Latest news with #PhillipStokes
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Femminile chasing South Australian and Queensland Derby double at Eagle Farm Saturday
A day's detour is unlikely to hinder Pakenham trainer Phillip Stokes 's bid for a second Queensland Derby triumph at Saturday's Eagle Farm meeting. The Stokes-trained Femminile will run in new colours in the Queensland Derby after Yulong Investments paid $1.5m for the South Australian Derby winner at a Gold Coast auction on Tuesday. Thankfully for Stokes, Femminile's preparation was not disrupted by days spent parading at the Magic Millions sales complex. I was very happy when they (Yulong) rang me straight after the sale to tell me we'd better get her back into her box,' Stokes said. 'She only had to spend one day at the sales, she didn't have to be there any longer.' The Queensland Derby wasn't on Stokes's mind when Femminile returned to work for her autumn campaign. The Group 1 Australasian Oaks was Femminile's initial target but Stokes decided to give the Dundeel filly a crack at the boys in the South Australian Derby. • 'She got beaten in the Oaks but I actually thought the fillies were better than the colts,' Stokes said. 'We were going to run her in the other 2500m feature (the Group 3 SA Fillies' Classic) the week after so thank God my racing manager pushed the button and nominated her for the Derby. 'She got a peach of a ride and got the job done. 'It wasn't the initial plan to go to the Queensland Derby but when she won the South Australian Derby, I thought, 'let's try and do this again'.' Stokes said recent history was on Femminile's side in the Queensland Derby. He noted several Queensland Derby winners, including his own galloper Mr Quickie, were beaten in the South Australian Derby before heading north. 'History tells you the South Australian Derby has been a good pointer for the Queensland Derby,' Stokes said. 'Last year, Warmonger was beaten in the SA Derby and won the Queensland Derby. 'Mr Quickie got beaten in the South Australian Derby and won the Queensland Derby and there's been a few others as well.' Magicool and Ruthven reinforce Stokes's point. Both horses were beaten in the South Australian Derby before claiming the Queensland Derby in 2015 and 2017 respectively. Femminile is a $8 chance to become the first filly to win the Queensland Derby since the Bart Cummings-trained Dariana prevailed in 2010. 'She's very clean-winded and Ethan Brown galloped her on Tuesday at the Gold Coast and he was really taken by her,' Stokes said. 'If we get any rain, which I think is forecast, she'll love it.'
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Trainer Emma-Lee Browne confident Statuario can reverse result on Femminile in Queensland Derby rematch
They're the Pakenham pair ready to pack a powerful punch in Saturday's Group 1 Queensland Derby at Eagle Farm. Victorian horses Statuario and Femminile delivered a thriller in this month's South Australian Derby, with the Phillip Stokes-trained filly Femminile holding on to win the major at $19 odds. • Racenet iQ members get full access to our Pro Tips service, where Greg Polson and our team of professional punters provide daily tips with fully transparent return on investment statistics. SUBSCRIBE NOW and start punting like a pro! Statuario's co-trainer Emma-Lee Browne is hoping they can again jag the quinella on Saturday, although this time she wants her grey gelding to take the chocolates. Blake Shinn, the Doomben Cup winner on Queensland hero Antino, will jump aboard Femminile while John Allen will ride Statuario, the $6 early favourite for the 2400m race ahead of King Of Thunder ($7), Party Crasher ($8) and Femminile ($9.50). Browne, who trains in partnership with husband David, said Statuario had travelled 'super' to the Gold Coast and would be primed to turn the tables on Femminile in the Queensland Derby. • 'You don't know how they're going to cope with the travel until they've had that race-day pressure but he hasn't missed a feed and his weight is super,' she said while enjoying an outing with her family at Gold Coast tourist attraction Dreamworld. Statuario was the warm favourite for the SA Derby but got caught behind horses on the inside of the track before eventually finding space and motoring home to finish just three-quarters of a length behind Femminile. They're a tight-knit racing community at Pakenham and the rivalry between stables is definitely more friendly than fierce. Stokes, who grew up at a cattle station near Marree in northern South Australia, even helped arrange the transport to Queensland for both his horses and Statuario. 'You've got to have everything go right in a Group 1 and you've got to have a bit of luck on your side,' Browne said about the $1m SA Derby (2500m) at Morphettville on May 3. 'But at least it was a Pakenham victory – we've taken that, with Phillip Stokes being from both places. 'We're incredibly lucky down at Pakenham, it's a fantastic group and we all support each other. It makes a difference – it's a good atmosphere. 'Phillip pretty much organised my trip up here so that's been incredibly helpful. 'We're hoping we can quinella the Queensland Derby too but we still want to turn the tables this time.' Browne said the four-week gap between races was ideal for Statuario and she was encouraged by the path of the Mick Price and Michael Kent Jr-trained Warmonger, who finished runner-up in last year's SA Derby before winning the Queensland edition. 'The way he (Statuario) travelled home from Adelaide and the way he bounced around the track made us think 'OK let's see how he pushes on',' she said. 'It was good to have the four weeks between races because you could really see how he was doing. 'We're very happy with the horse, he's had a super prep. It'd be a cherry on top if he goes well this Saturday.'
