Author: Ben Triandafillou

HORSE RACING THE Anthony Freedman-trained Super Seth has steamed home to score one of the narrowest victories in the $2 million Group One Caulfield Guineas on Saturday 12 October. The unbeaten Queenslander Alligator Blood looked home for all money after kicking a few lengths clear in the straight but the Dundeel three-year-old, Super Seth, unleashed a powerful final sprint to rush from near the rear of the field and get up right on the line. Super Seth’s outstanding performance was backed up on the clocked as he ran the sixth-fastest last 200m for the entire meeting with a split of…

HORSE RACING THE Anthony Freedman stable has unveiled a potential Victorian Derby candidate after the dominant display of Warning at Flemington on Saturday 5 October. Having drawn a good gate in the Listed Super Impose Stakes (1800m), Freedman passed up on taking the three-year-old son of Declaration of War to an 1850m maiden race at Kyneton on the Friday and instead lined up in the key lead-up race towards the Derby. The decision paid dividends for the Pinecliff, Mt Eliza-based trainer as the maiden galloper raced clear in the straight to score a comfortable two length victory over the Lindsay…

HORSE RACING IT took just five rides for 18-year-old apprentice jockey, Campbell Rawiller, to ride his first career winner at Moe on Tuesday 24 September. After making his race riding debut at Jerilderie, NSW (a non-TAB meeting) on the previous Saturday, Rawiller made the most of his sole ride at Moe aboard the Cameron Templeton-trained Girl On a Train. Despite not being wanted in the market and jumping at $31, Rawiller entered the race with hope and settled his mount down at the rear of the field. Utilising his lightweight, Rawiller stormed home down the outside fence to score an…

HORSE RACING ASTUTE Mornington trackwork clocker Les Obriem passed away on Sunday 15 September after spending more than four decades applying his trade. The old-school clocker, who also wrote under the nom de plume Craftsman, passed away aged 74 due to health issues. Throughout his time Obriem worked for various media outlets including the Sportsman, the Sporting Globe, The Herald, The Truth and the Winning Post as well as being heard on radio stations, 3UZ with Bert Bryant and 3DB with Bill Collins. In recent years, Les had a passion for going to Sandown and then Werribee to clock and…

HORSE RACING BALNARRING-based trainer Kerry Edwards landed her first Stakes race with stable star, Rox The Castle, at Flemington on Saturday 14 September. Despite drawing an outside barrier, the former New Zealand galloper was too tough in the Listed $140,000 The Sofitel (1400m) stakes after sitting outside the lead and holding on for a narrow victory. The gutsy win topped off a Mornington-trained trifecta with the Rachel Frost-trained Travimyfriend finishing half-of-a-length away in second and the Grahame Begg-trained Romancer finishing a further length behind in third. Trainer Kerry Edwards was understandably ecstatic following the gallant victory. “He is unbelievable,” she…

HORSE RACING THE small, yet brave, Balnarring-trained racehorse Rox The Castle has once again defeated a runner that many pegged as a “horse that couldn’t be beaten” at Sandown on Wednesday 4 September. The Kerry Edwards-trained galloper jumped as the second favourite behind the promising Phillip Stokes-trained Jumbo Ozaki who many expected to come out on top before heading towards bigger targets in the Spring. But, the little pocket rocket, Rox The Castle, didn’t lay down without a challenge and led from start to finish with the top weight of 59.5kg to score his first win for the preparation. Third-up…

HORSE RACING THE John and Chris Meagher-trained mare, Pippie, landed the biggest win of her six-start career with an emphatic victory in the Group Three Cockram Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on Saturday 31 August. Under the guidance of jockey Ben Melham, Pippie took up the lead and controlled the race before being asked for her ultimate effort to kick away from her rivals and claim the $160,000 Group Three by one-and-a-half lengths. The victory was Pippie’s third straight win this preparation having previously won at Doomben and Caulfield, and her fourth win in her short career. The Mornington-trained mare has…

