#James McDonald

The idea of moving the Cox Plate to the end of November - a radical change to the structure of the spring racing carnival - was always going to spark fierce debate among industry participants and fans. It is the biggest switch among a raft being considered by Racing Victoria, which includes the Thousand Guineas going back a month, new dates for the…

Daily Telegraph form analyst Shayne O'Cass gives his best bets and runs the rule over every race for Kembla. The Form: Complete NSW Racing thoroughbred form, including video replays and all you need to know about every horse, jockey and trainer. Find a winner here! BEST BET Race 1, No.3: DENILIQUIN Been itching to get out to 2000m, which he is…

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…

It was a strange day at headquarters, all over by 3pm to avoid the heat, but it was a strong off-season meeting. The track played super and was only upgraded to a Good 3 for the last two races. We had winners dominating out in front when allowed to dictate tempo, but when they went along solid enough a horse like Princess Rhaenys was able to rush…

In 29 attempts, Patrick Moloney had managed just three placings at group 1 level. But the 28-year-old is now a Newmarket Handicap winner, following his boilover victory on rank outsider Roch'N' Horse in Saturday's feature event at Flemington. Punters were left bewildered while bookies celebrated the shock result, with the little known Kiwi sprinter…

Ayrton returned to the winners' list after saluting in the Gunsynd Classic. Picture: Trackside Photography It wasn't quite the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap they had dreamt of, but boom horse Ayrton is back on track after a dominant win in Saturday's Group 3 Gunsynd Classic, prompting trainer Mick Price to put the super rich Golden Eagle on the…

The big day and 10 super races await us. With fine weather for most of the week the track should be good and if anything like last week on-pacers will have an advantage. History has shown that form stands up on this day and I will be with those that can keep out of trouble and have proved their credentials. BEST BET: INDISCREETLY (Race 10 No…

Spacewalk and Steel City have attracted plenty of support from TAB Fixed Odds punters going into the Rosehill Gardens meeting on Saturday. "When markets opened on Wednesday, Spacewalk was the first horse backed," TAB spokesman Andrew Georgiou said. "We wrote a lot of big bets against him in the first 20 minutes of betting and since then, although…

Classy sprinter Eleven Eleven is out to make history with a fourth win at the Magic Millions carnival on Saturday. Picture: Getty Images A rousing track gallop from Eleven Eleven has given trainer Greg Hickman a timely boost of confidence on the eve of his sprinter's historic attempt at a fourth win at the Magic Millions at the Gold Coast on…

With the Magic Millions taking centre stage this week, we thought it would be a good time to catch up with Queensland racecaller Josh Fleming to talk about his journey in racing. A proud boy from the bush, Fleming talks about his punting highs and lows, along with his favourite calls and horses, among other things. 1. Who or what got you interested…

Twilight racing heads to Gosford on Friday afternoon for a competitive seven-race program set down for decision. The track is listed as a Soft 5 currently heading into race-day, however, with some clearing forecast ahead, we think it's likely to find an upgrade into the Good 4 range come start time. The rail is out+2m between the 1100m-300m markers…

Sha Tin: FWD Champions Mile (Group 1) 1m, 3yo+ Beauty Generation enjoyed nothing more strenuous than the equivalent of a morning workout to repeat last year's success, coming home a length and a half clear of Singapore Sling, and in the process beating Hong Kong records for the highest career prize-money, and the biggest winning sequence in a…

The LONGINES Hong Kong International 2022 racing came to a dramatic close at Sha Tin on Sunday with two hot favorites being defeated in the Group 1 races, but the events of the day did little to diminish the world class racing we got to enjoy over the entirety of the past week. The first upset came in the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase when the heavily…

Group 1 racing returns to Caulfield on Saturday October 8th, with the running of the $3 million Caulfield Guineas. The Guineas is a three-year-old set-weights race contested over 1600m, and has been classified as a G1 event since 1979. The winning connections will take home $1.8 million, with Anamoe taking out last year's event. Other past winners…

Cheval Grand, shown winning the 2017 Japan Cup, returns seeking a repeat victory in Sunday's renewal. Photo courtesy of Japan Racing Association Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Weekend horse racing action stretches from Tokyo to Bahrain with a stop in England and a quick look at Hong Kong's preparations for its big weekend two weeks down the calendar. The Grade 1…

Racing is never short of a storyline and 2022 was certainly no different. Be it the good, the bad or the sometimes ugly, racing can at times resemble a soap opera as much as it does a billion dollar industry. With 2022 now in the rear view mirror we look back at the 30 biggest stories to shape the year with Part 2 today covering 15-1. 15) Melbourne…

Champion sprinter Nature Strip remains a short-priced favourite to go back-to-back in The Everest (1200m) after Tuesday's spectacular barrier draw despite copping the widest gate. The Chris Waller-trained gelding drew barrier 12 for the $15m feature race at Randwick which is typically not ideal, however, there are some suggestions this will allow…

