Latest news with #Vain Stakes
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Jimmy Recard comes out on top after tough battle in Group 3 Vain Stakes at Caulfield
'J.R., Jimmy Recard. Raise your glass for the king of the bar.' Art again proved prophetic after Jimmy Recard 's latest win in Saturday's Group 3 Vain Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield. Jimmy Recard, named after a 2008 song by Perth hip hop artist Drapht, gave his large band of owners a third opportunity to celebrate a win when he denied Tycoon Star in a physical finish to the Vain Stakes. Tycoon Star looked set to post a first-up win when he got into the clear early in the straight but laid in over the last 200m while Jamie Melham drove Jimmy Recard along the inside section of the track. Tycoon Star bumped Jimmy Recard but the Ciaron Maher -trained colt had a half-head to spare on the line, posting his third win in four starts. 'I just think he's improving every time he runs,' Maher said of the Bennett Racing-syndicated three-year-old. 'We had notions of taking him for a stakes race in Adelaide but we thought we'd reset for the spring. 'He's certainly started the spring the right way.' JIMMY RECARD! What a battle down the straight in the Vain Stakes! The colts were all over the place but its Jimmy who prevailed â� @jamieleemelham @cmaherracing @RacingBennett â€' 7HorseRacing ðŸ�Ž (@7horseracing) August 16, 2025 Maher combined with Bennett Racing to race Southport Tycoon, who won two Group 1 races before heading to stand at Widden Stud. Maher hoped Jimmy Recard could improve sufficiently to follow Southport Tycoon to stud. 'I was at the stallion parades for Southport Tycoon yesterday when Widden were introducing him. Hopefully this can be the next one,' Maher said. 'He's certainly a very well-bred colt and he's a great type. 'He's got a bright future.' Tycoon Star's jockey Mark Zahra said the Lindsay Park-trained colt had his opportunity to win at his first start since the Group 1 Golden Slipper. 'He was going to win but he was first-up and the winner's come along the fence where nothing has come all day,' Zahra said. 'He was strong enough to the line but I think he had his chance, he's still green though.' â– â– â– â– â– 'Angry' mare makes trainers happy with Regal Roller success Pop Award completed her reformation from problem child to black-type performer when she prevailed in Saturday's Listed Regal Roller Stakes at Caulfield. Co-trainer Lyn Tolson described Pop Award as 'an angry horse' when she first arrived at the stable she shares with daughter Leonie Proctor after proving too much of a handful for a couple of horse breakers. 'She could strike at you and go at you better than any stallion,' Tolson said of Pop Award earlier in the week. POP AWARD ðŸ'¥ Five on the trot, from maiden grade to a Group 3! What a story for the Tolson/Proctor/Cartwright clan ðŸ'– â€' 7HorseRacing ðŸ�Ž (@7horseracing) August 16, 2025 However, Pop Award had proven herself to punters with four straight wins before she stepped up Listed level for the first time in the Regal Roller Stakes. Last year's winner Arkansaw Kid ($3.10 fav) looked set to sweep past Pop Award ($5) halfway down the straight but the mare's fitness advantage and 6kg weight pull helped her hold a length on her rival on the line. Tolson said winning the Regal Roller Stakes was a great birthday present for her grandson, Proctor's son Matthew Cartwright. 'We rolled the dice today and we thought, 'oh god, are we going a little bit too high?' as this is only her seventh run,' she said. 'We thought that it was only going to get harder and if we throw her in the deep end now, we could always come back (in class) if we have to. 'She definitely stood up.' The Grahame Begg-trained Royal Insignia ($7.50) also made an encouraging start to his spring campaign with his solid third with jockey Jordan Childs in the saddle.
