Things to know today
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Headley Grange returned from a break to win the $300,000 Group 2 Tramway Stakes over 1400 metres at Royal Randwick, the Joe Pride six-year-old holding Soothsayer by a short half head under Adam Hyeronimus in 1:21.54 on a good four, with Pride’s stablemate Attica, last season’s ATC Derby winner, third from second last on the turn. He is now the highest earner for his late sire Exosphere at $2,672,935, and was bought out of Inglis Digital in November 2023 for $120,000. On the same card the Too Darn Hot filly Bangkok Hottie won the Group 2 Furious Stakes over 1200 metres by half a length for David Payne and Kerrin McEvoy, from Chilly Girl and Striking Alibi, and goes on to the Tea Rose and the Flight (Breednet) |
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Pretty Baby stayed unbeaten since her maiden win, taking the $175,000 Listed Atlantic Jewel Stakes over 1300 metres at Sandown Hillside by three and three-quarter lengths for the South Australian pair Gordon Richards and Damien Moyle under Jamie Melham, four wins from seven starts. Moyle will take her to the Group 2 Thousand Guineas Prelude at Caulfield next, then the $1.5 million Group 1 Thousand Guineas on 17 October. The New Zealand bred Blind Raise won the $175,000 Listed McKenzie Stakes over the same trip on the card, a third win from four starts for Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young and Blake Shinn, with the Guineas Prelude or the Group 2 Stutt Stakes to come. He cost $70,000 at Karaka in 2025 (Breednet) |
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Ka Ying Rising won the HK$4.2 million Group 3 HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup Handicap over 1200 metres at Sha Tin today, a third straight win in the race and a record-extending 21st in succession. He carried 135lb and won by seven and three-quarter lengths, lowering the track record by 0.99 seconds. He is joint number one in the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings and Hong Kong’s reigning joint Horse of the Year, and Zac Purton had ridden him in 19 of his first 21 wins. Before the race David Hayes said he is “bigger and stronger than he’s ever been” and that “I still think we have another season of him improving”, and confirmed the gelding had bruised a foot kicking his feed bin and been cleared by Doppler and CT scans and an X-ray. He defends The Everest at Randwick on 17 October (Hong Kong Jockey Club, Paulick Report, South China Morning Post) |
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New Zealand hands out its 2025/26 Thoroughbred Horse of the Year Awards tonight at the New Zealand International Convention Centre in Auckland, with every equine category finalist eligible for the main title. The three-year-old finalists are Belle Cheval, Ohope Wins, Road To Paris and Well Written; the sprinter-miler finalists First Five, Jaarffi, Jigsaw, Provence and Waitak; the stayers Manzor Blue, Ohope Wins, Paradise Storm and Road To Paris. Jockey of the Year is between Opie Bosson, Craig Grylls and George Rooke, and Trainer of the Year between Stephen Marsh and the Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson partnership (New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing) |
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Asturia won on debut at Ellerslie, the Almanzor filly out of the Zabeel mare Kay’s Legacy taking the Rich Hill Stud 1400 for three-year-old fillies by three-quarters of a length under Michael McNab in 1:26.62 on a soft five, from Genie and Excite. David Ellis bought her for $135,000 from Landsdowne Park at Karaka Book 1. She is nominated for both the Group 1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas and the Group 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas at Riccarton in November, and her co-trainer Sam Bergerson said “she is nominated for the Guineas and we think even past that she will get over a bit further” (Breednet) |
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Two clubs are competing to stage an international match race between Ka Ying Rising, Autumn Glow and Sheza Alibi. Australian Turf Club chief executive Steve McMahon has proposed either a standalone Race 11 International Challenge on Golden Slipper day or a special George Ryder Stakes over 1500 metres at Rosehill Gardens in 2027, saying it is “the type of sporting spectacle people would talk about for decades”. Victoria Racing Club chief racing officer Leigh Jordon wants it at Flemington in the autumn, on Australian Cup day or Super Saturday in March, and said “I could see it tripling our crowd on the day” (The Straight) |
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Bellatrix Star heads the Inglis Digital September (Early) catalogue, a 275 lot book made up of 141 racehorses, 51 broodmares, 60 racehorse shares and 13 yearlings. The Star Witness mare won four stakes races from 13 starts, took a Group 2 at two and three consecutive black type races at three before running second to Switzerland in the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington. Inglis bloodstock sales manager Brett Gilding said she “makes a hell of a lot of appeal” and “is going to breed million-dollar yearlings for someone if she breeds them looking like her”. Ciaron Maher, Bjorn Baker, Lindsay Park and Michael Freedman are among the leading vendors (The Straight) |
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New federal rules will ban notable persons, meaning former or current sporting figures, celebrities, influencers and other prominent people, from directly promoting wagering products on social media, with the changes likely to take effect from 1 January. There is a carve-out for racing content, but it applies only to specific online racing channels. Ben Scarf, 25, who has 222,000 Instagram followers and works on affiliate deals with bookmakers, says he may go offshore rather than stop: “It will probably depend on if I can find a loophole. A legal one, of course.” He argues television advertising has been treated more gently, and added that “it’s very hard to not be pessimistic about the future of wagering at this stage” (The Straight) |
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