Latest news with #RobbieDolan
News.com.au
a day ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Cup champ Knight's Choice set for exhibition gallop on Sunshine Coast
Melbourne Cup champion Knight's Choice is slated for an exhibition gallop at Breakfast With The Stars at Caloundra on Tuesday but forecast wet weather on the Sunshine Coast threatens to scupper that plan. The John Symons and Sheila Laxon -trained gelding hasn't raced since his epic victory in last November's Melbourne Cup as a $91 roughie, with a fetlock injury and southeast Queensland's atrocious weather ruining hopes of a comeback in the back half of the 2024-25 season. Symons said he had organised an exhibition gallop for Knight's Choice at Caloundra, which will host the final day of the carnival this weekend featuring the $300,000 Listed Caloundra Cup (2400m). 'If it doesn't rain too much, I've organised a gallop at Breakfast With The Stars here on Tuesday for him,' Symons said. However with up to 30mm of rain predicted for the Sunshine Coast on Monday, Symons could decide to save Knight's Choice for a spring campaign in Melbourne leading up to his Cup defence. 'He'll be going south shortly (to Macedon Lodge in Victoria),' Symons said. Last year Knight's Choice competed in Group 1 contests the Underwood Stakes (ninth), Turnbull Stakes (16th), Caulfield Cup (14th) and then the Group 3 Bendigo Cup (fifth) before Irishman Robbie Dolan rode him to a massive upset in the race that stops a nation. What did we just witness?! 🤯 KNIGHT'S CHOICE holds on to win the 2024 Lexus Melbourne Cup! 🎥 @wwos | #MelbourneCup | #MelbCupCarnival — Victoria Racing Club (@FlemingtonVRC) November 5, 2024 'We might start him off a little bit earlier because obviously he hasn't raced for a long time and then end up with the Cup, I hope,' Symons said. 'He could have a mile race prior to that. We'll let him tell us when he's ready to go. 'He hates wet tracks so we're trying to avoid them this year.' Symons and his wife Laxon had planned to run Knight's Choice in this month's $1.2 million Group 2 Q22, the 2200m race in which he finished second to Fawkner Park last year, but the constant rain in Brisbane over the past few months ruined that program. 'He throws his legs around on wet tracks,' Symons said. 'We didn't want to risk forcing him to get to the Q22 so we elected to wait and do it this way. Hopefully it's the right decision. 'The wet weather has been really frustrating. 'He's been in work for a long time and he's bursting out of his skin (to race).' Knight's Choice was initially earmarked to make his comeback in the All-Star Mile, won by Tom Kitten, back in March but bruised his fetlock in the paddock at Macedon Lodge in the lead-up to the $2.5 million feature at Flemington. 'He ran in the Caloundra Cup last year (finishing fourth) so he's a flagship horse for the club,' Sunshine Coast Turf Club boss John Miller said on Sunday. 'Anything they (Symons and Laxon) want to do we try to help them out and they try to help us out with promoting the club.' Knight's Choice won the 2023 Group 3 Winx Guineas (1600m), another feature race this weekend as the winter carnival draws to a close.
The Australian
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Australian
Irish hoop Tom Sherry savours first Australian Group 1 triumph with Tashi in Tatt's Tiara at Eagle Farm
The unique racing journey of Tom Sherry took an incredible twist as he became the latest former Irishman to become a Group 1-winning jockey Down Under. Sherry scored the Group 1 Tatt's Tiara on Peter Snowden-trained mare Tashi to break into the Group 1 club, seven years after arriving in Australia without a job. When Sherry was a teenager in Ireland, he was handed a four-year suspension by racing authorities after he returned a positive in-competition sample to a metabolite of cocaine but the suspension was later slashed. • 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! When Sherry arrived in Australia he had no immediate plans to work in racing, but lobbed at Bjorn Baker's Sydney stables after some time building fences. One thing led to another and he became Mark Newnham's star Sydney apprentice, blazing a trail which culminated in his first Group 1 at Eagle Farm on Saturday. Irish eyes were smiling at Eagle Farm, only seven months after fellow former Irish jockey Robbie Dolan won the Melbourne Cup. Sherry has come a long way since scoring his first career winner in Dundalk, Ireland, in 2017. 'It's crazy, it feels like a little bit of a weight has been lifted off my shoulders,' Sherry said. • What the jockeys said: 2025 Tattersall's Tiara 'Things like this don't really happen to people like me, I'm very grateful. 'I have worked really hard, trying to get to this moment. 'Winning a Group 1 is a big deal for me, for the lad from Ireland. 'It's been a long time coming, trying to win a Group 1, but the stars aligned today. 'We have had a tough year but when stuff like this happens, it makes it all worthwhile. 'Mark Newnham was a massive figure in my life, a father figure, and going from being an apprentice to a senior jockey was a huge thing for me. 'There is a saying that when mares are in form, they keep producing, and that's exactly what has happened this campaign. 'Tashi has always been super consistent.' Tom Sherry kisses the Tatt's Tiara trophy. Picture: Trackside Photography Tashi started at $7.50 in the Tatt's Tiara after being agonisingly close to victories in her previous three races, finishing runner-up in each. But she had the killer punch on Saturday, roaring home over Rob Heathcote's Queensland galloper Abounding ($19) and Chris Waller's mare Olentia ($31). Tony Gollan's well-backed favourite Floozie ($3.20) had her chance but finished fifth, the first time she has been beaten in five runs for Gollan. Snowden was emotional post-race, with Tashi raced by the Altomonte family which had patriarch George Altomonte pass away last year. 'I'm so proud of this mare and also of Tommy Sherry who delivered an absolute peach,' Snowden said. 'I'm thrilled for Tom, he came up here yesterday to get ready for this race so I knew he wouldn't be late today. 'But I think George Altomonte rode this mare from above today.'
