DAMIEN Lane went back to the “scene of the crime” at Scone today to put paid to a run of minor placings. The Wyong trainer won the Class 1 Handicap (1200m) with $31 outsider All Too Sneaky, ridden by Reece Jones. It was his first victory since Oakfield Saturn took a Midway Benchmark 72 Handicap (1700m) at the Scone metropolitan carnival on May 16. Lane has had nine minor placings since that success, and All Too Sneaky’s breakthrough followed two of those at his home track yes

SAVVY Hallie has been named as a finalist in two categories for Racing’s Night of Champions ahead of her return at Royal Randwick on Saturday. The classy Hawkesbury mare is the sole provincial finalist amongst five vying for the title of NSW Queen of the Autumn, and one of three finalists for NSW Provincial Champion Horse Of The Year. She joins Newcastle pair, Kris Lees’ Group 1 Sydney Cup winner Changingoftheguard and Nathan Doyle’s Group 3 Hawkesbury Gold Cup winner Churchi

IT is no coincidence that Australian Bloodstock’s latest Melbourne Cup hope Wine Dark Sea has a link to one of their earlier winners Protectionist. The Hunter-based syndicator took an important step toward winning Australia’s great race for a third time when the young stayer led throughout in the Group 3 Geoffrey Freer Stakes (2670m) at Newbury in the UK overnight. The beaten brigade included favorite and third placegetter Dubai Honour, well-known to Australian racegoers as t

IN the space of a few days, Brad Widdup has unearthed two Provincial-Midway Championships candidates. Hawkesbury’s premier trainer has next autumn’s annual series in mind for yesterday’s Rosehill Gardens winner Mind Ya Bizz, along with stablemate Waerea, who scored at home earlier in the week. Mind Ya Bizz ($5) clinched a metropolitan breakthrough, albeit in the stewards’ room, in the Benchmark 78 Handicap (1400m) against her own sex, putting the seal on an excellent campaign

TWO meetings at Kembla Grange in the new season – and Rob and Luke Price have had winners at both. There’s a long way to go obviously in the 2026-27 racing season, but the father and son team has made a good start to reclaiming the local premiership. Having won the title for three consecutive years, Team Price lost out to another local training combination, Mitch Beer and George Carpenter, in the season recently completed. First-up specialist Me Me’s successful resumption yes

IT’S been a good week for Kembla Grange trainers Kerry Parker and Ross McConville. Both had success at their home track meeting yesterday in between victories at Moruya today and Canterbury last Wednesday. Multiple Group 1 winner Parker produced Rhythm Of The Rein, who made a very promising debut at Kembla Grange yesterday. Ridden by Jean Van Overmeire, the Cosmic Force three-year-old started a well supported $2.30 favorite in the Midway Maiden Plate (1000m), and was too good

TIM Clark will be reunited with Newcastle Horse Of The Year Changingoftheguard in his spring campaign opener at Royal Randwick next Saturday. The Sydney Cup winner kicks off in the Group 3 Premier’s Cup (2000m), with trainer Kris Lees expecting he will get around 59kg under the Quality conditions of the race. Stable apprentice Will Stanley rode the eight-year-old gelding in an exhibition gallop between races at Broadmeadow yesterday. “Changingoftheguard is in good order, and

TOMMY Wong will have his owner’s wife to thank if Hostwin King gives him a stakes breakthrough at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday. The Hawkesbury trainer puts the colt’s unbeaten record on the line in the Listed Rosebud (1100m) at his first start as a three-year-old after two victories as a two-year-old in the season recently completed. Hostwin King won a 2YO Maiden Plate (1000m) at Kembla Grange on June 20 on debut before stepping up to midweek city company and again defeating

PROVINCIAL trainers Ross McConville and Nacim Dilmi’s upset season breakthroughs contributed to a huge midweek TAB quaddie dividend at Canterbury today. Kembla Grange’s McConville and Wyong’s Dilmi won the last two races with $21 outsiders Donwon and Federal Reserve respectively. Those results coupled with the first two legs – won by $26 and $6.50 chances – ensured a NSW TAB dividend of $114,332.50 (it paid even bigger at $125 grand on Super TAB). Donwon (Alysha Collett) gave

GARRY Frazer and Grant Buckley go back a long way. As far back as more than three and a half decades ago when the Hawkesbury trainer unsuccessfully tried to give a then young Buckley his first winner at Nowra on an open company horse which missed the start. That was well and truly forgotten today when Buckley hoisted multiple Group 1 winner Frazer back into the winning list at Hawkesbury on $81 outsider Binkou. And Frazer afterwards could not have been more complimentary abou