News.com.au
21-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
South Australian Derby winner Femminile to have new owners for Queensland Derby
It's not often that a Group 1-winning filly is sold just four days before a shot at back-to-back majors but that's exactly the scenario with Queensland Derby contender Femminile. The three-year-old filly is expected to have new owners when she lines up in the $1m feature at Eagle Farm next Saturday in a field that her trainer Phillip Stokes believes is the strongest in many years. 'That's quite unique, although they do it quite a bit overseas,' Stokes said of the impending sale. 'So basically someone will have the chance to buy the horse that's going to run in a Derby four days later. It's quite a good carrot, I suppose.' Femminile held off the challenge of South Australian Derby (2500m) favourite Statuario to win this month's Group 1 at Morphettville by three-quarters of a length at odds of $19. The three-year-old filly is an $11 chance to salute in the Queensland Derby (2400m) behind favourite King Of Thunder ($6), Belle Detelle ($8) and Statuario ($8). The John O'Shea and Tom Charlton-trained gelding King Of Thunder finished third in the Rough Habit Plate (2000m) at Doomben last weekend, the traditional lead-up race to the Queensland Derby, while Chris Waller's filly Belle Detelle was sixth on a heavy track. 'I think it's not a bad Derby this year,' said Stokes, who won the 2019 Queensland Derby with Mr Quickie. 'I just think it looks stronger than previous years from what I've seen. 'We bring winning form, we don't mind wet tracks and we've got (jockey) Blake Shinn, they're our positives.' Stokes said he was encouraged by last year's formlines when the Mick Price and Michael Kent Jr-trained gelding Warmonger finished runner-up in the SA Derby and then emphatically won the Queensland Derby four weeks later. 'The formula seems OK,' he said. Shinn rode Warmonger last year and he will be back to defend his crown on Femminile, the daughter of Dundeel. Stokes said Ethan Brown would ride his other two runners on Derby Day – last-start Group 3 Cummings Stakes winner Regal Azmon and Stay Focused, which triumphed in the Listed Nitschke Stakes (1400m) in Adelaide on April 5. Stokes was hoping for a heavy track for the Queensland Derby given that Femminile 'sprouted wings' on a bog surface at Morphettville in her maiden win in June last year but he is unlikely to get his wish because the sun is finally shining in Brisbane this week.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Suspect in Natchez officer-involved shooting dies
NATCHEZ, Miss. (WJTV) – The 19-year-old who was involved in a Natchez officer-involved shooting has died, officials said. The Natchez Democrat reported Phillip Stokes, Jr., died on Thursday, May 15 at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson. Mississippi police release body-cam footage of arrest involving handicap parking space The shooting occurred on Sunday, May 11 at the closed Natchez Visitor Center on Canal Street. According to Bailey Martin, press secretary for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety (DPS), officers were attempting to serve a warrant. When they arrived at the location, Martin said the suspect displayed a firearm, which resulted in an exchange of gunfire between the suspect and police. Stokes was wanted in connection to a shooting that occurred on Friday, May 9 on Lafayette Street in Natchez. Agents with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) are investigating the officer-involved shooting and will share their findings with the Mississippi Attorney General's Office. Two Natchez police officers have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Australian
10-05-2025
- Sport
- The Australian
In-form gelding Regal Azmon defies Arran Bay again to win Group 3 Cummings Stakes at Morphettville
Regal Azmon denied stablemate Arran Bay his revenge, soaring home to blitz the Group 3 Cummings Stakes at Morphettville on Saturday. Last in a field of 12, Regal Azmon ($15 Sportsbet) circled his rivals to explode down the straight, reeling in Arran Bay and Fine Future as trainer Phillip Stokes and jockey Lachlan Neindorf combined for another stakes win. • 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 Magnus gelding narrowly defeated Arran Bay last start in Open Handicap, assisted by an 8.5kg weight advantage, and with only 0.5kg separating them on Saturday, many, including Stokes, expected Arran Bay ($4.40) to turn the tables. 'I thought the same, especially how close they were last time,' Stokes said. 'He's a winner this horse and Arran Bay was game in defeat and I'm very happy to take the quinella again. 'A big thanks to Mark and the Regal mob, and the team here, they've done a really good job.' Stokes has some thinking to do, with a possible Queensland tilt on the radar for the in-form seven-year-old. 'I'll have to have a think about that. We'll see what the ratings do, but we may have to think about Brisbane,' he said. 'Arran Bay, he's hard to place. He'll probably have a break and look to the spring. He's knocking on the door to win again.' • What the jockeys said: 2025 The Goodwood Wine Barron snapped a two-year winless streak in Saturday's opening race, which included an uncommon gear change. Jamie Melham piloted a luckless Wine Barron to fifth on Derby Day, and with Jamie unavailable on Saturday, husband, Ben Melham, hopped aboard. Ben Melham steered the Michael Hickmott-trained gelding to a commanding win. Steel Trap produced a tough win in the Group 3 David Coles AM Stakes, the filly had a beautiful rails run under Jamie Melham, and scooted through underneath race leader Brave Design to grind out a maiden stakes win. The two-year-old, trained by Dan Clarken & Oopy MacGillivray has a bright future, and was a $30,000 purchase at the 2024 Adelaide Yearling Sale. The Melham show rolled into race four, with Ben bringing up an early double as Private Legacy saluted in the Centaurea Stakes. It was a first stakes win for the Gregory Hickman-trained mare, who finished a narrow second in last year's Group 1 Australasian Oaks. Litzdeel, who is a half-sister to Melbourne Cup winner Vow And Declare, won the Group 3 SA Fillies Classic for Victorian trainer Danny O'Brien. The filly showed heart to stave off Chase Your Dreams and Cavity Bay in the final stages under the riding of Zac Spain. Exciting mare Cleo Cat was an impressive winner of the Proud Miss Stakes, the four-year-old, who has won a remarkable seven wins from eight races for Tom Dabernig, cruised to a comfortable win under jockey Jordan Childs. The Melhams shared riding honours on Goodwood day's nine-race card, both scoring a double, although Jamie Melham holds bragging rights, winning Saturday's major race.
