Latest news with #LukePepper
News.com.au
11-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Randwick Inside Mail: Amazing stat will put Pep in your step
If racing had its own version of the Dally Ms, Luke Pepper would just about have to be voted Trainer of the Year. Going into Friday's Moruya meeting, Pepper's tally of wins stood at 50. His stable earnings? $997,355. His strike rate of winners-to-runners? A truly remarkable 25 per cent. 'It's been unbelievable,'' Pepper said. 'The move back to Canberra was the starting of it all I guess. We obviously trained a few winners before we left Scone but it has been amazing being back home. 'I've got to sort of pinch myself all the time. There's a lot of hard work going on, I've got a really good team behind me but it is good to see it is all paying off. 'We've got to about 30-31 in work at the moment now and for the majority of the season, we have had less than 20. 'So to get this amount of winners and the amount of prizemoney we've been able to earn is a credit to all my staff and the support of the owners.' Consistency is one thing but Pepper, like all trainers large and small, is eager for another 'banner-horse', in his case another Opal Ridge. 'I'd love to run into another 'Opal' but look, we just keep working hard and hopefully one comes through the door, that's all you can do,'' Takeover Target's trackwork rider said. 'At the moment, I am just happy working hard and getting winners.' Pepper can add to his season total by two on Saturday should the stablemates Soul Taker (TAB Highway) and recent Highway winner Bengal perform accordingly. 'We have obviously got a big opinion of Bengal and we brought him back this time of year to see if he can step up and see if he can get himself a slot in the Kosciuszko so he'll have to keep improving and put his profile out there to hopefully get a spot,'' Pepper said. Bengal hangs on in the TAB Highway for Luke Pepper and @brodie_loy ðŸ'° @aus_turf_club — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 7, 2025 Pepper's weekend Highway runner is the well-bred Soul Taker who was scratched from a scheduled engagement at Moruya on Friday to participate in her first TAB Highway. 'She was very good first-up,'' Pepper said. 'She had to go back from a bad barrier and they (the winners) were all on-speed the whole day at Moruya so it definitely wasn't going to help her winning chances but it was a good, solid effort. 'The owners are keen to have a crack with her and obviously being a set-weights race she is probably not the best weighted in the race but she's a tough little horse and she'll run out the mile nice and strong.' â– â– â– â– â– BEST BET Race 7 No.3 LULUMON won arguably one of the strongest 'form races' on the winter when she skittled Storm The Ramparts and Hi Dubai here at HQ on June 21. For the record, both of the beaten duo won at their respective next starts at Rosehill last weekend. That win was Lulumon's first run at the Randwick 1000m and interestingly, her other win over the 'five furlongs' was art Gosford in May when she beat none other than the Storm The Ramparts. Lulumon dives and gets there in a close one at Randwick, and that's a double to Jason Collett! 🙌 @jason1coyle @aus_turf_club — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 21, 2025 â– â– â– â– â– BEST VALUE Race 9 No.7 RAZORS is a Godolphin gelding who resumed here in a very strong Benchmark 94 Handicap on June 21 off two solid trials. The market, as it so often does, told the story with Razors. He opened at $12 but drifted to start $18 but for all intents and purposes, he ran much more akin to a $12-shot than an $18-pop when a 2.35-length sixth behind Accredited. Worth noting that the only other time Razors has raced at the 1400m at HQ was when he was beaten a lip in the South Pacific at the Championships. 🥳 @PrideRacing ends the day with a double as Accredited wins the last! @nashhot @ProvenTbreds @aus_turf_club — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 21, 2025 • Market Movers: $14 into $6 in quaddie closer â– â– â– â– â– EARLY QUADDIE Race 3: 4,9,10 Race 4: 5,9,11 Race 5: 3,4 Race 6: 1,2,5,10 QUADDIE Race 7: 3 Race 8: 4,5,11 Race 9: 3,7,10 Race 10: 1,2,3,5 â– â– â– â– â– PRICE CHECK Race 6 No.1 AGE OF KINGS was a handy horse back in his early days. He won a 1207m Maiden at the Curragh by four then ran in stakes races for his remaining five starts in Ireland, culminating in the Group 3 Jersey Stakes. Since he has been in Australia, he has contested a Golden Eagle. Linlithgow, Hall mark Stakes and Luskin Star