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Climate
- News.com.au
Dry track vital for Hay Street in Group 3 Vain Stakes at Caulfield
Trainer Rob Archibald hopes Caulfield doesn't cop too much rain in the lead up to Saturday with his stable kicking off their exciting prospect Hay Street in the Group 3 Vain Stakes. Hay Street is a son of Capitalist and while he's placed in trials on soft rated tracks, Archibald, who trains in partnership with his wife Annabel, said they chose to switch states with the three-year-old, bypassing the Rosebud in Sydney on Saturday due to the likelihood of a heavy track. 'There is a bit of rain around in Melbourne and we don't think he'll want it too soft,' he said. 'We sent him down there to get away from the wet and on the radar are a couple of showers sweeping through Melbourne. 'The Capitalists as a rule are more effective on top of the ground so fingers crossed we don't get much rain.' Hay Street was sold as a yearling before he found himself again in the sale ring late last year at the Inglis Ready To Run sale in October where he was bought by syndicators Triple Crown for $95,000. 'He was purchased as a Breeze Up Horse so he came a long way as a two-year-old in a short space of time,' Archibald said. 'He ran in a couple of good strong races that considering how quickly everything happened for him, I thought he performed really well. 'Narrowly beaten on debut by Buffalo and then only beaten a bit over a length by North England in the Kindergarten after that horse was one of the better performing colts in the Golden Slipper says a bit. 'There's no doubt he was thrown into the deep end.' Hay Street has two solid trial performances under his belt and in Saturday's 1100m feature, he'll start from barrier six in the seven-horse field after Mcgaw's scratching on Friday due to an elevated temperature. 'A lot of horses improve from first to second prep and I think he's going to be a good example of that,' Archibald said. 'He's fast, a good type and a very athletic horse. 'He's appreciated the time off after his two-year-old campaign and he's had a good build up coming into this preparation. 'His trials have been excellent so we're expecting a good performance on Saturday and he's a horse that we hope can progress during his preparation as we get into the spring.' Ethan Brown will be aboard Hay Street which is a $7.50 chance on Saturday.
The Australian
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Australian
Taree preview: Horse who forgot how to win turns form around
Trainer Allan Kehoe will be the best part of 1000km from home and even further again from Taree when he tunes in to Friday's meeting to chart the progress of his stable trio Lease, Prince Of Sorts and Midnight Rabble. The Central Coast-based conditioner is in Melbourne preparing Wyong whiz Shaggy for his Vain Stakes (1100m) challenge at Caulfield. Kehoe will have a hand in Friday's feature with the stable's iron horse Lease down to contest the Hopkins Livermore Cup over 1412m. • 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! Lease, who shares his name with Jack and Bob Ingham's 1999 STC Tulloch Stakes winner, had his first start in early October, 2020, finishing down the order in the time-honoured Breeders' Plate. Fast forward three trainers and five years, Lease commemorated his 50th race start with an infrequent yet gritty and determined win at Coffs Harbour on the very same day the son of Choisir turned seven. 'Since he has come to us, he has turned his form around,'' Kehoe said. 'He has always been in the placings, he forgot how to win, but he's won three now for us. 'He is an honest old horse and with the sting out of the ground and going up to 1400m, and with a drop in weight, he should be thereabouts.' And while Lease has well and truly paid his board and lodgings since walking into Kehoe's Wyong barn, his stablemate Prince Of Sorts is a four-legged walking money-spinner for connections. Already a winner of close to $160,000, the son of hugely underrated stallion Tassort was purchased at the Inglis Classic Yearling Highway session in 2023 by Kehoe for $20,000. With four wins and five placings from 14 starts, Prince Of Sorts will open his 2025/26 campaign in the co-feature Can Assist Kristylea Cup Benchmark 82 (1007m). Prince Of Sorts most recent appearance was at the Scone stand-alone in mid-May when he was within three lengths of the winner of the 1700m Midway on the program. 