Latest news with #RobertAgnew
News.com.au
21-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Shayne O'Cass's best bets, inside mail for Taree and Moree on Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Form expert Shayne O'Cass presents his best bets and quaddie leg analysis for Tuesday's racing at Taree and Moree. â– â– â– â– â– TAREE TIPS BEST BET Race 5 No.2 SHOW 'EM HOWL: Unlucky not to have won a Highway, fifth in a BM 72 after that. NEXT BEST Race 6 No.8 MERAPI: Has won from 1205m to 2000m including one Taree. VALUE Race 2 No.12 VOLARE: Eight Carat descendant trained here; done some good things. QUADDIE Race 4: 1,2,3,4 Race 5: 2 Race 6: 4,8 Race 7: 1 JOCKEY TO FOLLOW Ben Looker will reunite the exciting Bodhi Boy on Tuesday. TELEGRAPH (2) has raced 10 times at this track and distance for two wins, two seconds and a third. That already honourable record is more impressive considering the head-starts he often gives away on a track that is sometimes favourable to on-pacers. MR DAMAGE (4) has done plenty of damage to his supporters over time but he has been as consistent as he has been costly. TOOMUCHINFORMATION (3) has a short but sweet record at this track/distance. BET: TELEGRAPH (2) to win. SHOW 'EM HOWL (2) is one of the most promising 3YO's north of Newcastle. The Robert Agnew-trained son of the now Indonesia-based stallion Showitme has a bit of an X-Factor, a couple of those early wins had a wow factor too! Huge run in the Highway, back from a Rosehill 72 today. CHRISTA (3) is a dual acceptor. Handy horse. POCKET EIGHTS (1) is one-for-one at the track/trip. Aaron Bullock has steered him to his two career wins. BET: SHOW 'EM HOWL (2) to win (best bet), Daily Double 1st Leg 2, 2nd leg 1. MERAPI (8) is a mare by Zoustar out of a Zabeel daughter of Group 1 Easter Handicap winner Honor Bound. Merapi has quite a solid record racing at Taree; she also deserves credit for versatility having won from 1206, up to 2000m. OAKFIELD ECHIDNA (4) has really hit his straps this preparation. Precising timing for him to get out to the mile today/Bullock on. SPIRITLY (2) was $8.50 into $5 second-up, winning. and now at his favourite trip. THE YOUNG YEARS (10) is value. BET: MERAPI (8) to win, box trifecta 2,4,8,10. BODHI BOY (1) has the honour of being the highest rated horse racing today at Taree and take it to the bank that he'll be way above a 68 rater in time – and maybe quick time too. He won his first three starts then was $4.40 in his unsuccessful MNC Champs Heat. Big run at Newcastle first-up. SUPREME COMMAND (3) is trained here and like all of the Glen Milligan string, races well at home. CRITICAL TIME (4) has run well against better opposition (excluding Bodhi Boy). BET: BODHI BOY (1) to win. â– â– â– â– â– MOREE TIPS BEST BET Race 5 No.7 LIVE TO RISE: Lightly-raced and promising filly who was 'huge' first-up! NEXT BEST Race 7 No.2 PAPPIANA: Highly reliable mare who is precision placed again. VALUE Race 1 No.2 ARTIE'S MAGIC: Both runs have contained merit. Drawn well. MOREE INSIDE MAIL RACE 4: Benchmark 66 (950m) TOO DARN LOVELY (6) was a $17,000 Inglis Classic Yearling whose earnings are $99,990 but she has to be worth something to breeders when she retires one-day given she is by Too Darn Hot with the American broodmare gem, Fall Aspen, as her fourth dam. As for the 'punt', can't you just see her going flat chat here from box 2. Toowoomba resident SURREAL ASCOT (2) led throughout to easily win a Class 4 at Kilvoy over 1200m a month ago. Creates interest here. BET: TOO DARN LOVELY (6) to win. LIVE TO RISE (7) is '313' at present; the win was huge and frankly the first-up third was probably just as good! ARCHAIC FORCE (3), a son of the NZ Oaks winner Bramble Rose, is a hundred times better than what his CV would suggest. He won at Taree on debut yet hasn't managed to place since but he has been so unlucky. This 950m which is short of his best distance but his best effort might be good enough to win. BET: LIVE TO RISE (7) to win, exacta 7 to beat 3, Daily Double 1st Leg 7, 2nd Leg 2. BIG SHORT (3) is a cleverly-named son of Capitalist, trained by recent Grafton Guineas winning trainer Wayne Brown. Big Short is a miler, pure and simple. He