HORSE RACING THE Matt Laurie-trained Algadon Miss announced herself as a potential Stakes contender in the Spring by scoring back-to-back victories at Moonee Valley on Saturday 24 August. The pint-sized speedster settled in behind the leaders before kicking strongly around the bend to run away with the benchmark 84 victory over the Busuttin/Young-trained Angelic Spirit and Danny O’Brien-trained, Fabric. Not only was the performance impressive to the eye, but the mare also clocked the quickest time of all four 1200m contests on the day. The victory bought up Algadons Miss’ fifth victory from eight career starts and continued her unbeaten…

HORSE RACING THE John and Chris Meagher-trained mare, Pippie, is set to tackle black-type races in the Spring after running away with the opening race at Caulfield on Saturday 17 August. The four-year-old daughter of Written Tycoon raced away for a comfortable three-length victory over the Clinton McDonald-trained Diamond Effort and the ever-consistent Amy and Ash Yargi-trained I’m Telling Ya. Having also taken care of a ‘no metro wins’ race impressively at Doomben first-up, Pippie will attempt to emulate the efforts of the Meagher-trained Savanna Amour and be targeted towards the Cockram Stakes and How Now Stakes at Caulfield next…

HORSE RACING ONE-TIME Blue Diamond Stakes favourite, Brooklyn Hustle, is primed for her racetrack return after taking out a trial at Cranbourne on Monday 5 August. The Jason Warren-trained filly jumped out smartly with the addition of a barrier blanket before kicking clear under jockey Ben Melham to comfortably win the eighth heat of the morning. The striking daughter of Starspangledbanner is set to kick off her three-year-old campaign in the Group Three Quezette Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday 17 August. Brooklyn Hustle is expected to meet a strong field with the likes of the Anthony Freedman-trained and Blue Diamond…

HORSE RACING SOME of Anthony Freedman’s talented crop of thoroughbreds stepped out at the Mornington jumpouts on Wednesday 31 July as they begin their preparation for the upcoming Spring Racing Carnival. At the top of the list for the Pinecliff, Mount Eliza-based trainer was Group One Blue Diamond Stakes winner and Golden Slipper placegetter, Lyre, who was put through her paces in the opening heat of the morning. Similar to most of Freedman’s triallers, Lyre wasn’t asked to do much and was given a quiet time in her trial despite finishing a close third. Freedman said he was rapt with…

TOP-RANKED Mornington-based racehorse trainer David Brideoake will await a hearing scheduled for Monday 17 June over two serious race-day treatment charges put forward by Racing NSW stewards. Racing NSW stewards issued the charges against Brideoake on Wednesday 5 June in relation to the late withdrawal of the Brideoake-trained Princess Jenni from the Adrian Knox Stakes at Randwick on Saturday 6 April. Princess Jenni, who was unplaced in the Group One Queensland Oaks on Saturday 1 June after a tough win in the Group One Schweppes Oakes a month earlier, was withdrawn from the Adrian Knox Stakes after stewards noted an…

MORNINGTON-based racehorse trainer Jim Conlan is set to train Singapore’s second highest-rated galloper and five-time Group One winner, Debt Collector. The former Cliff Brown-trained “Horse of the Year” (2016) has amassed more than $3.1 million in prize money and is set to leave for Australia this month. Debt Collector, a 122-rated six-year-old gelding, has claimed 12 wins and four placings from his 24 starts, including two Group Two’s and a Group Three. It will be the Singapore star’s second trip to Australia, having spelled for five months at Newhaven Farm in the Hunter Valley last year. That trip came after…

MORNINGTON-trained racehorse Steel Prince has gained guaranteed entry into this year’s $7.3 million Melbourne Cup. The Anthony Freedman-trained gelding made the most of the newly reinvigorated Andrew Ramsden Stakes (2800m) on Saturday 25 May at Flemington with an incredibly narrow victory over Surprise Baby. The tough and tenacious win provides the five-year-old stayer with an automatic start in the race that stops the nation. Trainer Anthony Freedman said the former Irish galloper just has a great will to win. “He’s just incredibly tough and he’s incredibly genuine,” Freedman said. “I don’t think I’ve had a tougher or more genuine horse…