Stakes. At the end of the day, you'd like (and need) to see him do something in a winter Benchmark 88 and he's $23 for the gamble. Another #RoyalAscot winner for Aidan O’Brien! Age Of Kings wins the Jersey under Wayne Lordan... @Ascot — At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 24, 2023 • ' I've learnt a lot': Sherry keen to build on breakthrough Group 1 â– â– â– â– â– SECTIONAL STARS Race 8 No.11 KING RATEL was two years, three months and 27 days between runs when he resumed, beating half the big field home here on June 7. The son of a Kentucky Derby winner and Coolmore Classic winning mum was just as good the next time finishing fifth behind It's A Knockout and credited with two of the quickest 200m sectionals of the race. It's A Knockout KO's them first up at Randwick! 🥊 @cmaherracing @NockBraith @aus_turf_club — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 21, 2025 Race 10 No.2 GENTLY ROLLED is a stablemate to King Ratel and like him, she too is possessed of a whirlwind finish. This daughter of Press Statement sends out every signal that she was near to her peak after two runs back, that last one a closing third behind Changing Colours at Rosehill Gardens where she clocked three of the fastest furlongs from the 600m home. Changing Colours sails past them at Rosehill for a deserved win! 🎨 ðŸ'� @cwallerracing @aus_turf_club — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 28, 2025 • â– â– â– â– â– TRIAL POINTERS Race 9 No.3 SUPER HELPFUL will join the ranks of 'millionaire galloper' if he wins today. The Joseph/Jones trained gelding's earnings presently stand at $940,735; a stunning 'ROI' on the 'JJR' $20,000 outlay at the 2020 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale. Super Helpful has a fascinating record at Randwick. He's been there 11 times and came away with one third – but he did collect a whopping $300,000. Yep, it was The Big Dance. Looked the part in a Canberra trial last Friday. Super Helpful wins the Nowra Cup! ðŸ�† Apprentice jockey Claire Ramsbotham gets her third win for the day ðŸ'� @JJRacing_ACT — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) December 15, 2024 Race 1 No.6 KOKATAHI is a son of the Golden Slipper winner Farnan. As good as he is going as a sire, the most likely reason for this horse's hefty $425,000 price-tag at the Karaka Yearling Sale is that his third dam, Scandinavia, is the grandmother of Black Caviar. This Chris Waller-trained gelding has trialled in unhurried fashion since that most encouraging debut third to his star stablemate Central Coast at the midweeks. Regally bred Central Coast gets the job done at Canterbury, and that's the First 4 to @cwallerracing after he trained the Quinella in Race 1 at Doomben as well! ðŸ'° @aus_turf_club @coolmorestud — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 18, 2025 • â– â– â– â– â– • 47.8% – Race 4 No.4 BENGAL (Nick Heywood / Luke Pepper) • 42% – Race 8 No.8 PUNTIN (Ashley Morgan / Bjorn Baker) • 21% – Race 10 No.6 VERY SEWREEL (Josh Parr / Bjorn Baker) • 19.7% – Race 5 No.9 HOVLAND (Andrew Adkins / John O'Shea-Tom Charlton) • 19.6% – Race 9 No.6 TIME QUEST (Ashley Morgan / Matthew Smith) RATINGS RULER (best three Racenet iQ ratings for the meeting) • Race 6 No.10 PIPPIE BEACH ($3.40) • Race 9 No.10 IT'S A KNOCKOUT ($3.00) • Race 10 No.5 CHANGING COLOURS ($4.20)
News.com.au
12-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Shayne O'Cass' tips, race-by-race analysis for 2025 Winter Cup Day at Rosehill Gardens
Form expert Shayne O'Cass analyses Saturday's 10-race card at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday, presenting his race-by-race tips and analysis. • 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! â– â– â– â– â– Reckoning on the blinkers will be a big help to ARISTOCRAT (9). His two runs have been infinitely better than they read on paper and they actually don't read too bad as it is given the performance and potential and those around him like Agarwood and Providence, not to mentioned Regulated Affair. The Kermadec son, STATE OPERA (13), was $151 into $34 at one point on debut and ran more like a $34 shot than a $151 pop. He was coming again on the line in that midweeker at Warwick Farm. At home this time. Bet: Aristocrat to win, State Opera each-way â– â– â– â– â– RED RAG TO BULLS (18) has done more good than bad in nine starts (eight if you scrub the Failed to Finish at Scone first-up). Beat a subsequent winner, easily, 11 days ago. In a good place. SUPER NORWEST (6) is a Highway veteran. His record in the Highways is 10 