has raced at the 1600m seven times for two seconds and a third and most of the others contained merit to varying degrees. Ran into a good horse last start at Scone too. CHASING JACKLEY (1) (the other Toowoomba horse at Moree today) likewise saves his very best for the mile. MOOTESSA (4) has claims. BET: BIG SHORT (3) to win. PAPPIANA (2) is a former SA resident who has been with Nikki Pollack at Scone for her last 10 runs. In that time, the daughter of Pierro has two wins, three seconds a third and two fourths. Not only has she been exceedingly well placed by her trainer (which is a trait of that stable), but she has been ultra-reliable. DOLLY JAYNE (12) has only managed three wins in her 42 starts but she has placed 11 times. She should feel very comfortable in a race like this.
News.com.au
21-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Taree, Moree previews: Trainer Robert Agnew's star galloper to show ‘em how it's done
Trainer Robert Agnew will gladly take his share of the $13,950 winner's purse on offer at Taree on Tuesday but it's the points – not the cash – he wants most. Agnew, a rising star trainer, has his rising star racehorse Show 'Em Howl back in action on the Mid-North Coast on Tuesday after back-to-back barnstorming runs at Royal Randwick and Rosehill respectively. It comes as no surprise then that Show 'Em Howl looks destined to start well into the red when he steps out in the MVRC Winning Post Function Centre Class 3 Handicap (1262m). 'He is definitely on a Country Championship path that's for sure,'' Agnew said. 'And it looks like a walk in the park to get his (benchmark) points up to be eligible. 'He wins on Tuesday, he goes from a 60 to 64 or 65 and then that would nearly get him in (to the qualifier). 'I'll run him there (at Taree) and then we go to Sydney two-and-a-half weeks later for a 1400m and then he is in the paddock or we give him one more kill and then he is in the paddock.' • Show 'Em Howl has finished fourth and fifth in his two Sydney runs, both ending in his now-trademark whirlwind finishing burst. Rival trainers hoping for a level-playing field at Taree on Tuesday will be disheartened to learn of Show 'Em Howl's current state of health and wellbeing. 'He's improved,'' Agnew declared. 'I'm expecting him to be very dominant on Tuesday to be honest.' Show 'Em Howl shows them how in the last at @port_races! ðŸ'� @AnnaRoper_ — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) January 19, 2025 Show 'Em Howl is not only a four-legged advertisement for Agnew's training prowess, his meagre purchase price of $5,000 at the far away Inglis Gold Yearling Sale in Melbourne in 2023 highlights Agnew's eye for a bargain. Show 'Em Howl is a son of Showtime who left Australia on a plane for Indonesia in August last year to continue his stud duties. Agnew's three-year-old has several Group 1 relatives on his page including Racing To Win as well as The Everest winner Classique Legend. Where to next for Show 'Em Howl? The Country Championships are on the radar! Hear from trainer Robert Agnew after the win at @port_races this afternoon... — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) January 19, 2025 Agnew's other runner at Taree on Tuesday is Prince Rupert who turned in a career-best performance last start when third at Coffs Harbour. 'He is my most expensive horse and he's been very disappointing,'' Agnew said. 'But we changed a few things, gave him a good spell and brought him back and fingers are crossed that he can do what he did first-up and he'll be on the right track to win races for us. 'He finds himself in a race that is very achievable for him to put himself in the first four again. 'I can't fault him. His work is good and he looks great.' Prince Rupert, a $50,000 Magic Millions Yearling graduate of the 2023 sale, is a son of Bjorn Baker's Winning Rupert who won the first five of his ultimately final six lifetime starts including the Group 2 BRC Champagne Classic, Group 3 Vo Rogue Plate and the Listed Gold Edition Stakes, all in Brisbane from May to December in 2016. Meanwhile there was good news on the Agnew front regarding his talented three-year-old Pony Soprano who came down in a drama-charged Highway at Rosehill on Saturday. 