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Herald Sun
a day ago
- Sport
- Herald Sun
Trainer Mark Milton saddles up Miss Couver at Scone
Scone trainer Mark Milton will use Tuesday's home-town meeting at Scone to 'debut' the former Sydney-sider and 'internet cheapie' Miss Couver. Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News. Trainer, owner and breeder Mark Milton is hoping his 'internet speck' Miss Couver can win back her meagre purchase price and start building a bank to pay for a stallion partner some time this spring or the next when she steps out at Scone today. The daughter of Golden Slipper winner Vancouver was originally housed at Leilani Lodge with Anthony Cummings who trained Miss Couver's Group 1-winning 'uncles' Outback Prince and Hotel Grand. Her most recent three starts were under the Ciaron Maher banner, prior to being put out to tender. Enter Milton, the former Mudgee trainer now firmly ensconced at the nation's thoroughbred capital. • 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! 'It was a bit of an afterthought to buy her when I was playing on the Inglis Digital,'' Milton said. 'I thought why not have a bid on this one? 'I only paid $3,500 for her which is not a lot when you consider what we are racing for. 'And she'd won at the provincials and had run a couple of placings at the metros and that.' Miss Couver's 13th and last run came on July 9 where she finished down the order in a Benchmark 72 at Canterbury. Her first assignment for Milton comes on Monday in the One Agency Scone Class 1 Handicap (1200m) with Kody Nestor to steer. 'I haven't done a real lot with her,'' Milton says. 'She hasn't had any hard gallops but she is certainly coming back in class a bit. 'She is a nice big, strong mare who came to me in good nick.' — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) August 10, 2023 • RICHARD CALLANDER: Racing's rumour mill trips up punters with Shenandoah shenanigans Given how well-bred Miss Couver is, Milton is seriously considering breeding from the genetically blessed mare. 'Everyone keeps telling me, even down at Ciaron's that she would make a lovely broodmare,'' Milton said. 'She is a really big scopey horse. If you send her to the right stallion, she should throw a cracking sort of a foal. 'It's up to her to win her service fee.' Milton, meanwhile, has found another ideal race for Flying Molly who has the opportunity to collect $15,000 if successful in the Arrowfield Country Boosted Maiden Plate (1100m). Born and bred at Kingstar Farm, just like 2021 Golden Slipper winner Stay Inside, Flying Molly turned six on August 1 yet has just five runs under her belt. In fact the time between her third and fourth starts was a staggering 86weeks, or 602days. 'I moved from Mudgee over to Scone and then there was a rigmarole to be able to train at Scone for a while so she just sat in the paddock and in no time at all, nearly two years had gone past,'' Milton explained. 'There was no injury problem or anything like that, it was just a change of location and the moving process and everything else.' The break has, it seems, worked wonders for Flying Molly who has posted back-to-back PBs at her two runs since her return to racing. Both were at Scone, one a closing third to the handy Kris Lees-trained galloper Herman Said. • Private Harry, Briasa step up Everest preparations with scintillating trial wins The other was a three-quarter-length second to the Rodney Northam-housed Nova Centauri who goes around in the last on Monday's Scone card. 'I am guessing this race is probably a bit harder looking at the prices on the TAB but she has been pretty consistent and a little bit green in her runs too but even though she is a little bit older, she doesn't have a lot of experience,'' Milton said. Flying Molly, a $10,000 Inglis weanling purchase in 2020, can lay a rare claim to boast a Golden Slipper winner hanging on her family tree. Her fifth dam, Light Of Peace, was the mother of 1987 Slipper hero, Star Watch. Originally published as Trainer Mark Milton to saddled up online bargain Miss Couver at Scone on Tuesday Opinion Racenet form analyst Shayne O'Cass previews Tuesday's NSW meetings at Scone and Albury, presenting his best bets and quaddie leg analysis. Horse Racing Saturday shapes as an important day in the career of his staying prospect Fioprospero at Rosehill Gardens.
