talented young rider would impress in Victoria. 'He'll make it over here, not a worry in the world,' Newitt said. 'He's going to be a top jockey.'
The Australian
14-06-2025
- Sport
- The Australian
‘The boys have done it': David Hayes proud of sons' landmark Stradbroke Handicap success
Proud dad David Hayes declared his sons 'might have a very good horse on their hands' as War Machine broke the Stradbroke Handicap duck of the famous Lindsay Park racing dynasty in sensational style. David Hayes was watching online from Hong Kong as the progressive four-year-old gelding that is trained by his sons, Ben, JD and Will, franked his tag as $3.20 Stradbroke favourite. Emotions ran high as the horse formerly trained by the late, great Mike Moroney surged to Stradbroke glory despite a late scare from runner-up Yellow Brick, the Queenslander who was sent out at $41 but almost created a Stradbroke shock. Racenet iQ members get full access to our Pro Tips service, where Greg and our team of professional punters provide daily tips with fully transparent return on investment statistics. SUBSCRIBE NOW and start punting like a pro! Seasoned campaigner Private Eye finished third after being stamped urgent and sent forward at the start, with Joe Pride always concerned that his horse carrying 57kg might be overrun by a talented lightweight. It seems extraordinary that the famed Lindsay Park dynasty, stretching back decades, never had a Stradbroke winner until Saturday. They hadn't had a Doncaster winner either until the new generation Hayes boys trained the star Mr Brightside. David Hayes feels War Machine might be something out of the box. • What the jockeys said: 2025 Stradbroke Handicap 'The way he won, to run away with it like that, he might be a very good horse,' David Hayes told Racenet from Hong Kong. 'My boys were always confident that he was a Group 1 performer and they have been proven right. 'As long as the horse stays sound, I am sure there are more Group 1s to come. 'Personally, I didn't go to Queensland with a lot of my horses when I was training in Australia but it is certainly great for the family to have now won a Stradbroke. 'The boys have done it.' There were plenty of feel-good stories in the Stradbroke with Rothfire letting no-one down when finishing seventh and only beaten three lengths on a firm track that was never going to be in his sweet spot. Truck driver and hobby trainer Craig Cousins was happy enough with the performance of The Inflictor, finishing 11th and beaten less than five lengths, although he cursed the fact he wasn't able to get much clear air in the run. War Machine had been Stradbroke favourite since his dominant win in the Group 3 BRC Sprint but there had been those questioning his stranglehold on the betting market. • 'Would have been a Straddie force': Pier wins consolation in style Even owner Rupert Legh told Racenet last week that he couldn't possibly be backing War Machine at the odds on offer. It was Legh's fourth Stradbroke win and his thoughts would have been with his great mate Moroney who first identified War Machine as a New Zealander to bring to Australian shores. Co-trainer Ben Hayes also paid tribute to the late Moroney and hailed the performance of the horse. 'We're very proud, it was an amazing result today,' Ben Hayes said. 'We're fortunate to be able to get that horse from Mike Moroney and he's an amazing, exciting horse. 'It's funny, a lot of people expect him to be a big, powerful horse. 'But he's got a physique like Mr Brightside, so hopefully he's the same.' Co-trainer Ben Hayes was thrilled with the win. Picture: Trackside Photography Jockey Tim Clark picked up the ride on War Machine after never having ridden him before. 'I can't take too much credit for it,' Clark said. 'What a great job by Ben and his brothers to just have him spot on for today. 'I was just the lucky one to get the call up.' Queenslander Yellow Brick, trained by father and daughter team Tony and Maddy Sears, ran the race of his life, and looked set to make things very interesting as he launched a run but failed to nab War Machine. 'I'm really proud of his effort,' jockey Andrew Mallyon said. 'We all feel vindicated as we thought he would run a big race today.' Tony Gollan's Stradbroke contender Transatlantic, who only sneaked into the field on Friday as an emergency, was strongly backed to start $9 but didn't have any luck from a wide barrier and finished ninth.
News.com.au
14-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
War Machine does it with ease in the Stradbroke Handicap
Proud dad David Hayes declared his sons 'might have a very good horse on their hands' as War Machine broke the Stradbroke Handicap duck of the famous Lindsay Park racing dynasty in sensational style. David Hayes was watching online from Hong Kong as the progressive four-year-old gelding that is trained by his sons, Ben, JD and Will, franked his tag as $3.20 Stradbroke favourite. Emotions ran high as the horse formerly trained by the late, great Mike Moroney surged to Stradbroke glory despite a late scare from runner-up Yellow Brick, the Queenslander who was sent out at $41 but almost created a Stradbroke shock. Seasoned campaigner Private Eye finished third after being stamped urgent and sent forward at the start, with Joe Pride always concerned that his horse carrying 57kg might be overrun by a talented lightweight. It seems extraordinary that the famed Lindsay Park dynasty, stretching back decades, never had a Stradbroke winner until Saturday. They hadn't had a Doncaster winner either until the new generation Hayes boys trained the star Mr Brightside. David Hayes feels War Machine might be something out of the box. 'The way he won, to run away with it like that, he might be a very good horse,' David Hayes told Racenet from Hong Kong. 'My boys were always confident that he was a Group 1 performer and they have been proven right. 'As long as the horse stays sound, I am sure there are more Group 1s to come. 'Personally, I didn't go to Queensland with a lot of my horses when I was training in Australia but it is certainly great for the family to have now won a Stradbroke. 'The boys have done it.' War Machine WINS the G1 Stradbroke Handicap! ðŸ�† Tim Clark with a flawless performance in the saddle! â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 14, 2025 There were plenty of feel-good stories in the Stradbroke with Rothfire letting no-one down when finishing seventh and only beaten three lengths on a firm track that was never going to be in his sweet spot. Truck driver and hobby trainer Craig Cousins was happy enough with the performance of The Inflictor, finishing 11th and beaten less than five lengths, although he cursed the fact he wasn't able to get much clear air in the run. War Machine had been Stradbroke favourite since his dominant win in the Group 3 BRC Sprint but there had been those questioning his stranglehold on the betting market. Even owner Rupert Legh told Racenet last week that he couldn't possibly be backing War Machine at the odds on offer. It was Legh's fourth Stradbroke win and his thoughts would have been with his great mate Moroney who first identified War Machine as a New Zealander to bring to Australian shores. Co-trainer Ben Hayes also paid tribute to the late Moroney and hailed the performance of the horse. 'We're very proud, it was an amazing result today,' Ben Hayes said. 'We're fortunate to be able to get that horse from Mike Moroney and he's an amazing, exciting horse. 'It's funny, a lot of people expect him to be a big, powerful horse. 'But he's got a physique like Mr Brightside, so hopefully he's the same.' Jockey Tim Clark picked up the ride on War Machine after never having ridden him before. 'I can't take too much credit for it,' Clark said. 'What a great job by Ben and his brothers to just have him spot on for today. 'I was just the lucky one to get the call up.' Queenslander Yellow Brick, trained by father and daughter team Tony and Maddy Sears, ran the race of his life, and looked set to make things very interesting as he launched a run but failed to nab War Machine. 'I'm really proud of his effort,' jockey Andrew Mallyon said. 'We all feel vindicated as we thought he would run a big race today.' Tony Gollan's Stradbroke contender Transatlantic, who only sneaked into the field on Friday as an emergency, was strongly backed to start $9 but didn't have any luck from a wide barrier and finished ninth.
