26-05-2025
Cranbourne trainer Clinton McDonald with unraced army preparing for spring
Youth will spearhead Cranbourne trainer Clinton McDonald 's rebuild after the loss of several of his stable stars.
McDonald lost some of his best horses in the first half of 2025 for various reasons beyond his control, costing him potential feature wins during the autumn.
Last year's Blue Diamond Stakes winner Hayasugi died after complications following surgery while smart three-year-olds Stanley Express and Refusetobeenglish left his stable to race in Hong Kong.
McDonald also lost Group 2 winner Angel Capital to the Chris Waller stable after powerful owner and breeder Yu Long Investments bought the exciting three-year-old.
'We lost a lot of good horses,' McDonald said. 'In any stable, that puts a massive hole.'
However, McDonald said his stable numbers have improved significantly in recent times with the aid of bloodstock agent Shane McGrath, with whom he combined to secure Hayasugi as a yearling.
McDonald said more than 80 per cent of horses on the books have not raced, leaving the stable optimistic of a bumper spring period.
'Shane has been really helping me drive the business and get more horses and it's going well,' McDonald said.
'We've got some really nice young horses coming through.
'It's the most horses that we've had on the books.
'I think there's about 130 horses there and only 19 that have raced there's a lot of young horses there.
'But we've got a good team for the spring.'
McDonald's stable has been firing during the late autumn period with seven winners from its last 21 runners, including a winning double at last Saturday's Sandown meeting.
Three-year-old filly Ahha Ahha completed the stable's double after two-year-old Miss Ole made up for blowing the start at Warrnambool with a decisive win at her second outing.
McDonald said he expected both horses to develop into stakes contenders during the spring.