The Australian
21-06-2025
- Sport
- The Australian
'That's their Melbourne Cup': Dolan delivers on Oughton in Eye Liner
Robbie Dolan has already won a miracle Melbourne Cup but he declared Saturday's Eye Liner Stakes triumph was like winning a Melbourne Cup for trainer Melissa Kelly. Dolan, who won last year's Melbourne Cup aboard Queensland bolter Knight's Choice, has been telling anyone who will listen that Oughton would be tough to beat in the Listed Eye Liner at Ipswich. Oughton, who at one stage spent a stint racing in Hong Kong, was sent out $8 and Dolan powered the gelding home over Sha Of Gomer ($20) which had looked like winning until the final strides. • 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! Dolan was front and centre at Ipswich last November when he ventured there to ride only two days after his famous Melbourne Cup win. The Irishman spent almost as much time signing autographs, posing for pictures and talking to the media that day than he did riding horses. But it was all business on Saturday and Dolan felt like he had a golden chance on Oughton after his effort to finish fifth behind Front Page in the Group 2 Moreton Cup. He overcame some headaches in the run to score on Oughton but was tickled pink for Gold Coast trainer Kelly. 'That means a lot to this stable - that's their Melbourne Cup,' Dolan said. 'He's had a lot of problems over the years, this horse. 'He came back from Hong Kong and it didn't go to plan in the race today. 'I got smashed coming out of the barriers and so I needed luck and I got it. 'I ended up down the rail, but I could see (favourite) Warnie down in front of me and I had my eyes set on him. 'To be honest, once I got to the outside, albeit he wanted to lay in, he found the line very good.' Warne, the $2.45 Ciaron-Maher trained favourite, was coasting in the run under Regan Bayliss. But he never got clear air at a vital time and went to the line with plenty of petrol in the tank, finishing fifth to be beaten two lengths. Kelly said Oughton would have enjoyed the win just as much as she did. READ: 'He's found his home': Flash Aah springs Ipswich Cup upset 'He gets a little bit cocky this horse,' Kelly said. 'He knows when he's run and when he's run a good race and when he has won. 'Before his last run he was just a little bit soft because he was a month between runs and he just knocked up. 'We knew he was going in a lot fitter today.' Jeff Dunn, who trained runner-up Sha Of Gomer, almost conjured the win and it would have been a fairytale as his partner Rikki Jamieson was riding. Sha Of Gomer was formerly trained by Chris Waller but was having his fourth run for Dunn who trains at Beaudesert.