goes; one win, three seconds and a third. This is not the hardest one he's run in either. Last week's Highway winning trainer Luke Pepper has HELL OF A FOX (5) aiming for four on the bounce. â– â– â– â– â– RACE 3: MIDWAY HANDICAP 1200m SILENTSAR (2) has some very deep form dating all the way back to his two-year-old days. He was second to Koshu at start two, fifth to Osipneko and Madam Pommery after that. First-up numbers read well as do his numbers at the track and the trip. Trialled well alongside World Alliance the other day. THE EXTREME CAT (4) was '00' in two runs in March and April but there were the Provincial Qualifier Heat and Wildcard. Still was pretty awful to be honest but the trial on May 7 was anything but. This looks well within the capabilities of EVERYONE'S A STAR (9). Bet: Silentsar to win â– â– â– â– â– CARRAZANA (9) looked like he could turn out to be another good horse for Waller, Morgan and Devine after his first two runs. There looks like there have been a few behind the scenes issues with this classically-bred now four-year-old gelding. Given where he is at in terms of absenteeism from racing, the market will say yeah or nay. Ditto that last bit for PRETTY POWERFUL (10). Form's there for all to see, but how about this breeding buffs; her dam threw 10 foals, all of them raced, all of them won and half of them won stakes races. Bet: Carrazana to place â– â– â– â– â– CODETTA (2) is a very valuable horse given she is a Nicconi half-sister to Riff Rocket. This Debbie Kepitis-owned three-year-old has run eight times for Michael Freedman, winning three and finishing runner-up three. She was $8.50 into $5.50 first-up and only needed another 50 or 100m and she beats King's Secret (who runs here also). USEAPIN (13) has raced three times first-up. One of them was a win and the other two were actually very good runs behind More Territories and then Aleiana. Bet: Codetta to win, Usapin each-way â– â– â– â– â– AGITA (13), I've said it before and say it every time, shaped as a Derby horse early on for AJC Derby-winning trainer David Payne but for one (good) reason or another, never got the opportunity. Here is now, first-up, at home over 1500m with 54.5kg. There's four good reasons why he can and there is no good reason why he can't. The $8 the place looks good value. CHICA MOJITO (2) has won one from 18 but the fact that she has placed eight times makes her $3.10 place price somewhat appealing. Bet: Agita each-way, Chica Mojota to place â– â– â– â– â– RACE 7: CAPTIVANT @ KIA ORA HANDICAP 1300m TESTATOR SILENS (1) has finished sixth in both runs this preparation and in quite solid company (Dragonstone, In Flight, Storm The Ramparts, etc). His last 150m in both were eye-catching to put it mildly. Loves Rosehill. SNACK BAR (11) has raced at Rosehill three times for a third to Autumn Glow, third to Lady Shenandoah and fifth in the Tapp-Craig. Drawn to get every chance. UNSTOPABULL (7) is close to a peak. HIGH BLUE SEA (4) trialled well. Bet: Testator Silens each-way, quinella 1, 11, box trifecta 1, 4, 7, 11 â– â– â– â– â– Context time. I was a bit keen on MORMONA (9) in the Lord Mayors Cup here two weeks ago. The grey was rock solid at $41 and ended up running seventh of 14 beaten six lengths, keeping in mind that Touristic won by two lengths. This grey from France is a quality stayer and is crying out for 2400m (and more). Clearly TOURISTIC (3) is easy to like and hard to knock. Respect market on CHANGINGOFTHEGUARD (1). Bet: Mormona each-way, Daily Double 1st Leg 9, 2nd Leg 13 â– â– â– â– â– RACE 9: TAB HANDICAP 2000m KIND WORDS (10) has been the 'next time' horse in, and after, every one of her six runs this time in but just hasn't converted yet. To be fair to the mare, she went close at Scone on Dark Jewel Day and barriers have played their part too. Very fit and maybe 2000m does the trick. Sounds odd to say a 13th of 14 was 'good', okay maybe not 'good' but the run of LENAPE VIBE (15) here a fortnight ago was passable given that was 1500m and this is 2000m which is more her go. Bet: Kind Words, Lenape Vibe each-way â– â– â– â– â– MISS JENNIFER (13) is a big time blue blood. Her fourth dam is Toltrice who was a champion on the track and a broodmare gem in the breeding shed. As for Miss Jennifer herself, she is one of those horses that is very much reliant on outside factors given her slow early/fast late pattern but it when the stars align - boom. Ditto all that for TOTOKA (12) only double. Don't know if she'll be winning but I bet she'll challenge for the fastest last 400m on the whole card.