'He was meant to barrier trial at Gosford last week or the week before but he had a bit of a temperature so we just pulled him out,'' Kehoe said. 'He is pretty sharp fresh. He wins those 800m trials and whatnot so he is a pretty handy horse. 'If he is within striking distance, he could be able to pounce on them I'd reckon. 'We are using it as a trial but a win wouldn't shock.' Prince Of Sorts and jockey Olivia Chambers win at Hawkesbury in April. Picture: Bradley Photos Kehoe's first runner on Friday is the lightly-raced and progressive three-year-old Midnight Rabble who will be ridden by his brother Jeff in the 1262m Kane Allan Electrical Maiden Handicap. 'He should run a very good race,'' Kehoe said. 'I had his two brothers and they were a bit sharper than him, he's more of a seven furlong (1400m) horse. He should be hard to beat. 'He should get through (the heavy ground), his two brothers got through it.' Once Friday is done and dusted, all of Kehoe's focus shifts back to the Kooringal-bred and owned gelding Shaggy who lost some of his lustre when rolled in Sydney first-up but can win back all of that shine and more if he adds his name to the Vain Stakes honour roll which boasts Everest winner, Giga Kick. Shaggy had also accepted for Saturday's Rosebud at Rosehill, the same race that his father Sandbar won in 2018, but is headed south instead. 'It was going to be real wet up in Sydney and we just wanted to get him on a bit better ground,'' Kehoe said. 'I worked him Melbourne the way other day, once or twice a week he does it, he should go all right.' ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Tamworth preview: Brown has huge belief in Big Short Reigning Grafton Guineas-winning trainer Wayne Brown has declared the cleverly named and exceedingly well-bred gelding Big Short as the best of quartet in action at his home track at Tamworth on Friday. Bred by Ingham Racing, Big Short was purpose-built to win a Golden Slipper just like previous 'cerise' winners Sweet Embrace, Guineas and Forensics. Big Short – to be ridden by Kody Nestor – is a son of 2016 Slipper winner Capitalist out of a mare by Flying Spur, who upset the Ingham's beloved Octagonal in the 1995 renewal. On top of that, Big Short's grandam was a daughter of Newhaven Park's 1987 Golden Slipper winner Marauding. 'Big Short has been an unlucky horse,'' Brown said. 'I think he is in a race that he will be very competitive in. He's my best hope anyway (today).' One of Brown's other runners blessed with a Slipper connection is Oenology whose fourth dam is Bint Marscay, who set a new benchmark time of 1:08.88 when winning the 1993 edition. As for Oenology, he will be a part of one of the strongest Class 3 runs in the country for some time over 1200m. 'Nice horse,'' Brown said. '(But) It is a very, very tough field that and the horse of Brett Robb's (Nimble Star) is a real nice horse and Oenology has drawn in the car park.' Brown's remaining two starters at Tamworth are the New Zealand bred, former Sydneysiders, Sethnique and City Gold Ready. Former Tulloch Lodger Sethnique will make his Brown stable debut in a Maiden Plate over 1200m. 'It is the right race to kick him off in but in saying that, the climate up here with the weather has been terrible and he hasn't done a lot of work,'' Brown said. 'Hopefully he will be competitive but he is nowhere near wound up for that sort of race. 'The idea is to kick him off and then we will regroup and see where we go with him but I like the horse. I think he will end up being a nice horse.' As for the 2024 NZ Derby participant City Gold Ready, he resumes in the McDonalds Class 1 Handicap (1400m). 'We just had a bit of an issue with him and he's had time off,'' Brown said. 'He needs 1600m or further. He'll be underdone but once again, he is a horse that will win some races.'
