Latest news with #MelbourneCup-winning
News.com.au
01-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Oak Hill the first Michael Moroney horse to race for Hayes brothers at Caulfield on Saturday
A new era will begin when Oak Hill steps out for the Hayes brothers in Saturday's Tobin Brothers Handicap at Caulfield. Oak Hill will be the first Melbourne runner to emerge from the Lindsay Park operation's absorption of the Ballymore Stables business of the late Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Mike Moroney. Moroney's partner Karen decided against taking over the business while training partner Glen Thompson opted to train in his own right, making an instant splash when winning last Saturday's Group 1 Australasian Oaks with Benagil. Co-trainer Ben Hayes said Moroney's former racing manager Anthony Feroce would play a crucial role in the transition. He said Feroce's knowledge of Moroney's former team would be a valuable asset as Lindsay Park staff get to know the influx of horses. 'They're just going into our system and they're just being transferred into our stable today,' Hayes, who trains in partnership with his brothers Will and JD, said. 'Anthony Feroce is now working for us and we'll just get to know the horses. 'It's very good that he's joining the team. 'We'll absorb them into the business and do our best to get the right results.' Oak Hill will drop in class at Caulfield following his eye-catching second to Midwest in the $500,000 Country Discovery at Echuca on Good Friday. Hayes said the four-year-old was in the perfect race on Saturday but his outing would also be a learning experience for the trainers. 'He was amazing last start when he flew home and was really impressive,' Hayes said. 'I think it will be a really good opportunity to try and get his rating up to try and target better races in the spring. 'Off his last run, you'll think he'll be hard to beat. 'It's a Benchmark 90 and he's an 86-rater so it will be the perfect race.' Hayes said the camp would undergo a process to gather information about the new arrivals before mapping out programs in the coming weeks. 'We'll just sit down, go through them and look at them ourselves and get to know them,' Hayes said. 'When we get to know the horses, we'll make those decisions.' Oak Hill has been well-backed to score on debut for Lindsay Park, firming from $3.80 to become a clear $3.10 favourite. Godolphin galloper Fleetwood has eased from $4.20 to $4.80 while speedster Shirshov, who finished second in the Country Discovery, is a $6 chance.
Herald Sun
27-04-2025
- Sport
- Herald Sun
Benagil secures trainer Glen Thompson emotional first Group 1 in Australasian Oaks
Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News. It's been a whirlwind two months for trainer Glen Thompson, and it took another emotional turn on Saturday, securing a maiden Group 1 win with Benagil in the $1m Australasian Oaks at Morphettville. The passing of co-trainer Michael Moroney to cancer saw Thompson left in charge of Ballymore stables in late February, as he worked to keep the ball rolling under tragic circumstances. • 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! There's no easy way to fill the void left by a Melbourne Cup-winning trainer, but Thompson has stamped the beginning of his own legacy with Benagil's Oaks win – a first at Group 1-level in his own right. 'It's been a tough few weeks, I just tried to focus on today, we got her here in as good order as we could,' Thompson said. 'I thought she was spot on today, and she raced liked it.' The Manhattan rain filly settled back in the field under star jockey Mark Zahra, peeling wide on the turn as the race heated up, looming up strongly at the 300m. • What the jockeys said: 2025 Australasian Oaks The filly let down powerfully over the final 200m, cruising to a one-length win in the 2000m feature. Finishing second to triple Group 1 winner Treasurethe Moment in the Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes last start, Thompson had no doubt Benagil ($3) was capable at the elite level. 'She's always shown a lot of ability, she come back as a 3YO in the spring, she was very unlucky in the Thousand Guineas and those sort of races, she's just gone to another level this time,' he said. The win saw Zahra claim back-to-back Australasian Oaks wins, after piloting Vibrant Sun to victory in the $1m feature last year. There was a blowout result among the placegetters, six-start maiden Sweltering ran a massive race at odds of $151, finishing second for Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young. Second favourite Polymnia, trained by John O'Shea and Tom Charlton, charged home alongside Sweltering to finish third. Meanwhile, Athanatos secured an early training double for Phillip Stokes after Regal Azmon won Saturday's opener. Athanatos scored a strong win in the Chairman's Stakes but the gelding will sidestep the SA Derby and head to the paddock. Zloties won the Group 2 Queen Of The South Stakes for Cranbourne trainer Grahame Begg. Begg's patience with the talented mare has paid off after shoulder stress fractures and a pelvic injury kept the mare sidelined for two and a half years across 2022-2024. Beauty Rising's win in the last race saw the Stokes stable claim a winning treble on Saturday, taking home training owners on the nine-race card, but with two Group 1 wins, it was a day owned by Zahra. Originally published as Benagil secures trainer Glen Thompson emotional first Group 1 in Australasian Oaks at Morphettville