West Australian
09-08-2025
- West Australian
The rise and rise of solo cruising
The popularity of solo cruising is on the rise, accounting for 12 per cent of passengers in 2024 according to the latest industry intel. As a regular sole cruiser myself on work trips I appreciate the opportunity to meet fellow solo travellers to enrich the experience. Likewise, I value the option to dip in and out of the social scene as I choose. Peak body Cruise Lines International Association reports cruisers choosing to sail solo reached 12 per cent last year, doubling in proportion from 6 per cent in 2023. When considered in the context of overall passenger growth to 34.64 million in 2024 versus 31.69 million in 2023 (up 9.3 per cent), it's a clear trend involving a very big cohort of travellers. CLIA also reports cruise lines are offering more single-occupancy cabins. Norwegian Cruise Line, for instance last year more than doubled solo accommodation capacity across its 19-ship fleet. It added 1000 staterooms available to book as solo cabins for less than the cost of a double occupancy room. I recall a voyage last year aboard NCL's Norwegian Escape during which I had access to a key-activated Studio Lounge dedicated to solo travellers. It included an optional lounge get-together scheduled every late afternoon, with free cafe-grade coffee, drinks and snacks, an excellent host . . . and nice company, of course. On a recent cruise aboard Ponant Expeditions ship Le Lyrial, an invite to a hosted group dinner for English-speaking solo travellers was unexpected but the ideal way to settle into the voyage. The delightful three-course meal hosted by travel ambassador Charlotte Thomas at elegant onboard bistro, Le Celeste, was the beginning of a week of shared experiences and laughs in between exploring the wilds of Svalbard. Weeks later, we're in touch and checking in. We know from research globally that solo travel more broadly is a top emerging trend, and it appears cruising is a beneficiary. Further to that it's interesting to hear the reasons people travel and cruise solo. Some interesting points emerged when chatting to my new cruising colleagues, particularly among the females. Sharon Garrick, 64, from the Sunshine Coast, tells me she's travelling alone because 'hubby doesn't like the cold'. She too is a loyal Ponant cruiser. Sharon was drawn to the single supplement-free fare and 'wanted to see polar bears, glaciers, walruses and reindeer' so went ahead and booked her maiden solo voyage. 'I was quite apprehensive to travel by myself, but it's given me confidence to do more travelling by myself and it's quite safe,' she says. 'It's the first time I've kayaked in the ice flow — I wouldn't be doing that in Queensland!' Sydney-sider Gillian Burke is originally from New Zealand and worked in banking. She is on her fourth Ponant voyage but this trip is her first solo cruise experience. She tells me: 'I think particularly Ponant's been really good about introducing me to other singles. 'All my other trips have been with friends and so this was the first time (travelling solo). 'And I was a little concerned about being on my own. But I've found it so easy . . . it's been really good.' It's no surprise Gillian's trip highlight was seeing a polar bear in the wild — it was mine too. Seasoned solo traveller John Drummond, 76, is a former chemistry teacher and headmaster from Cambridge, New Zealand. He says: 'I'd been wanting to go to the Arctic for some time, then I saw this particular cruise advertised with no solo supplement, and that's what clinched it for me. Without that, I would never have done it.' Ponant's supplement-free fare was a key deal-maker among our sole-traveller group. But what's clear is that tailoring experiences to this growing segment of cruise travellers goes beyond simply making cabins more affordable. Cruise options for solo travellers: + Ponant: More than 300 Free Solo Supplement cruises to the polar regions, Mediterranean, Northern Europe and British Isles, Greenland, South Pacific and other destinations. + Hurtigruten has year-round solo traveller offers on selected sailings updated monthly — no solo supplement on sailings generally within three months of departures. A spokesperson tells me: 'Our world-class Expedition Team go out of their way to make you feel welcome. They will invite you to a get-together with your fellow solo travellers and help you get involved with as many activities and excursions as you choose.' + Aurora Expeditions: No Solo Supplement offer for all Antarctica voyages for the 2025-26 season; and all Arctic and Global Discovery expeditions through to September 2026. This offer can be booked until September 30, 2025. + Scenic: Save up to 75 per cent off the single supplement on select departures and suite categories in the Arctic/Antarctica; Australia and South Pacific; the Americas; and Europe. + Coral Expeditions: Sole occupancy promotions on several late 2025, and 2026 voyages. These include supplement reductions of 25 per cent to the Kimberley and Tasmania, and a waived sole supplements on its Equatorial Adventure Across North Borneo cruise (16 nights), departing December 19, 2025. + Norwegian Cruise Line: Pay less than a traditional double occupancy room in a choice of three categories: Solo Inside, Solo Oceanview and Solo Balcony. + Celebrity Cruises: There are dedicated events including the solo travellers gathering and dinner hosted by the Activity Team, and an unhosted solos table every night thereafter on board its newest class of ships — the Edge series — and Millennium and Solstice-series ships. + Oceania Cruises: Up to 50 per cent reductions on its single supplement in select categories on 99 cruises, including on the brand new Oceania Allura in dedicated veranda cabins.
