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

BRAD Widdup won the first ever $100,000 Inglis Xtra Bonus at the Coffs Harbour Cup meeting two years ago. Now he is hoping to strike again at the same meeting tomorrow. Hawkesbury’s premier trainer will be represented by Dallas Duke (Alysha Collett), who has drawn the rails in the Super Maiden Handicap (1000m), which opens the eight-race Cup program. Art’s Alive (Andrew Adkins) was second-up when she was successful in 2024, and Dallas Duke also is second-up going into tomorro

MARK Minervini has wasted no time in taking blinkers off Shall Be for his Royal Randwick mission on Saturday. The Newcastle trainer has called on apprentice Will Stanley to ride the gelding in the Midway Benchmark 72 Handicap (1100m). “I put blinkers on Shall Be for the first time last start at the Kensington track, but the experiment didn’t work,” Minervini said this morning. “He over-raced when sixth to Vella’s Best, so they have come off. “Shall Be is in great order, and l

THREE feature days – and nearly $1.5m in prizemoney. That’s Wyong Race Club’s spring carnival, which begins on Sunday week, continues on Sunday, August 30 and culminates with the major Gold Cup and Mona Lisa Stakes meeting on Friday, September 4. “This will be the third year we have run the carnival over three days, and it works well,” Wyong chief executive Greg Purcell said today. “Our meeting on Sunday week features both the Wyong Gold Cup Prelude (2000m) and Mona Lisa Stak

JAKE Hull has shifted camp and is excited to be training at Wyong. The former Gosford trainer says he has made the decision for the long-term future of his business. “I’ve still got the track at Feale Park at Somersby, but all my horses will be doing their fast work at Wyong,” Hull said this evening. “There’s no difference at all in the travelling time. “We’re situated halfway between both racecourses, and the facilities at Wyong are great, so it was an easy decision to make.

HE was purchased as a rig, was gelded before he raced and is now putting on a real “show” for his connections. Kurrinda Bloodstock-raced Funshow ($13) wasted no time making his mark at his metropolitan debut at Rosehill Gardens yesterday, leading throughout in the 3&4YOBenchmark 72 Handicap (1500m), lowering the boom on the much hyped $1.95 favorite Colombus, who finished fifth. And he was the first leg of a two-track treble for Newcastle trainer Nathan Doyle, also successful

IT was 2015 when eight-times winner Two Blue made a valiant attempt to lead all the way in Wyong’s highlight fillies and mares’ event, the Mona Lisa Stakes. Now 11 years later local trainer Kristen Buchanan is hoping to avenge the mare’s close second to Vergara in the 1350m event by capturing this year’s edition on September 4. Provided Annie’s Rose’s connections are in agreement, she will line up in the $250,000 Group 3 feature for fillies and mares on the final day of the G

BRAD Widdup and Mike Van Gestel kicked off the new season for the Hawkesbury training base with wins at Wyong today. Widdup took the Provincial Maiden Handicap (1350m) with Savoonga (Chad Schofield) at $3.90, and Van Gestel sprang a $21 upset with Johnny Smash (Mollie Fitzgerald) in the Benchmark 64 Handicap (1630m). Savoonga, a four-year-old daughter of North Pacific, was bred by Davali Thoroughbreds and given to Hawkesbury’s leading trainer when she didn’t reach her reserve

PROVINCIAL stables finished the season in style at Port Macquarie and Scone today. Wyong’s Kristen Buchanan clinched a double at Port Macquarie, whilst Hawkesbury husband and wife Mitch and Desiree Kearney were thrilled to get a two-year-old breakthrough in the nick of time at Scone. And champion trainer Ciaron Maher’s Newcastle stable produced the Australian Bloodstock-raced Kharif to also break through at Port Macquarie. Buchanan scored with Mamma Mia ($7) and Moana Gold ($

NEWCASTLE’S Horse Of The Year Changingoftheguard is on the Melbourne Cup trail again. This year’s Sydney Cup winner will contest a 1200m Open trial at Newcastle on Monday morning. “It will be a soft trial, but it’s a good starting point to get him going,” Kris Lees said this morning. “I’m happy with the way he is coming up. “Changingoftheguard is still a few weeks away from resuming, and it may be in a race such as the Group 3 Premiers Cup (2000m) at Royal Randwick on August