News.com.au
27-04-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Champion jockey Kerrin McEvoy is warming up nicely for a massive Queensland Winter Carnival
Champion jockey Kerrin McEvoy is back on his 'good hunting ground' and primed to make an impact in this year's lucrative Queensland Winter Carnival. The Melbourne Cup-winning hoop has won 16 Group 1 races in the Sunshine State but will be looking to break a three-year drought after his last feature in Queensland came in the 2022 Doomben Cup (2100m) aboard Huetor. • 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. McEvoy started on the right foot with an impressive pre-carnival victory in the $160,000 Princess Stakes (1600m) for three-year-old fillies with Philia at Eagle Farm on Saturday. The 44-year-old had seven rides on Saturday but he said he specifically came to Brisbane to familiarise himself with the Queensland Oaks-bound Philia for David Vandyke. 'She's headed on an Oaks path, all being well, and Dave is a pretty good judge and he can train a good horse so I'm happy to come up and give her a go,' said McEvoy, who won his first Group 1 in Queensland in 2001, riding Juanmo to victory in the TJ Smith (1600m). 'I rode a lot for David when he was in Sydney. We've had a bit of luck together. 'We haven't won a major together but it's nice to get an opportunity for Dave on a horse that he likes. 'She's showing nice promise and looks to be on an upward curve.' McEvoy missed last year's winter carnival after suffering a fractured vertebrae in an ugly fall on Golden Slipper Day at Rosehill Gardens during the autumn. He also skipped the 2020 winter carnival because of Covid restrictions. 'It's been a good hunting ground for me over the past few years and I missed out last year because I was coming back from injury,' he said. 'It's been a good place for me to ride some winners and hopefully I can do the same this year.' McEvoy is expected to retain the ride on Philia for the $700,000 Group 1 Queensland Oaks (2200m) at Eagle Farm on June 7. Ladbrokes has listed Philia and the Nathan Doyle-trained Churchill's Choice as $7 chances for the Oaks, behind current favourite Benagil ($6), which convincingly won the $1m Group 1 Australasian Oaks (2000m) in Adelaide on Saturday.
Courier-Mail
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Courier-Mail
Benagil secures trainer Glen Thompson emotional first Group 1 in Australasian Oaks
Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News. It's been a whirlwind two months for trainer Glen Thompson, and it took another emotional turn on Saturday, securing a maiden Group 1 win with Benagil in the $1m Australasian Oaks at Morphettville. The passing of co-trainer Michael Moroney to cancer saw Thompson left in charge of Ballymore stables in late February, as he worked to keep the ball rolling under tragic circumstances. • 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! There's no easy way to fill the void left by a Melbourne Cup-winning trainer, but Thompson has stamped the beginning of his own legacy with Benagil's Oaks win – a first at Group 1-level in his own right. 'It's been a tough few weeks, I just tried to focus on today, we got her here in as good order as we could,' Thompson said. 'I thought she was spot on today, and she raced liked it.' The Manhattan rain filly settled back in the field under star jockey Mark Zahra, peeling wide on the turn as the race heated up, looming up strongly at the 300m. • What the jockeys said: 2025 Australasian Oaks The filly let down powerfully over the final 200m, cruising to a one-length win in the 2000m feature. Finishing second to triple Group 1 winner Treasurethe Moment in the Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes last start, Thompson had no doubt Benagil ($3) was capable at the elite level. 