Brad Stewart could miss Stradbroke Handicap meeting

If you like horses, adrenalin, the sensation of speed and fancy yourself as fearless, New Zealand racing may have the job for you. The only problem is you will need to weigh no more than 57kg and be ready to ride in races by about the middle of next week. Although it isn't that simple to become a leading jockey, plenty of New Zealand thoroughbred…

Rockhampton's Ken McCaffery is sitting in the box seat to score the win of a lifetime if Think About It, the super horse he part-owns takes out the world's richest thoroughbred race on turf, the $20 Million The Everest at Royal Randwick today. The running of the 1200-metre Everest is an important milestone in history as it is the first $20 Million…

James McDonald will ride $41 chance Vilana in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap on Saturday. Picture: Getty Images. Godolphin galloper Vilana has been the subject of a "massive betting move" in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap, validating the earlier thoughts of star jockey James McDonald. Vilana was $41 when Racenet published a story on Wednesday…

Trainer Ciaron Maher has called on Ben Thompson to ride last start Group 1 winner Royal Merchant in next week's Stradbroke Handicap. Picture: Getty Images. When one door closes, another opens. That's the case for Group 1 winning jockey Ben Thompson who has a new $3m Stradbroke Handicap ride should exciting Queenslander Yellow Brick fail to make the…

Rothfire fought off the challengers to win the Victory Stakes at Eagle Farm. Picture: Grant Peters-Trackside Photography Gun Sydney jockey Nash Rawiller helped to write another fairytale chapter in the extraordinary Rothfire story as the Group 1-winning gelding went bang in his own Eagle Farm backyard. Rothfire has staged several injury comebacks…

The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Converge is under an injury cloud on the eve of the $4 million The Star Doncaster Mile (1600m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday. Bott reported to Racing NSW stewards that Converge was found to have swelling in the off-hind leg after Wednesday morning trackwork. Bott told stewards Converge had not undertaken…

Top jockey Ben Melham has launched a withering spray at Racing Victoria, claiming their focus on'turnover and revenue' is at the'expense of people's lives' after Saturday's meeting featured the third sickening fall in a fortnight. The 18-time Group 1 winner, whose partner - the glamorous superstar rider Jamie Kah - had to be rushed to hospital in a…

Emblem Road, Tommy Berry and William Haggas feature in our weekly digest of recent international racing news Saudi Arabia: Emblem Road, the locally trained horse who stunned a top-class international field to win the $20 million Saudi Cup in 2022, has won his first race since his historic success. The five-year-old son of Quality Road won an Open…

Sydney's superstar jockey James McDonald has dismissed speculation he is considering riding overseas long-term as he sets his sights on one of racing's most revered records. The champion jockey is in hot demand wherever he rides and could command a prized position in the northern hemisphere with a leading stable or jurisdiction. But although…

Star Perth apprentice Laqdar Ramoly has a fascinating background in Mauritius. Picture: Western Racepix. He is the son of a Mauritius bricklayer who didn't sit on a horse until he was 18. But 26-year-old Laqdar Ramoly, who didn't know the difference between a filly and a colt when he was a youngster, has already climbed racing's Mount Everest. Not…

Jockey Mychel J. Sanchez was removed from his mounts at Laurel Park in Maryland on Friday after officials there learned the former leading rider at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa., has been suspended by the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission. J. Michael Hopkins, executive director of the Maryland Racing Commission said he was notified that Sanchez…

Not even the likes of global conglomerates Godolphin have landed back-to-back Stradbroke Handicap victories but punters are backing North Queensland property tycoon Tom Hedley to achieve the feat with The Harrovian on Saturday. The horse with a cult following after his incredible winning streak has been heavily supported with TAB, recording more…

The Harrovian has been strongly backed to win the Stradbroke Handicap. Picture: Trackside Photography Not even the likes of global conglomerates Godolphin have landed back-to-back Stradbroke Handicap victories but punters are backing North Queensland property tycoon Tom Hedley to achieve the feat with The Harrovian on Saturday. The horse with a…

Veteran Queensland jockey Jim Byrne has taken to the pool in a quest to shed the extra kilos required to ride Stradbroke Handicap hopeful Apache Chase on Saturday. While many jockeys do the hard yards hiking in sweat gear or sitting in a sauna, Byrne has opted for 2.5km a day in the pool as he attempts to properly condition his body to ride at the…

Confident Rachel King can start punters off on a winning note at Wyong. Picture: David Swift Jamie Kah has declared fellow Group 1-winning jockey star Rachel King is the perfect choice to replace her on Queensland's Stradbroke Handicap favourite Vega One. Kah, who conjured a magical ride for the ages as she wove through narrow gaps to win the Group…

James McDonald had his careless riding ban overturned. Picture: Trackside Photography Star jockey James McDonald is free to ride Grace And Harmony in Saturday's Group 1 Queensland Oaks after successfully appealing a careless riding ban on Wednesday. And in a double victory for Sydney's leading hoop, he's been snapped up for the coveted ride on boom…

Jamie Kah became the most successful female jockey in Australian racing history when she claimed the Kingsford Smith Cup (BTC Cup) aboard Vega One at Eagle Farm on Saturday. That win made it six Group 1 titles for Kah, who had previously shared the record with Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne. The honour came after weaving through the…

Jamie Kah stunned the Eagle Farm crowd with her winning ride aboard Vega One in the Kingsford-Smith Cup. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography Jamie Kah morphed into Wonder Woman at Eagle Farm as she courageously snatched Group 1 triumph from the jaws of defeat and knocked her mate Michelle Payne out of the record books. Kah now has six Group…

She's the queen of Australian racing but don't expect to see her in a dazzling tiara. She could wallow in the trappings of her new-found fame but one close observer says don't expect to see Jamie Kah whizzing around town in a flash new car or showing off a new trendy haircut. "A lot of young riders have fast cars and groovy haircuts, she doesn't…

Victory Stakes winner Niccanova will be set for another Stradbroke Handicap. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photographer It was a case of so close but yet so far for Niccanova in the Stradbroke Handicap last year but jockey James Orman believes Saturday's Victory Stakes winner can now give him the Group 1 he has been craving. Orman wasted hard to…

Jockey Robbie Fradd will be able to ride two of the favourites for separate Group One races in Brisbane despite a suspension. Fradd is booked to ride Tyzone in the Stradbroke Handicap and Wisdom Of Water in the JJ Atkins at Eagle Farm on Saturday. At the Gold Coast on Friday, Fradd, who rode Fisticuffs in race eight, was found guilty of careless…

In form Melbourne jockey Blake Shinn has been booked for the ride on Rothfire in his upcoming Group 1 engagement. Rothfire is set to contest the Kingsford Smith Cup (1300m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday for which he is the second favourite in latest markets. The Robert Heathcote-trained gelding has been plagued by injuries throughout his career after…

In-form Melbourne-based jockey Michael Dee has been rewarded for his exceptional season with a short-term contract to ride in Hong Kong. Dee has been granted a licence to ride in the Asian mecca from May 22 to July 9, both dates inclusive. Starting his career in New Zealand, Dee moved to Melbourne in 2015 to continue his apprenticeship with Mick…

Jockey Blake Shinn says a win in the Melbourne Jockeys' Premiership will look good on his record, but at the same time it is not something he has put a lot of thought into. After a double at Flemington last Saturday and another winner at Sandown on Sunday, Shinn is within 11 wins of premiership leader Jamie Kah who is sidelined following her fall…