The Magic Millions Carnival just keeps getting better and this is an outstanding card as a prelude to next week. Gold Coast is a tight, tricky track and there is some rain around which should make for a soft surface and have them heading to the centre of the track in the straight. With the rail true those that can take a position in the first half…

Form analyst Mitch Cohen gives his best bets and runs the rule over every race for Warwick Farm. The Form: Complete NSW Racing thoroughbred form, including video replays and all you need to know about every horse, jockey and trainer. Find a winner here! BEST BET Race 4, No.3: VILLADEN Winner at the track and trip last time, the Chris Waller-trained…

We asked our sports reporters at Stuff to say what they think the new year will bring and we'll be holding all of them accountable by seeing how right, or wrong they were, when we review their picks in 12 months' time. ANDREW VOERMAN The Football Ferns get their first Fifa Women's World Cup win against the Philippines at Sky Stadium in Wellington…

Star jockey Tommy Berry is ready to hit the ground running as he prepares for his first day back at the races from a timely break to recharge the batteries while preparing to fight a range of betting charges. Berry last rode in Sydney on December 9 but elected to hang up the saddle for a Christmas sabbatical to get his mental and physical health in…

Bjorn Baker believes there is improvement left in Infatuation for the Magic Millions Classic in a fortnight and is also toying with the addition of some headgear on the Gold Coast after she scored her first win at Randwick on Saturday. Infatuation ($4.40) confirmed her top prizemoney seeding for the Magic Millions by breaking her maiden with a…

Count Da Beans is all the rage with Ladbrokes.com.au for the Vo Rogue Plate (1350m) this afternoon at Doomben in what is a key lead up towards the Magic Millions Guineas. The Tony Gollan trained three year old was very good from off the speed in defeat last time and has been kept on ice for this race en route to the Guineas, and gets J Mac for this…

Brilliant mare I Am Me has burst onto the radar of The Everest slot-holders after blitzing her rivals at Royal Randwick last Saturday. I Am Me scored her third win in as many starts this preparation - and improved her overall race record to six wins from 11 starts - when she blazed home in 1m 7.77s for the 1200m course. There was a strong tailwind…

CAROLINE trainer Belinda O'Loughlin could not have wished for a better way to end 2022. After winning the Hamilton cup in October with Muntham Missile, the O'Loughlin stable added another cup to the list when Runbro caused an upset by taking out last Monday's $30000 Nhill cup (1650 metres). Runbro won the Summer cup over 2100 metres at Penola back…

James McDonald and Jamie Kah highlight the Doomben meeting with big fields in most races and plenty looking to stamp their Magic Millions credentials. The weather has been mainly fine but there is always some give in the surface at Doomben and with the rail out four metres I am staying with the class animals that can travel near the speed and make…

Nash Rawiller drives Think It Over to victory in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes in April. Picture Getty Images Kerry Parker was as stunned as everyone watching trackside. Nash Rawiller, riding Think It Over, had charged to the outside rail in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes. It was a daring move in the biggest race of Sydney's autumn carnival and…

The 2022 Royal Ascot festival is well underway, with punters set to enjoy two more thrilling days of action in Windsor. The first three days of Royal Ascot haven't disappointed, but there are still plenty of races to come. From the Gold Cup to the Diamond Jubilee Stakes, Ascot is one of the standout fixtures in the racing calendar, and they are…

Verry Elleegant and Nature Strip, the nation's best racehorses, are defying time - but for how much longer? Since the retirement of all-time great Winx three years ago, the Chris Waller-trained duo have reigned supreme. Nature Strip inherited the Horse of the Year title from his former stablemate in 2019-20 before Verry Elleegant claimed the honour…

Race 10: The John O'Shea-trained Quantico has stamped himself as a real star of the future with a slashing victory in the Listed MSS Security Sprint (1200m). Winner at five of his first nine starts at home in Sydney, the five-year-old son of I Am Invincible savaged the line to score comprehensively at his first experience up the straight. The…

One lucky Melbourne Cup punter pulled off the unthinkable on Tuesday, correctly guessing the order of the first four finishers to turn a measly $10 bet into $240000. Cup winner Almandin and Heartbreak City were neck and neck down the hope straight but to the punter's delight the Kerrin McEvoy gelding edged home - and Hartnell and Qewy followed in…

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…

Jason Collett is the only senior jockey currently in the Sydney top 10 rankings this season riding at the Group 3 $200,00 Summer Cup meeting at Royal Randwick on Boxing Day. Therefore, it is not surprising the talented Collett has a full book of eight rides including Diamil in the feature race. Sydney's reigning premier jockey James McDonald, Tim…

Daily Telegraph form analyst Shayne O'Cass runs the rule over every race, including suggested bets, for the Randwick meeting on Saturday. The Form: Complete NSW Racing thoroughbred form, including video replays and all you need to know about every horse, jockey and trainer. Find a winner here. Track: Soft 5. Rail: Out 9m. Overview: The Magic…