'He had a couple of little cuts on his legs but nothing major and a head knock,' Agnew reported. 'The initial plan was to spell him straight away but I got him home and it is not as bad as I first thought.' â– â– â– â– â– Prosser's Wild girl ready to rumble Highway-winning trainer Colt Prosser is hoping the 'real' She's A Wild One will reveal herself when she joins a caravan of four heading from Wauchope to Moree on Tuesday. The daughter of 2019 Doncaster Handicap winner Brutal, She's A Wild One has so far been more true to her name than the job of being a racehorse as Prosser explained. 'She has always shown me so much ability, I thought she was my best three-year-old by a country mile but she just does everything wrong,'' Prosser says. 'She duffs the start and then she wants to over-race mid-race and then she is gassing herself out by the time she gets to the post. 'If she can put it all together on race day, the day she does it, she will look very impressive put it that way. 'I am chasing a little BOBS bonus win with her so I am just trying to pick my best option and Tuesday looks like a nice race for her.' Prosser's first runner on the card is the (rare) black-coloured gelding Impending Fortune who ought to relish the opportunity to step out to 1300m in Tuesday's opener. 'It's probably even a touch short,' Prosser said. 'He is still a little bit green and he still does a little bit wrong but 1300m on a big track like Moree should be perfect.' Prosser has likewise found an ideal race on Tuesday for former Godolphin-housed galloper Montgolfier to record his second win in as many starts after a swashbuckling maiden win at Taree last start. 'I was very happy with how strong he was through the line,'' his trainer said. 'I always thought for him to be winning races, he has to get over a little bit further but he has still got to learn to harness that energy between the 800m and the 600m, he just wants to get going and do too much.' Prosser's final runner at Moree is Calamity Fox whose record at the venue is a win and third from his two prior visits. 'He is one of those old horses who loves a trip away and I picked out three races for the other ones and I thought I'll throw the old Fox on the float and take him. 'If he can get back to the form he had last prep he will run well. He likes the track.'
News.com.au
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Rising apprentice Anna Roper preparing for big day at Rosehill Gardens
Anna Roper is eager to make the most of her opportunities at Rosehill Gardens and expects Spywire to be hard to beat with even luck on Saturday. Roper has a handy book across the 10-event card with the Ciaron Maher -trained Spywire headlining the bunch in the Benchmark 78 Handicap (1200m). Spywire is the $2.70 favourite to score his first win since debut preparation as a two-year-old but wasn't far away first-up with Roper aboard. The son of Trapeze Artist only got clear air halfway down the Rosehill straight before just missing behind form sprinter King's Secret. 'Spywire was a tad unlucky first-up but also peaked on his run late,' Roper said. 'The team went into that run thinking he would take improvement off it and I think he certainly will, he was wirey in the coat. 'I think he will take massive improvement. He will need a little bit of luck from a tricky barrier. 'He is a horse that I don't know if you can push or pull too much. You have to let him flow in his rhythm so as long as he gets some luck he should be very competitive.' Pony Soprano has been the subject of a substantial betting move with the Robert Agnew -trained galloper shortening from $19 into $6.50 for the TAB Highway Class 2 Handicap (1100m). Roper kicks her day off on the country galloper and sees the son of Thronum as a great winning chance. Pony Soprano has won two of his five starts already and Roper has piloted the three-year-old in both of his lead-up trials. 'He is a lightly-raced galloper but he targeted those Country Championships races with him and it just showed how much of an opinion he had of him,' Roper said. 'His trials have been really good. He is two from two first-up so if he is going as well as we think he is, he should be very competitive in a Highway. 