Scan rule out Melbourne Cup 2022 contender

The field for the Melbourne Cup is all but set after Damien Oliver steered Kalapour to victory in the Group 3 Lexus Archer Stakes (2500m) at Flemington on Derby Day. The result means the Kris Lees-trained stayer has clinched the last spot available in the race, with connections having until 4.30pm to decide whether or not to run. "I'm not sure what…

Early to the track are friends and Victoria Racing Club members Joy Erskine, Brenda Nugent and Michelle Rodeh. They attend Derby Day every year and have been coming for about 20 years. "We come all the time during the year between Caulfield, Moonee Valley and Flemington" Erskine says. "It's just nice to be out and about frocked up and just having a…

The 2023 Melbourne Cup is almost upon us, with the final field to be revealed this Saturday afternoon (November 4). The order of entry for the'race that stops a nation' is determined by the weights assigned to each runner by a handicapper. The bigger the weight, the more likely the horse is to make the final field. As it stands, 32 horses remain in…

International representation is expected for the Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate after the closing of nominations for the two Group 1 races. A total of 175 horses, 24 from overseas, were entered for the Caulfield Cup when nominations close on Tuesday while there was 178, 17 internationally, entered for the Cox Plate. In 2022, 169/32 were entered in the…

Michael Dee aboard Manzoice (light blue) nailed Sharp N Smart in the Victoria Derby last year. Picture: Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images The Bendigo Golden Mile race day has been kind to Michael Dee in the past, a record the jockey wants to replicate, albeit from afar in Sydney. Dee, the winner of three of the past four Golden Miles, on Saturday will…

Champion sprinter Nature Strip and Caulfield Cup winner Durston will spearhead trainer Chris Waller's all-star team for the Sydney autumn carnival. Reigning Horse of the Year Nature Strip is a rising nine-year-old but earned the ranking of world's best sprinter in 2022 with his Group 1 wins in the TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) at Royal Randwick and the…

Champion sprinter Nature Strip will attempt to win a fourth win consecutive TJ Smith Stakes during The Championships in the autumn. Picture: Getty Images Champion sprinter Nature Strip and Caulfield Cup winner Durston will spearhead trainer Chris Waller's all-star team for the Sydney autumn carnival. Reigning Horse of the Year Nature Strip is a…

Gold Trip winning the Melbourne Cup ahead of Emissary and High Emocean. Picture: Racing Photos Racing Victoria's diagnostic imaging capacity will be tripled next year with two new scanners to be installed in Cranbourne and Werribee. A second-straight Melbourne Cup without a serious horse limb injury has endorsed the veterinary protocols in…

Winter is beginning to wind down and that means spring racing is just around the corner. The one race that gets everybody talking is of course the Melbourne Cup, with a total of $8 million in prizemoney and millions of fans across the country tuning in for'the race that stops the nation'. Last year, Verry Elleegant proved too strong for its rivals,…

Former Hawke's Bay jockey Michael Dee and Durston, winners of the Caulfield Cup on October 15. Now he goes for the double, booked for Lunar Flare in Tuesday's Melbourne Cup. Photo / Getty Images Hawke's Bay could hold two of New Zealand's more significant hopes in the 2022 Melbourne Cup, the three minutes and 20 seconds gallop that stops two…

Caulfield Cup winner Durston has been ruled out of the Melbourne Cup after failing a mandatory scan, leaving champion WA jockey Damien Oliver without a ride in the race that stops the nation. Racing Victoria announced on Thursday their vets believed Durston was unsuitable to race in the $8 million Melbourne Cup (3200m) after CT scans indicated the…

Caulfield Cup winner Durston has been ruled out of the Melbourne Cup after a'grey area' showed up in a CT scan taken on the stayer. As part of Racing Victoria's requirement for all Melbourne Cup contenders, Durston underwent a scan at Werribee last Friday. In a statement posted on social media, Chris Waller Racing posted there was a small lesion in…