News.com.au
21-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Melbourne Cup winning jockey Robbie Dolan all smiles after Eye Liner triumph on Oughton
Robbie Dolan has already won a miracle Melbourne Cup but he declared Saturday's Eye Liner Stakes triumph was like winning a Melbourne Cup for trainer Melissa Kelly. Dolan, who won last year's Melbourne Cup aboard Queensland bolter Knight's Choice, has been telling anyone who will listen that Oughton would be tough to beat in the Listed Eye Liner at Ipswich. Oughton, who at one stage spent a stint racing in Hong Kong, was sent out $8 and Dolan powered the gelding home over Sha Of Gomer ($20) which had looked like winning until the final strides. Dolan was front and centre at Ipswich last November when he ventured there to ride only two days after his famous Melbourne Cup win. The Irishman spent almost as much time signing autographs, posing for pictures and talking to the media that day than he did riding horses. But it was all business on Saturday and Dolan felt like he had a golden chance on Oughton after his effort to finish fifth behind Front Page in the Group 2 Moreton Cup. He overcame some headaches in the run to score on Oughton but was tickled pink for Gold Coast trainer Kelly. 'That means a lot to this stable - that's their Melbourne Cup,' Dolan said. 'He's had a lot of problems over the years, this horse. You really ought to know... that Oughton loves @IpswichTurfClub, and he wins the Listed Eye Liner Stakes for Melissa Kelly and @ZRKD! ðŸ'° @RaceQLD — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 21, 2025 'He came back from Hong Kong and it didn't go to plan in the race today. 'I got smashed coming out of the barriers and so I needed luck and I got it. 'I ended up down the rail, but I could see (favourite) Warnie down in front of me and I had my eyes set on him. 'To be honest, once I got to the outside, albeit he wanted to lay in, he found the line very good.' Warne, the $2.45 Ciaron-Maher trained favourite, was coasting in the run under Regan Bayliss. But he never got clear air at a vital time and went to the line with plenty of petrol in the tank, finishing fifth to be beaten two lengths. Kelly said Oughton would have enjoyed the win just as much as she did. 'He gets a little bit cocky this horse,' Kelly said. 'He knows when he's run and when he's run a good race and when he has won. 'Before his last run he was just a little bit soft because he was a month between runs and he just knocked up. 'We knew he was going in a lot fitter today.' Jeff Dunn, who trained runner-up Sha Of Gomer, almost conjured the win and it would have been a fairytale as his partner Rikki Jamieson was riding. Sha Of Gomer was formerly trained by Chris Waller but was having his fourth run for Dunn who trains at Beaudesert.
News.com.au
14-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
2024 Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Robbie Dolan again shines at Ipswich
Robbie Dolan was the king of Ipswich two days after winning last year's Melbourne Cup and he was the toast of the town again on Wednesday when he scored the rescheduled $105,000 Bat Out Of Hell. Dolan was posing for pictures and signing autographs – as well as riding a winner – at Ipswich last November when he took the Melbourne Cup trophy he won for Knight's Choice two days earlier to the track west of Brisbane. Fast forward to this week and the Irish-born jockey was partnering Flag Hall, trained by fellow Melbourne Cup-winning legend Lee Freedman, to victory in the Bat Out Of Hell (1100m). The race had been rescheduled from last Saturday's Hollindale Stakes card when it had been meant to be the final race of the day but was washed out as the heavens opened on the Gold Coast. Not that it mattered to Dolan or Freedman who enjoyed the win on the sprinter who started $6 at Ipswich. Flag Hall plunged in weight from when he had carried 62kg at his previous start at Eagle Farm – he only had 52kg on his back at Ipswich. 🦇 The Bat Out Of Hell at @IpswichTurfClub belongs to Flag Hall for @ZRKD and @freedman_lee! ðŸ'� @RaceQLD — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 14, 2025 • Wet the key to Wealth in Group 1 Doomben 10,000 'He is too good of a horse to have 52kg and he quickened up really well, he probably could have won by further,' Dolan told Sky Thoroughbred Central. Dolan has been invited to ride in this year's Shergar Cup at Ascot, with jockeys from all over the globe set to converge on Ascot for the six-race series in August. He has been selected to ride on the Great Britain and Ireland team. Meanwhile, an exciting 'brute' of a two-year-old colt who is a half brother to $975,000 earner El Morzillo did it the tough way and dug deep to score the 2YO Handicap (1100m) at Ipswich. Holy chip! A close finish at @IpswichTurfClub sees Guac On ðŸ¥' claim victory over Green Spring! @schweidaracing | @RaceQLD — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 14, 2025 Guac On drifted alarmingly in betting, from $5 to $10 before trimming back in to start $7.50. Kelly Schweida trains the young colt and also puts the polish on his older half sister El Morzillo, the filly who won a $1m restricted race at Flemington and holds a nomination for the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap. Guac On bungled his debut run terribly last month at Doomben, when started the $1.85 favourite, but the Ipswich triumph made it two wins in a row. • Beefed-up World Pool presence to showcase Qld to globe Starting from the widest barrier, Noel Callow surged the colt to the lead in the Ipswich straight and he clung on as well-backed $2.60 favourite Green Spring charged late. 'I couldn't believe the price today when he got out to $10, I thought that was crazy,' Schweida said. 'Like his half sister, El Morzillo, I think he will be better when he is ridden quietly but we couldn't do that today. 'He is a bit of a beast and he's a bit of a bully. He's a brute.' Guac On's victory was the first leg of a winning treble for Callow, who also took out a 1680m Class 4 aboard the Chris Waller -trained Super Chilled and a 1200m Class 4 on Aldolfito for Eagle Farm conditioner Matthew Hoysted.