MELBOURNE Cup winning trainer John Meagher has come a long way since landing his first winner at Balnarring in 1971. So much so that the champion trainer was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall Of Fame on Friday 17 May. The trainer of more than 25 Group One victories including the 1985 Melbourne Cup with the Lloyd Williams-owned, What A Nuisance, and the 2000 Singapore Gold Cup with Kim’s Angel, Meagher joins nine other inductees to enter the Hall Of Fame this year. Meagher, whose two sons Chris and Daniel now train in their own right respectively at Mornington and…

FORMER South Australian jockey, Jamie Kah, continued her successful strike rate with Mount Eliza-based racehorse trainer Grahame Begg by claiming a winning double at Sandown on Wednesday 8 May. The winning combination bought up their fourth victory from just nine runners (44 per cent strike rate) this season as up-and-coming fillies Global Sanction and Vanuatu respectively took out races two and five at the midweek meeting. The four-year-old Sebring mare, Global Sanction, kicked off proceedings with a gutsy last-to-first victory over the Lindsay Park-trained Sonaree and Matthew Brown-trained Exasperate, finishing a length-and-a-half away in third. Having taken some time to…

MORNINGTON-based racehorse trainer David Brideoake took out the Group One Australasian Oaks (2000m) in South Australia on Saturday 4 May with his classy filly Princess Jenni. Despite a pre-race delay, the three-year-old daughter of High Chaparral scored a decisive one length victory to land Brideoake’s third career Group One win. With champion jockey Damien Oliver on board, Princess Jenni weaved her way through the field to defeat the Archie Alexander-trained Mirette and John Sargent-trained House of Cartier. The victory was the first of two Group One wins for Oliver on the day, and his fourth Australasian Oaks win. Brideoake’s racing…

THE newly formed Amy and Ash Yargi training partnership recorded their first victory, and winning double at their home track of Mornington on Easter Sunday, 21 April. The husband and wife operation combined at the start of April and after a string of unlucky runs, it was their seventh runner that they saddled up, Danger In Devon, who broke through for their first memorable victory as a team. Channing, a five-year-old gelding by Magic Albert, was quick to back up the victory in the following race and landed the partnership with their first winning double on the same day. It…

CHAMPION two-year-old colt and Group One winner, Written By, has been retired to Widden Stud in the Hunter Valley on Monday 15 April. Trained by Mornington-based racehorse trainer Grahame Begg and raced by Hall of Fame trainer, and Grahame’s father, Neville Begg, the speedy son of Written Tycoon has been key to Grahame’s successful return to the training ranks. The former Sydney-based trainer of 25 years spent more than three years out of the game before returning and landing his first Group One victory back with Written By in the 2018 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m). “He was the catalyst for…

MORNINGTON-based jockey Clayton Douglas landed his maiden victory at Caulfield on Saturday 13 April. Having had previously ridden at the track four times, the prominent jumps and flat jockey steered the Anthony Freedman-trained hot-pot Super Seth to a last-to-first victory in the opening race. After a six-length debut win, Super Seth overcame a muddling a tempo and an awkward position before ultimately pulling away for a comfortable one-length victory over the Leon and Troy Corstens-trained Stand To Attention. Jockey, Clayton Douglas, said he rode the two-year-old son of Dundeel as if he was the best horse in the field. “From…

MOUNT ELIZA-based racehorse trainer Anthony Freedman came to the fore in yet another Australian Group 1 sprint on Saturday 6 April. Ridden patiently by Mark Zahra, Freedman’s star sprinter Santa Ana Lane pounced down the straight to overrun his rivals in the $2.5 milllion T. J. Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick to claim his fifth Group 1 race. Santa, as he’s affectionately known, defeated a star-studded field of sprinters by 3.5 lengths and further enhanced his profile as one of Australia’s best sprinters. Freedman said he has felt that the six-year-old gelding has been a top-quality animal for some time.…

JUST one month after claiming the $1.5 million Group One Blue Diamond Stakes with Lyre, Pinecliff-based trainer Anthony Freedman has unveiled yet another two talented two-year-old’s. Coming off a Mornington jump out on Wednesday 13 March, the Freedman-trained youngsters Chenier and Super Seth, who respectively finished first and second in their heat, have come out and scorched the track at their debuts. Chenier, one of five Godolphin owned two-year-old’s that Freedman trains, was heavily supported on debut at Sandown the following Wednesday 20 March and duly saluted with a dominant five-and-half length win. Super Seth then reinforced their potential with…