Racing legend Damien Oliver has lost his Melbourne Cup ride after Caulfield Cup winner Durston was scratched from next Tuesday's $8 million race at Flemington. Trainer Chris Waller announced the seven-year-old gelding had been ruled out by Racing Victoria due to a'grey area' and a small lesion in his left hind leg. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Durston…

Durston is the third favourite for the Melbourne Cup. Picture: Brett Holburt-Racing Photos via Getty Images Hall Of Famer Damien Oliver will get the chance to chase a fourth Melbourne Cup after winning the race to pilot Caulfield Cup hero Durston on the first Tuesday in November at Flemington. Trainer Chris Waller confirmed Oliver has been locked…

Champion Hong Kong-based rider Zac Purton is one of several jockeys in the mix to pilot Caulfield Cup winner Durston in the Melbourne Cup at Flemington next month, however trainer Chris Waller has declared "nothing is locked in yet". Purton has put his hat in the ring to pilot Waller's second Caulfield Cup winner after earlier this month declaring…

Caulfield Cup winner Durston has been penalised 2kg for his win in Saturday's staying feature. Racing Victoria head of handicapping David Hegan on Monday afternoon announced the penalty, which takes the Chris Waller-trained import's Melbourne Cup weight to 53.5kg. The seven-year-old son of Sea The Stars carried 51.5kg to a short-neck win over…

Chris Waller's chances of landing successive Melbourne Cups have improved dramatically after Durston claimed the Caulfield Cup for the all-conquering trainer. Durston firmed from $51 to the third tier of Melbourne Cup betting at $15 after landing the first leg of Australian racing's famous spring double. In a surprise result that unfolded after…

Durston has enjoyed plenty of success since moving to Australia Victory for Durston in the prestigious Caulfield Cup provided Highclere Racing with one of the biggest winners in the syndicate's 30-year history - and it came following a "phenomenal recovery" from key setbacks. The son of Sea The Moon was bought by Highclere as a two-year-old maiden…

The sun has been shining on Caulfield Racecourse on Friday, allaying fears that a recent rain deluge might cause the Caulfield Cup to be postponed, but punters will need to back mudlarks on the sodden track. Despite the rain easing, the amount of water that has fallen in recent days mean the current Heavy 10 rating is unlikely to be upgraded, so…

Chris Waller will flex his muscle at Randwick's traditional spring meeting and could have the favourites in each of the three group 1s on Saturday, which may turn into ladies' day for the premier stable. The champion trainer has swept the October long weekend majors before, in 2019, when he also won the Turnbull Stakes in Melbourne to achieve the…

The first shipment of international horses for the Melbourne Spring Carnival are due to arrive on Tuesday night. El Bodegon and My Oberon are joining the Chris Waller and Annabel Neasham stables respectively to prepare for the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley on October 22 while Rodrigo Diaz, trained by David Simcock, is set to run in the Melbourne Cup…

Durston has been allocated a 1.5kg penalties for both the Melbourne Cup and Caulfield Cup Two of last weekend's Group 3 winners will have to carry 1.5kg more than initially allocated in this year's major Cups races after being issued penalties by Racing Victoria's head of handicapping David Hegan. Friday's Newcastle Cup (2300m) winner Durston and…

James Mcdonald joked that he may have locked in his Melbourne Cup ride too early after Durston took out the Newcastle Cup. Success in the Group 3 race over 2300m on Friday followed Durston's win in the Listed Wyong Cup (2100m) on September 2. McDonald earlier in the week announced he was riding Loft in the Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) at…

North Melbourne Premiership coach Denis Pagan has won the Victoria Derby with Johnny Get Angry - his first-ever Group 1 contender and the great AFL coach's first runner when he began his training career just six months ago. And, making things even sweeter, Pagan himself owns the gelding, having bought him for just $50000, meaning he will pocket the…