'She's always shown a lot of ability, she come back as a 3YO in the spring, she was very unlucky in the Thousand Guineas and those sort of races, she's just gone to another level this time,' he said. The win saw Zahra claim back-to-back Australasian Oaks wins, after piloting Vibrant Sun to victory in the $1m feature last year. There was a blowout result among the placegetters, six-start maiden Sweltering ran a massive race at odds of $151, finishing second for Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young. Second favourite Polymnia, trained by John O'Shea and Tom Charlton, charged home alongside Sweltering to finish third. Meanwhile, Athanatos secured an early training double for Phillip Stokes after Regal Azmon won Saturday's opener. Athanatos scored a strong win in the Chairman's Stakes but the gelding will sidestep the SA Derby and head to the paddock. Zloties won the Group 2 Queen Of The South Stakes for Cranbourne trainer Grahame Begg. Begg's patience with the talented mare has paid off after shoulder stress fractures and a pelvic injury kept the mare sidelined for two and a half years across 2022-2024. Beauty Rising's win in the last race saw the Stokes stable claim a winning treble on Saturday, taking home training owners on the nine-race card, but with two Group 1 wins, it was a day owned by Zahra. Originally published as Benagil secures trainer Glen Thompson emotional first Group 1 in Australasian Oaks at Morphettville
The Australian
26-04-2025
- Sport
- The Australian
Charm Stone claims Robert Sangster Stakes to give Mark Zahra Group 1 double at Morphettville
Brilliant mare Charm Stone flew home to snatch Saturday's $1m Robert Sangster Stakes as jockey Mark Zahra ruled Morphettville for a day. The Melbourne Cup-winning hoop secured a treble on day one of the Adelaide racing carnival, winning both the Group 1 Sangster and Australasian Oaks, along with earlier success aboard a dominant Legacy Bound in the Group 3 Breeders' Stakes. • 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! Charm Stone's Sangster triumph made it an incredible four wins in the race for gun trainer Mick Price, who was full of praise for the daughter of I Am Invincible post-race. 'The very pleasing thing is she's a beautiful mare. We've had her since she was a baby,' Price, who trains in partnership with Michael Kent Jr, said. 'She's one of Sheamus' (Mills) yearling buyers and look, he's one of the main players in the stable with Heath Newton and Anthony and it's just very, very satisfying to get a Group 1 for those guys, the mare has deserved it.' As for his star rider, Price had a short and sharp assessment. • What the jockeys said: 2025 Robert Sangster Stakes 'Zahra is Zahra, he just lives in the Group 1 world, doesn't he? But really, really pleased for the mare and the owning group,' he said. Fellow interstate raiders Ameena and Commemorative filled out the placings in the Sangster, Royal Ascot winner Asfoora finished seventh. Zahra has every reason to keep coming back to the Adelaide racing carnival, he has now won three Group 1s over the last two carnivals, along with an SA Derby win aboard Jungle Magnate in 2022, also for Price and Kent Jr. 'It's special. A bit of luck this time last year, a bit more luck this year, but nice to get a couple of good rides for people I ride for, and the races have just worked out, everything went in my favour today,' Zahra said. Mark Zahra celebrates after winning the Robert Sangster Stakes aboard Charm Stone. Picture: Makoto Kaneko Charm Stone will now head to $1m The Goodwood (1200m) on March 10, but Zahra may have another ride in the Morphettville sprint. 'I might have already locked into one, but we can see,' he said. 'I think Giga Kick's coming that day. Anyway, we'll celebrate about this one first. We'll worry about what's happening in two weeks.' ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Interest rising in Reserve Bank - Brad Waters Exciting three-year-old Reserve Bank roared into The Goodwood contention with his dominant win in the Group 2 Tobin Bronze Stakes (1200m). In a prophetic pre-race interview, co-trainer Mick Price said Reserve Bank would remain in Adelaide for The Goodwood on May 10 had he won the Tobin Bronze Stakes. Price even perfectly described the run Reserve Bank would have, three-wide with cover from his wide gate, in his pre-race chat. The tactics left star jockey Blake Shinn with one job – ensure Reserve Bank had clear running to work into the race from the home turn. Shinn perfectly carried out his task, ensuring Reserve Bank found no traffic problems, enabling the colt to work through his gears in the straight to score by 1½ lengths over Sabaj ($9) and Winnasedge ($16). 'Well, he jumped, which was good, and gave Blake Shinn an option to be midfield,' Price, who trains Reserve Bank in partnership with Michael Kent Jr, said. 'He got cover, but he was strong to the finish and was strong 1200 (metres). 'So, I'll leave him here with Chris Bieg and we'll train him together and hopefully he can run in Goodwood and run well.' Bookmakers promoted Reserve Bank to the third line of Goodwood betting at $8. The Everest winner Giga Kick is the $2.70 favourite in early betting on the $1m feature. Price and Kent Jr will shoot for their second win in The Goodwood after the pair completed a minor upset with Lombardo in 2022. Price also won The Goodwood twice when training alone from his previous base at Caulfield. He prepared three-year-old colt Perfectly Ready to win The Goodwood from barrier 18 in 2006 and with the classy mare Velocitea in 2010. The Bjorn Baker-trained Imperial Force started as the $3.70 favourite but finished ninth with Jamie Melham in the saddle.