'I think he is a nice horse.' Roper is excited to reconnect with the Annabel and Rob Archibald -trained Don't Forget Jack ($6.50) after helping the gelding to a first-up victory at Hawkesbury. The son of Headwater was slowly away second-up when the pair combined and never feature but has since finished first and second at Rosehill Gardens. 'He missed the kick that day at Rosehill but seems to be jumping better,' Roper said. 'As long as he gets the start right from barrier one, that's probably the concern. 'But he seems to be very consistent this preparation and Annabel is doing a great job with him. 'He is getting better and better with every run.' It will be the first time Roper pilots John O'Shea and Tom Charlton' s Good Banter ($4.40 favourite). The daughter of Tavistock scored a drought-breaking success at the same venue last start over 2000m and steps over a mile and a half this weekend. 'Good Banter gets back up to the 2400m,' Roper said. 'I have never ridden the horse but the win was good last start so hopefully that adds a bit of confidence and she can go on with it.' Roper has 22½ metropolitan wins and only sits behind Braith Nock (40 wins) and Molly Bourke (24 wins) on the Sydney apprentices premiership. Stables have been making the most of Roper's 2kg claim in the winter months with the apprentice set to ride for seven different trainers on the weekend. She also rides Ringarosa (race 6), South Of India (race eight) and War Eternal (race 10). 'I have had terrific support in town from so many different stables,' Roper said. 'They have all been so consistent and I couldn't be more thankful for it. 'Obviously you have to keep showing up and doing the job when they put you on but it's great to have that sort of support and I am excited for Saturday and if everything goes to plan it will be a good day.'
News.com.au
04-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘He is up to that level': Robert Agnew has Country Championships aspirations for Show ‘Em Howl
Trainer Robert Agnew believes Show 'Em Howl has the ability to be a Country Championships contender next year but would be content if his lightly-raced talent won his way out of calculations for the series this winter. Agnew is preparing to bring his untapped talent back to town to target one of two races on Winter Stakes day at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday as he looks to build on his competitive early record of two wins from five starts. Show 'Em Howl gave a glimpse of his potential the last time he was in town with an eye-catching fourth behind the speedy Calico Miss in Highway grade. 'I feel off his Highway run two weeks ago, I could win a Country Championships heat over 1200m at Port Macquarie first-up,' Agnew said. 'I could give him a few starts this preparation and then put him away. 'We have runs and wins up the sleeve to play with but if he was to win the Benchmark 72 on Saturday then moving forward two weeks later he is going to be better for the 1500m. 'So if he was to win two in two weeks, I wouldn't be waiting for the Championships because as nice as a race as it is, he would be third-up on four wins and I couldn't put him in the garage until February.' Calico Miss races away with the TAB Highway at Randwick! ðŸ'° @weir_mikayla @aus_turf_club — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 21, 2025 Show 'Em Howl ($8) is the seventh emergency in the TAB Highway Class 3 Handicap (1300m) but has also accepted in the The Agency Real Estate Benchmark 72 (1300m) on the same card. Agnew holds no fears running Show 'Em Howl in the tougher assignment if scratchings don't get him a Highway start. 'I definitely think he is up to that level,' he said. 'There is some nice horses in it but I definitely think he is capable. 'I wanted to stick to Highway this week and go to the 72 in two weeks time because he doesn't have any Highway options coming up. 'Everyone says he is a nice 1400m to a mile horse so I would love to take him over 1500m in two weeks time. 'If it's really wet, I'd rather the 1200m and not the 1300m.' Apprentice Anna Roper has been booked to pilot Show 'Em Howl in both races.
