STEVE O’Halloran is doing his best not to get too far ahead of himself. Whilst he has entertained thoughts of tackling a black type race during the approaching Sydney autumn carnival with stable flag-bearer Mal Coupe, he wants to see the emerging young sprinter continue his winning ways at Royal Randwick on Saturday as he seeks to extend his picket fence to five. At the same time he is fully aware the Benchmark 88 Handicap (1200m) is clearly the four-year-old’s toughest test.

LAST year’s Provincial-Midway Championships Final winning trainer Sara Ryan is hoping some “wizardry” can result in another success in this year’s series. Ryan, a winner at her home track today with former Victorian Master Zous, launches her 2026 PMC campaign with lightly-raced Wizards (Reece Jones) in Saturday’s second Qualifier (1400m) at Newcastle. The Wyong trainer purchased the now five-year-old Fastnet Rock gelding online for $22,500 last May after he had been off the s

ANTHONY Mountney wasn’t hiding from anything! In the wake of the Kembla Grange trainer’s six-year-old gelding Duck For Cover’s breakthrough at his home track yesterday at only his second start, he hinted at a possible tilt at the Provincial-Midway Championships. “It’s not a fait accompli, but it’s something we are keeping in mind,” Mountney said today. “We might never get another chance to run in the series. “Duck For Cover will be seven this time next year, and I feel these

CLASSY Kembla Grange mare Our Gold Hope will begin a new campaign at Royal Randwick on Saturday. And co-trainer Luke Price, encouraged by a couple of factors, believes she can recapture the form which saw her almost snare the Group 1 Queensland Oaks at Eagle Farm in the winter of 2024. Our Gold Hope hasn’t won for two years (a Benchmark 64 Handicap, 1400m against her own sex at Hawkesbury on February 13, 2024) but has been place on six occasions; a number of them in black typ

BLAKE Ryan says he would have been disappointed if well-bred colt Just Awesome was beaten at Kembla Grange today. The Hawkesbury trainer edged closer to a half century of winners when the three-year-old gave him his 49 th success, in the Provincial Class 1 Handicap (1000m). A $3.70 chance, Just Awesome’s speed took him to a clear lead early and he held on to defeat Kembla Grange trainers Mitch Beer and George Carpenter’s Ride The River ($9.50) and fellow Hawkesbury trainer E

RACEGOERS might not have realised it, but there was a very special touch to Outakandy’s impressive Port Macquarie win yesterday. The now five-year-old gelding was previously prepared by the late Newcastle and Kembla Grange trainer Ben Smith (above), who passed away in May last year at 42 years of age. Not only did Outakandy race in Smith’s favorite navy blue and white colours (those worn by his 2018 Group 1 Sires Produce Stakes winner El Dorado Dreaming at Royal Randwick), bu

DAMIEN Lane has turned to provincial kingpin Keagan Latham at Newcastle on Saturday to qualify Oakfield Jupiter for the Provincial-Midway Championships Final. The Wyong trainer, buoyed by a home track victory yesterday with Sneaky Sofia (pictured above), today confirmed Latham’s booking for the talented mare in the second Qualifier (1400m) for provincial-trained horses only. The first two placegetters will join last Thursday’s Hawkesbury first and second Octa De Lago and Oui

IT’S a pretty good bet Bridget Bailey likes the name The Netball Queen. But that wasn’t always the case. Following the equine The Netball Queen’s breakthrough at her home track yesterday, Wyong trainer Rod Bailey today related the story of how the four-year-old mare got her name. “Bridget used to play netball as a young girl, and my son Callum jokingly referred to her as the netball queen,” Bailey said. “She hated it, and that’s why he named this mare after buying her for $10

MARK Minervini didn’t need any convincing to buy a Rubick youngster at the 2023 Adelaide Magic Millions yearling sale. The Newcastle trainer returned “home” and paid a “cool” $40,000 to secure him because of the success he was having at the time with another son of the stallion, the now retired seven-times winner and Group 3 placegetter Quick Tempo. “This horse reminded me a lot of Quick Tempo, and I felt he was worth the gamble even though he cost twice as much,” Minervini s

HAWKESBURY hobby trainer Michael Vella mapped out a plan last winter to have a shot at this year’s Provincial-Midway Championships with Cosmeena. The plan moved an important step closer to fruition at Wyong yesterday when the mare returned from a lengthy break in winning form. Ridden by Louis Beuzelin, Cosmeena ($4.40) took the Midway Benchmark 64 Handicap (1200m) to post her third victory from 12 starts. Not only did Vella have Cosmeena in tip-top shape for her first start s

