HORSE RACING JEROME Hunter has trained the biggest winner of his career as Barb Raider dug deep to narrowly win the $300,000 Group 2 Kewney Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday. Hunter, who has been the private trainer for owners Graeme and Barbara Gathercole since 2012, has had stakes success with Warrior Of Fire (2015 Hobart Guineas) and Belwazi (2019 Kensington Stakes) in the last decade but his three-year-old fillies feats have continued to go to another level. Barb Raider, who placed third in last year’s Group 1 Thousand Guineas, has returned unbeaten this preparation for Hunter having also won…
Author: Ben Triandafillou
HORSE RACING ROB Blacker hopes his Adelaide Cup plans for his promising stayer Tigertiger can come to fruition on Monday 14 March. The lightly raced six-year-old spectacularly rose through the grades over the spring from winning in maiden grade to winning a Stakes race in his first preparation with the Mornington-based trainer. Since claiming the Listed Bagot Handicap (2800m) at Flemington on New Year’s day, Blacker has had the former New Zealand stayer solely aimed towards the Group 2 Adelaide Cup (3200m). Tigertiger had a freshen up following that Stakes success and has since put in two promising runs at…
HORSE RACING THE Pinecliff training centre in Mount Eliza has provided yet another Blue Diamond winner with Daumier digging deep for the Anthony and Sam Freedman yard to win the feature juvenile race on Saturday 26 February. Hidden away just above the Sunnyside North Beach in Mt Eliza, the Freedman partnership have utilised Pinecliff and its private racetracks as well as their Flemington stables to dominate the two-year-old contest in recent years. The remarkable run has seen four of the last five Group 1 Blue Diamond winners come through the state-of-the-art set-up with the Freedman-trained Hanseatic also finishing a narrow…
HORSE RACING SHANE Nichols’ two-year-old filly Blonde Venture clung on to dead-heat in Sunday’s Magic Millions Tasmania 2YO Classic at Launceston. Despite running unplaced on debut at Pakenham earlier this month, Mornington-based trainer Shane Nichols took the chance with the Capitalist filly and shipped the youngster down south to target the $75,000 juvenile race. Handling the journey with flying colours, Blonde Venture scooted clear in the straight and looked to have the win in her sights before a late dive by the Adam Trinder-trained Jaguar Stone made things interesting. Turning to the photo finish, the final result was declared as…
HORSE RACING WITH just two horses currently racing, Balnarring-based trainer Cheryl Weller had the perfect day out at Colac on Friday, landing a winning double. After her well-bred five-year-old I Shot The Sheriff (Snitzel x Miss Power Bird) broke through for a determined maiden win in race two, Weller kept her cards close to her chest with her second galloper, Contalmaison, jumping as the race-favourite in the fifth event. “It’d be too good to be true,” Cheryl Weller said in a post-race interview following I Shot The Sheriff’s victory. Jockey Jarrod Fry, who had his first ride for Weller aboard…