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Taree preview: Allen Kehoe old-timer has new lease of life
Trainer Allan Kehoe will be the best part of 1000km from home and even further again from Taree when he tunes in to Friday's meeting to chart the progress of his stable trio Lease, Prince Of Sorts and Midnight Rabble. The Central Coast-based conditioner is in Melbourne preparing Wyong whiz Shaggy for his Vain Stakes (1100m) challenge at Caulfield. Kehoe will have a hand in Friday's feature with the stable's iron horse Lease down to contest the Hopkins Livermore Cup over 1412m. Lease, who shares his name with Jack and Bob Ingham's 1999 STC Tulloch Stakes winner, had his first start in early October, 2020, finishing down the order in the time-honoured Breeders' Plate. Fast forward three trainers and five years, Lease commemorated his 50th race start with an infrequent yet gritty and determined win at Coffs Harbour on the very same day the son of Choisir turned seven. 'Since he has come to us, he has turned his form around,'' Kehoe said. 'He has always been in the placings, he forgot how to win, but he's won three now for us. 'He is an honest old horse and with the sting out of the ground and going up to 1400m, and with a drop in weight, he should be thereabouts.' And while Lease has well and truly paid his board and lodgings since walking into Kehoe's Wyong barn, his stablemate Prince Of Sorts is a four-legged walking money-spinner for connections. Already a winner of close to $160,000, the son of hugely underrated stallion Tassort was purchased at the Inglis Classic Yearling Highway session in 2023 by Kehoe for $20,000. With four wins and five placings from 14 starts, Prince Of Sorts will open his 2025/26 campaign in the co-feature Can Assist Kristylea Cup Benchmark 82 (1007m). Prince Of Sorts most recent appearance was at the Scone stand-alone in mid-May when he was within three lengths of the winner of the 1700m Midway on the program. 'He was meant to barrier trial at Gosford last week or the week before but he had a bit of a temperature so we just pulled him out,'' Kehoe said. 'He is pretty sharp fresh. He wins those 800m trials and whatnot so he is a pretty handy horse. 'If he is within striking distance, he could be able to pounce on them I'd reckon. 'We are using it as a trial but a win wouldn't shock.' Kehoe's first runner on Friday is the lightly-raced and progressive three-year-old Midnight Rabble who will be ridden by his brother Jeff in the 1262m Kane Allan Electrical Maiden Handicap. 'He should run a very good race,'' Kehoe said. 'I had his two brothers and they were a bit sharper than him, he's more of a seven furlong (1400m) horse. He should be hard to beat. 'He should get through (the heavy ground), his two brothers got through it.' Once Friday is done and dusted, all of Kehoe's focus shifts back to the Kooringal-bred and owned gelding Shaggy who lost some of his lustre when rolled in Sydney first-up but can win back all of that shine and more if he adds his name to the Vain Stakes honour roll which boasts Everest winner, Giga Kick. Shaggy had also accepted for Saturday's Rosebud at Rosehill, the same race that his father Sandbar won in 2018, but is headed south instead. 'It was going to be real wet up in Sydney and we just wanted to get him on a bit better ground,'' Kehoe said. 'I worked him Melbourne the way other day, once or twice a week he does it, he should go all right.' â– â– â– â– â– Tamworth preview: Brown has huge belief in Big Short Reigning Grafton Guineas-winning trainer Wayne Brown has declared the cleverly named and exceedingly well-bred gelding Big Short as the best of quartet in action at his home track at Tamworth on Friday. Bred by Ingham Racing, Big Short was purpose-built to win a Golden Slipper just like previous 'cerise' winners Sweet Embrace, Guineas and Forensics. Big Short – to be ridden by Kody Nestor – is a son of 2016 Slipper winner Capitalist out of a mare by Flying Spur, who upset the Ingham's beloved Octagonal in the 1995 renewal. On top of that, Big Short's grandam was a daughter of Newhaven Park's 1987 Golden Slipper winner Marauding. 'Big Short has been an unlucky horse,'' Brown said. 'I think he is in a race that he will be very competitive in. He's my best hope anyway (today).' One of Brown's other runners blessed with a Slipper connection is Oenology whose fourth dam is Bint Marscay, who set a new benchmark time of 1:08.88 when winning the 1993 edition. As for Oenology, he will be a part of one of the strongest Class 3 runs in the country for some time over 1200m. 'Nice horse,'' Brown said. '(But) It is a very, very tough field that and the horse of Brett Robb's (Nimble Star) is a real nice horse and Oenology has drawn in the car park.' Brown's remaining two starters at Tamworth are the New Zealand bred, former Sydneysiders, Sethnique and City Gold Ready. Former Tulloch Lodger Sethnique will make his Brown stable debut in a Maiden Plate over 1200m. 'It is the right race to kick him off in but in saying that, the climate up here with the weather has been terrible and he hasn't done a lot of work,'' Brown said. 'Hopefully he will be competitive but he is nowhere near wound up for that sort of race. 'The idea is to kick him off and then we will regroup and see where we go with him but I like the horse. I think he will end up being a nice horse.' As for the 2024 NZ Derby participant City Gold Ready, he resumes in the McDonalds Class 1 Handicap (1400m). 'We just had a bit of an issue with him and he's had time off,'' Brown said. 'He needs 1600m or further. He'll be underdone but once again, he is a horse that will win some races.'