HE’s named after New Zealand and Sydney Roosters legend Jared Waerea-Hargreaves. And he showed at his home track today that he has the same toughness as the former rugby league hardman, now a Fox League analyst. Lightly-raced Waerea, easily the day’s shortest-priced favorite at $1.22, overcame a hairy moment near the 250m when trying to get clear running and became hemmed between the leader and eventual runner-up Ribble Lace ($31) and Galactic Force ($19) in the Elite Sand &

BRAD Widdup has Provincial-Midway Championships ambitions for Waerea next autumn, and wants to see him put away his rivals at Hawkesbury tomorrow. The lightly-raced Bivouac four-year-old, a half-brother to Hawkesbury’s now retired triple Group 1 winner Duais (by Shamus Award), is a current $1.45 hotpot with TAB.com.au for the Elite Sand & Soil Provincial Class 1 Handicap (1300m). Waerea has raced only six times for one win (a Kembla Grange Provincial Maiden Plate, 1400m in Fe

GROUP 1 winner Private Harry has settled in well at his new surroundings, ready to embark on a new career at stud. Kurrinda Bloodstock boss Sean Driver (pictured above) recently visited the now five-year-old stallion at Segenhoe Stud (now owned by Yulong Investments) in the Hunter Valley, and was thrilled with his appearance. “Private Harry looks fantastic,” Driver said today. “He is in for a very busy first season at stud. “Private Harry will begin serving mares from the fir

JAKE Hull left Rosehill Gardens two days ago “super happy” after his stable stars Ferinzo and Valilee had both won trials. Now the Wyong training base’s newest addition after recently transferring from Gosford is ready to head back to town for the “real thing”, hoping for similar results with the lightly-raced pair when they begin new campaigns. Between them, Ferinzo and Valilee have won six of their nine starts so far – and their trainer is confident the best is yet to come.

A Royal Randwick victory is good at any time – but it could not have been more appropriate for Shannen Llewellyn yesterday. On the eve of linking with champion trainer Ciaron Maher’s Sydney stable, the 25-year-old Newcastle apprentice won the Premier’s Cup Prelude (1800m) on comeback import Eliyass at $26. Llewellyn will transfer next week from Nathan Doyle to join Maher’s team on a three months’ loan. This was only her second winner for Maher; the first being Cherish Me at t

ROB and Luke Price began the new season in the best style with a popular Kembla Grange quinella yesterday. Whilst the father and son training combination relinquished the dual premiership titles (local and All trainers) they had held the previous three seasons to Mitch Beer and George Carpenter, at least they are back in front in the former after the opening fixture. Team Price could not have been more pleased with the outcome of the Provincial Benchmark 68 Handicap (1200m),

WHAT goes around comes around! Hawkesbury trainer Blake Ryan kick-started the new season at Kembla Grange yesterday by winning with a horse he bought but didn’t initially prepare. And he underscored his skill in the process by scoring first-up at 1400m with four-year-old Green Winter, a horse he describes as a “Jekyll and Hyde” character, in the Midway Maiden Plate. Ridden by Jeff Penza, Green Winter ($5.50) made a belated debut in defeating Kembla Grange trainers Mitch Beer

GOSFORD Race Club has been forced to call on a countback to decide the outcome of last season’s trainers’ premiership. No less than four trainers – Sydney’s Chris Waller and Matthew Smith, Hawkesbury’s Brad Widdup and Wyong’s Nacim Dilmi – each trained seven winners during the 2025-26 racing season, which concluded at the end of last month. “Almost certainly this has never happened before here,” Gosford chief executive Daniel Lacey said today. “Providing four trophies would n

KRIS Lees is banking on suitable conditions enabling Loch Eagle to turn his form around and provide him with another Coffs Harbour Cup today. . Aaron Bullock will ride topweight Loch Eagle in the $150,000 Cup (1600m), which carries eligibility for the $3m Big Dance over the same distance at Royal Randwick on November 3. The leading Newcastle trainer, who won the Coffs Harbourfeature with Itz Lily in 2021 and again the following year with Hosier, hasn’t lost faith in Loch Ea

JACK Pilkington was entitled to have more than a chuckle at Gosford today. It’s fair to say his winner Chuckler certainly owed him a well-deserved reward. It’s been a long haul for the Hawkesbury trainer with the lightly-raced four-year-old, and his diligence and patience paid off when in the 2100m Maiden Plate. Ridden by Reece Jones, Chuckler ($5) at his sixth start raced up on the pace and tenaciously held out $1.75 favorite Autafinna. Pilkington paid $15,000 for the son of