MORNINGTON-based trainers made the Mornington Cup day their own on Saturday 23 March, claiming both of the day’s feature races, the Mornington Cup and the Hareeba Stakes, as well as winning four of the nine races on the day. The David Brideoake-trained stayer and talented jumper, Self Sense, continued his exceptional form on the flat with a victory in the day’s highlight, the $350,000 Mornington Cup, just six days after landing the Yarra Valley Cup. Self Sense ($12) settled midfield and moved into the race boldly under jockey Luke Nolen approaching the home turn before fending off the persistent challenge…

HORSE racing undeniably runs in young Campbell Rawiller’s blood. Growing up in a family steeped in racing history, the aspiring 17-year-old horseman is following the path which his father Nash (champion Australian and international jockey), uncle Brad (23-time Group One winning jockey), and mother Sarah have all trodden. And the youngster took his next major step to making his dream come true, with an induction into Racing Victoria’s Apprentice Jockey Training Program on Thursday 14 March. Campbell will join six female and three other male riders in the program which seeks to unveil the next stars of the saddle. Campbell…

MORNINGTON Cycling Club member Jack Marshall took on some of the country’s brightest talent in the 2019 Road National Championships at Ballarat on Friday 5 January. The Joel Hawkins scholarship holder had been dreaming of riding in the race for the past year and as a bottom aged under-23 rider, the experience of competing at such an elite level had always been the goal. Marshall missed the cut for the under-19s by just a few months but held his own in the older age group despite getting caught up in a crash along with most of the field. “My plan…

MORNINGTON-based racehorse trainer Jerome Hunter scored his third career stakes victory with speedy sprinter, Belwazi, at Flemington headquarters on Saturday 19 January. On her first attempt up the Flemington straight, the five-year-old mare put pay to her group performed rivals to score a half-length victory in the $140,000 Listed Kensington Stakes (1000m) over equal favourites, Glenall and Champagne Cuddles. Belwazi was a late-nomination for the race but it was a decision that has clearly paid off for trainer Jerome Hunter. “It had been three weeks between runs and I wanted her to go to something else but there just wasn’t…

HOT Shots kids from the Mount Eliza Tennis Club had what can only be described as a “memorable day” at the Australian Open on Friday 18 January. As part of the Australian Open’s Kids on Court experience, 10 lucky juniors were given the opportunity to have a hit on show court seven prior to the round two match-ups as well as gaining ground passes for the day. Unfortunately their on-court experience wasn’t to be with the courts getting hit with rain throughout the morning. But with their bad luck also came good luck as they unexpectedly got the chance to…

THE BALNARRING Picnic Racing Club is set to once again be covered in Australian flags as thousands of people are expected to flock to the Emu Plains racecourse on Australia Day, Saturday 26 January. The Balnarring Cup is the club’s highlight of the season each and every year and will enter its 71st running since Helenette kicked off proceedings in 1948. Balnarring Picnic Racing Club president Terry Mulcahy said the club looks forward to this race meeting every year. “This is the biggest time of the year and the lead up to the Balnarring Cup is massive,” Mulcahy said. “It’s…

SEVERAL young basketballers from the Southern Peninsula Sharks will get straight back into action this month as they head towards two of basketballs premier events for juniors. Up and coming players from under-14s through to under-18s will head towards the Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup (ACJBC), held in Albury from January 14-19, and the Southern Cross Challenge (SCC) ), hosted at the State Basketball Centre from January 18-21. While many people were enjoying their extended breaks over the Christmas and New Year period, many young athletes and coaches have been consistently working on their game, for some juniors as much…

AFTER spending more than a decade making sport more inclusive, Frankston resident and Monash University lead researcher Erik Denison is being acknowledged for his hard work with a nomination at the Victorian Sport Awards. Denison has been nominated for the inaugural Peter Norman Inclusion Award for his world-first research which looks into the prevalence of homophobic and sexist language within sporting clubs and how best to find a solution to the issues. The winner of the inaugural Peter Norman Inclusion Award will be announced at the Marvel Stadium, Docklands on Wednesday 20 February along with several other Victorian Sport Awards.…