Daily Telegraph form analyst Shayne O'Cass gives his best bets and runs the rule over every race for Warwick Farm. The Form: Complete NSW Racing thoroughbred form, including video replays and all you need to know about every horse, jockey and trainer. Find a winner here! BEST BET Race 6, No.6: DE AN ANDRETTI Won on debut like a good horse then had…

Trainers, jockeys, owners and punters think that whipping racehorses is an essential tool of trade. I'm yet to hear a convincing argument. These opinions are certainly not science based, and they are certainly not putting the horse first in their considerations. If nothing else, Blake Shinn's egregious breach of the whip rule a few days…

Annabel Neasham is chasing more Group 1 glory during the Queensland winter carnival. Picture: Getty Images Annabel Neasham's quest for her second Group 1 win is gathering momentum with Saturday's Gold Coast meeting to provide a springboard for a couple of contenders at the elite level. The English-born trainer, who scored her maiden Group 1 win…

Dettori had just ridden a Williams-owned horse, Master Of Reality, to second past the post (he was later relegated to fourth on protest). He stood with his head in his arms on the side of a placegetter's stall, the horse's name on the saddlecloth in the background. It was his 17th ride in the Cup. Afterwards, all he said was: "I feel like…

DID YOU KNOW? 16 of the last 18 Melbourne Cup winners came from stalls 5 or higher. So, why not grab up a FREE £30 bet with BetUK to use on the Melbourne Cup. See below our key Melbourne Cup trends to apply to the final runners ahead of Tuesday's big Flemington Park race. Based on the last 18 runnings of the race.

Chris Waller filly Lazzago made an eye-catching debut at Randwick. Picture: Sam Ruttyn Lazzago, rated by trainer Chris Waller as a "special filly" in his biggest-ever two-year-old team, made an impressive debut at Royal Randwick on Saturday. Snapback started a long odds-on favourite but the colt had no answer to Lazzago's determined finishing…

Manzoice has won the time-honoured $2million Victoria Derby at Flemington on Saturday afternoon after a stunning final furlong. Top hoop Michael Dee piloted Chris Waller's three-year-old colt home at the handy odds of $21 (TAB.com.au with a devastating turn of foot, nabbing himself the Caulfield Cup-Victoria Derby Derby double. With the well-backed…

Verry Elleegant has won the Melbourne Cup to give trainer Chris Waller his first ever Cup victory after Kiwi jockey James McDonald piloted the horse to a perfect position before she exploded down the final straight to blow the field away. Verry Elleegant was positioned perfectly to make her run down the straight past the grandstand, shooting past…

The Group 1 Lexus Melbourne Cup Runner By Runner Guide Tuesday 5:00pm | Flemington Race 7 Not sure who to back with your annual punt on the Melbourne Cup? Maybe you've got no idea what you've just drawn in the office sweepstake? The TAB's runner-by-runner guide has all you need to know about the strengths and the weaknesses of all the horses in the…

Metro racing heads to Randwick on Saturday afternoon for a massive 10-part program. We're looking at perfect conditions for the weekend with minimal rain forecast as we sit on a Good 4 track for raceday. The rail has moved out+5m for the entire circuit, so we should be in for a fair day of racing and hopefully every runner will get their…

Lady Laguna revelled in the heavy conditions when winning at Rosehill in November. Picture: Grant Guy Trainer Annabel Neasham is welcoming the likelihood of a wet track when her filly Lady Laguna takes on Golden Slipper favourite Coolangatta at Royal Randwick on Saturday. Lady Laguna and Coolangatta are among 12 entries for the Group 2 $200000…

Zaaki and Jamie Kah have taken out the final Group 1 of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, winning the VRC Champions Stakes over 2000m. The win of Zaaki in the Champions Stakes gives Kah and Annabel Neasham their first Group 1 winner for the Melbourne Cup Carnival, defeating the two favourites in the race, I'm Thunderstruck and Anamoe, who didn't finish…

A visit to the free-to-enter Hong Kong Racing Museum which overlooks the bend after the stands at Happy Valley racecourse gives an interesting insight into the sport's development in the former British colony. Racing in Hong Kong began as an amateur form of entertainment among the ex-pats in those colonial days but, for what remains a small-scale…

The barrier is the biggest obstacle for 5. Bandi's Boy. The Danny Williams-trained sprinter made his debut in the group 3 Kindergarten last preparation as a two-year-old, catching the eye late as an $81 chance, before backing that up with an impressive win at Randwick, getting the better of race favourite Zougotcha despite still doing plenty wrong.…

Zac Purton: claimed the Hong Kong Vase with California Spangle California Spangle denied Golden Sixty a third success in the Longines Hong Kong Mile, with the odds-on favourite beaten by a masterful tactical ride from Zac Purton at Sha Tin. With Golden Sixty in his usual midfield position, Purton pressed ahead on the Tony Cruz-trained runner from…

California Spangle holds off Golden Sixty in Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Mile Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Jockey Club HONG KONG, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- A super day for Hong Kong highlighted weekend horse racing with action-starved fans emerging from pandemic lockdowns to cheer on some new heroes from the Sha Tin Racecourse grandstand. Two-year-old filly…