KRIS Lees will break new ground with his first New Zealand runner early next month. The leading Newcastle trainer today announced Age Of Sail as his maiden representative “across the ditch” in the Group 2 Auckland Cup (3200m) at Ellerslie on March 7. Age Of Sail races in the same colours as his now deceased former outstanding mare Luca Valentina, who was raced by well-known New Zealander Lib Petagna. Age Of Sail is an acceptor for two races at Rosehill Gardens tomorrow; the B

OUI Oui Oui may be given the chance to gain black type now that she has qualified for the $1m Provincial-Midway Championships Final. Though beaten by $31 outsider Octa De Lago in today’s opening PMC Qualifier (1400m) at her home track, trainer Jason Attard was not disappointed with his $2.45 favorite. “Our goal today was to qualify her for the Final, and she has done that,” Attard said this evening. “The winner and my mare beat the others convincingly. “Seeing as though Oui O

KRISTEN Buchanan has given some consideration to striking while the iron’s hot with yesterday’s impressive Warwick Farm winner Stylebender. But most likely the Wyong trainer will stick to her original plan and wait for another week. Stylebender ($8.50) ensured his 50 th start was one to remember when he outstayed his rivals to land the Benchmark 72 Handicap (2140m). It was the Tavistock gelding’s seventh victory – and six have been under Buchanan’s banner. Stylebender is ris

KEMBLA Grange trainer Joe Ible, breeder Matthew Sandblow and fellow owners had a common goal with a young horse after he suffered choke. That was to get him back on track and win races, and it came to fruition when well-named Common Goal broke through at Queanbeyan yesterday. Ridden by Billy Owen, four-year-old Common Goal took the Maiden Plate (1460m) as a $2 favorite at his sixth start, and second since a drama-filled end to his previous racing campaign. Choke in horses is

UNLIKE some trainers Jason Attard doesn’t weigh his horses. Instead he is happy to go by the eye – and his eye is telling him ruling Provincial-Midway Championships Final favorite Oui Oui Oui is “pretty good”. The talented Yes Yes Yes mare begins her PMC campaign at home tomorrow in the opening 1400m Qualifier for both eligible provincial and Midway-trained horses, with the first two placegetters automatically securing “free tickets” to the $1m Final (1400m) at Royal Randwick

SCHOOL took a back seat for once! Instead of teaching students, Kembla Grange hobby trainer Steven Sampson taught his rival trainers a “lesson” when he celebrated his first winner at his new home track. His gelding Starinion led home an all-provincial finish to the Benchmark 64 Handicap (1200m) for five-year-olds and upwards. Ridden by local apprentice Rebecca Bronett Prag, the $3 joint favorite bravely staved off a determined challenge from Hawkesbury trainer Marc Chevalier’

NACIM Dilmi is yet to decide whether Matcha Latte will be given the chance to defend his Provincial-Midway Championships title. “I’m in two minds which way to go,” the Wyong trainer said today following the gelding’s Melbourne debut at Flemington last Saturday. A well supported $4.20 second favorite, Matcha Latte ran sixth in a bunched finish, only 1.3 lengths from the winner Café Millennium. “I wasn’t disappointed with his performance,” Dilmi said. “He jumped from the outsid

SAME trainer, same jockey, same race and same mission! Just a different horse. Newcastle trainer Jason Deamer won the opening Qualifier of last year’s Provincial-Midway Championships series at Hawkesbury with $21 chance Rapt, ridden by Tim Clark. And that combination is hoping to replicate Rapt’s performance this year with another mare Just In Time. Deamer today confirmed Just In Time as a definite starter in Thursday’s opening 1400m Qualifier of the 2026 PMC series, with Cla

STEVE O’Halloran’s Royal Randwick breakthrough yesterday with stable star Mal Coupe ticked one box – with an assurance that another important one can soon be ticked as well. The Hawkesbury trainer’s first-up victory with $3.40 favorite Mal Coupe – the gelding extended his picket fence to four wins – in the Midway Benchmark 72 Handicap (1000m) - carried extra significance as he spent 17 years at headquarters as one of Gai Waterhouse’s trusted lieutenants (and in the latter par

DENIM Wynen is back in winning groove, and hopes to “double up” at Hawkesbury on March 7. It’s the club’s increasingly popular annual Groove On The Grass raceday, though the Wyong trainer’s focus will be on the racing front more so than the music. Wynen plans to run both yesterday’s Newcastle winner Alabama Blitz and her Provincial-Midway Championships contender Monkhana at the Saturday meeting. She has already booked talented Wyong apprentice Anna Roper for Monkhana, who beg