Latest news with #MikeMoroney
News.com.au
15 hours ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Oak Hill targets the 2025 Carlyon Stakes at The Valleyafter unbeaten Lindsay Park start
Phase two of Lindsay's Park's plan to build on the late Mike Moroney's work with the smart sprinter Oak Hill will occur in Saturday's Carlyon Stakes at The Valley. Oak Hill was one of a number of horses that moved into the Lindsay Park operation after the Melbourne Cup -winning trainer's sudden passing earlier this year along with Moroney's former right-hand man Anthony Feroce. Oak Hill is unbeaten in two starts for Ben, JD and Will Hayes, who have set the five-year-old for next month's Group 1 Moir Stakes over 1000m at The Valley. The son of Per Incanto won over the course when resuming in a Benchmark 100 race on August 9 to take his record to an imposing four wins and a second from five runs at the track. Oak Hill has constructed a terrific overall record of seven wins from 14 starts. JD Hayes said the New Zealand-bred sprinter was ready to graduate to stakes races, like several of the stable's acquisitions from the Moroney team. 'We're very lucky with these Ballymore horses that came to us,' Hayes said. 'Mike picked some very nice horses and we just got them at the right time as they have flourished into men. 'He's developed them and we feel like the coach that has just taken over a premiership side. 'Some of them are a bit like ruckmen, they have taken a bit longer, but they are really starting to blossom with maturity. 'Oak Hill is definitely one of those horses.' Oak Hill goes BANG ðŸ'¥ He's becoming a terrific sprinter! Blake Shinn with another pearlerðŸ'Œ @blake_shinn @lindsayparkrace — 7HorseRacing ðŸ�Ž (@7horseracing) August 9, 2025 Oak Hill is one of 13 entries for the $175,000 Carylon Stakes, for which entries will now close on Tuesday morning. Last year's winner Mornington Glory is the highest rated of the nominations on 109 and will be much fitter for his first-up fifth behind Oak Hill. Group 2 -winning speedster Baraqiel could also resume in the Carlyon Stakes after he was scratched from the Bletchingly Stakes on vets' advice less than an hour before last month's Caulfield contest. A pair of interstate stables could target the Carlyon Stakes with Brisbane trainer Tony Gollan entering Golden Boom, who was narrowly beaten in last year's race, and Bjorn Baker nominating Disneck. Anthony and Sam Freedman nominated speedy mare Tonkin, the winner of three of her four starts to date, while Flemington trainer Simon Zahra could try his luck with last-start Valley winner Don't Hope Do. Zahra combined with former training partner Mathew Ellerton to win the 2016 Carlyon Stakes with the classy mare Heatherly, who went on to run third to Extreme Choice in that year's Moir Stakes.
News.com.au
24-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
2025 BRC Sprint: War Machine books Stradbroke Handicap berth with dominant win
The Lindsay Park dynasty has a golden chance to win its first Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap after War Machine proved he was a machine by blowing away his opposition in the Group 3 BRC Sprint. With the race offering a golden ticket into next month's Stradbroke, War Machine was sent out the well-backed $2.40 favourite and did the business under Blake Shinn. It was the icing on the Doomben cake for Shinn who not long earlier had won a record-breaking fourth Group 1 Doomben Cup, riding Queensland freak Antino to glory. War Machine's BRC Sprint triumph prompted bookmakers to elevate the four-year-old – who had been trained by the late Mike Moroney prior to his death – to outright $5 Stradbroke favourite. Lindsay Park founder Colin Hayes never won the Stradbroke Handicap, nor did his son David but grandsons Ben, Will and JD Hayes will now chase Queensland's biggest race. 'That was an unbelievable effort by the horse,' JD Hayes said. 'We've only had him a short time. 'He came in incredible condition from Ballymore and we've been very lucky to inherit him. 'It looked like we'd get a beautiful run from the barrier and he's let down well. 'He had his ears pricked on the line and we're really looking forward to the Stradbroke.' A race-to-race double for @blake_shinn as War Machine wins the last at Doomben in impressive fashion! @lindsayparkrace — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 24, 2025 • Man of the moment Shinn paid tribute to the late Moroney. 'I had a little bit to do with this horse when Mike Moroney trained him and he did a great job nurturing him in his early days,' Shinn said. 'The Hayes boys are the beneficiary of that. 'If he runs in the Straddy, I think he'll be hard to beat.' While War Machine was dominant, Far Too Easy also stood up to be counted in finishing runner-up and Murwillumbah trainer David McColm indicated a Stradbroke mission was on the cards. Far Too Easy is the fairytale horse who has survived deadly floods and bacterial infections and surged to glory in last year's $2m The Kosciuszko at Randwick. He has since produced a couple of lacklustre runs but his BRC Sprint effort was much better and his rating will almost certainly get him a Stradbroke berth. 'The winner was too good today but I thought my horse's effort was great,' McColm said. 'He did what we know he can do. 'Assuming he goes to the Stradbroke, the weight difference in that race will be a big difference for him. 'He needed to do something today to go towards the Stradbroke. 'We had been disappointed with his last two runs but we have had a lot of wet weather in New South Wales and it's been a hard slog these last six months 'I think we have got him back.'
