KRIS Lees has settled on a dual attack at Kembla Grange tomorrow as he attempts to break through in one of provincial racing’s Saturday stand-alone features. The leading Newcastle trainer opted not to send Loch Eagle north for the Mooloolaba Cup (1600m) at the Sunshine Coast tomorrow, and he joins stablemate Tavi Time in the $1m Group 3 The Gong (1600m). This will be the seventh running of Kembla Grange’s richest race at the metropolitan stand-alone meeting, and Lees has been

JOE Ible doesn’t have a runner in his home track $1m feature The Gong tomorrow – but it will still be a big day for him. And a long one at that. The Kembla Grange trainer has a representative in both the opener and final of 10 races at the metropolitan stand-alone meeting, with the latter one of the most interesting of the day. He takes the former promising three-year-old Kandos Cosmos to the races for the first time in nearly three years. Jean Van Overmeire has ridden the si

FOUR days. Four winners! It’s been some week for Hawkesbury’s leading trainer Brad Widdup, whose quartet in successive days was capped when lightly-raced filly Lightness (pictured) scored at Newcastle today at only her third start. And on this occasion he wasn’t the only provincial trainer to be in the winning circle, as fellow Hawkesbury mentor Jason Attard, leading Newcastle trainer Kris Lees and Wyong’s Nacim Dilmi joined him. Attard produced promising mare Oui Oui Oui fir

KERRY Parker wasn’t disappointed when his consistent gelding Well Timed missed out on gaining a start in his home track’s $1m The Gong (1600m) at Kembla Grange on Saturday. Instead he is putting his focus on winning the “consolation” Benchmark 88 Handicap over the same distance with the five-year-old. “If The Gong wasn’t at home, it would not have even been a conversation piece concerning Well Timed when he began this current preparation,” the Kembla Grange trainer said this

PAUL Niceforo was gutted when Territory Express stood flat-footed when the barriers opened in the The Gong at Kembla Grange 12 months ago. The gelding was a $7 second favorite and gave away many lengths start, yet still managed to beat five horses home in the 16-horse feature won by favorite Gringotts, a rival again in Saturday’s $1m feature. He incurred a RacingNSW stewards’ ban, which has since been reversed and goes back to Kembla Grange on Saturday seeking redemption. The

ON the eve of Kembla Grange’s flagship race, Illawarra Turf Club has announced the appointment of two new independent Directors. Tracy Paterson and Nikki Aitchison bring a wealth of experience, energy and fresh perspectives to the Board. The women were officially appointed this week following an extensive application process involving a selection panel wity representatives from the ITC, RacingNSW and a local business leader. Each will serve a three-year term alongside reappoi

THE hallmark of a successful trainer is knowing when to stop with a horse and look to the future. Even when that horse might have just won another race at her first start back from a spell. Leading Hawkesbury trainer Brad Widdup did that with now four-year-old mare Tequila Baby, who repaid him by breaking through for her first city victory at Canterbury today. Ridden by last season’s champion Sydney apprentice Braith Nock, Tequila Baby defied a betting drift ($2.90 favorite a

PERTH’S Magic Millions yearling sale might attract even more interest in future from Hawkesbury’s leading trainer Brad Widdup. A first time visit there last year with his major client, Mike Gregg’s Mulberry Racing, resulted in the purchase of four fillies – and two of the three which have so far raced have won. Widdup produced Playing Gold three-year-old Azure Angel – the dearest of the foursome at $210,000 – at Scone today for an immediate result. And whilst her debut succes

LEADING Kembla Grange trainers Rob and Luke Price are “hoping for a miracle” to be able to chase another $1m feature triumph at home with the same team on Saturday. The father and son combination clinched their biggest success with ill-fated Count De Rupee in the 2021 The Gong (1600m), the third running of Illawarra Turf Club’s richest race. Their former apprentice Brock Ryan rode Count De Rupee, and is on standby to partner Our Gold Hope, who races in the same colours for th

ALL in a day’s work for a budding young jockey! Hawkesbury apprentice Poppie Gorton rode in the third heat at her home track trial session this morning, then headed off to the TAB race meeting at Nowra for two rides for her master, leading trainer Brad Widdup. After finishing fourth in the second race on Kosrae ($4.80), the 19-year-old backed up four races later and posted an important milestone in her career. Gorton won the Benchmark 58 Handicap (1400m) – a heat of the Risin

KURRINDA Bloodstock’s consistent gelding Boston Rocks loves to travel. So much so that he has now won five city races – three in Sydney and two in Melbourne. The Hunter-based syndicator’s five-year-old boosted his earnings to near $600,000 with an impressive Caulfield victory last Saturday. And just as the famous Willie Nelson song goes, he’ll be back on the road again next week. Boston Rocks’ defeat of favored pair Hedged and Beast Mode in the Listed Sprint (1100m) was his s

KRIS Lees has called on Tommy Berry to clinch back to back victories in Kembla Grange’s $1m feature – but this time for the leading Newcastle trainer. Berry is an important new rider for Tavi Time in the Group 3 The Gong (1600m) on Saturday. In confirming Berry’s booking today, Lees said he hopes to have three runners in Illawarra Turf Club’s richest race. He has also nominated Loch Eagle, runner-up in The Gong two years ago, and Provincial-Midway Championships Final runner-u

WINNING a Maiden with a debutante is of course always a special result for connections. But there was something even sweeter, pardon the pun, about Brown Sugar’s victory in the Midway Maiden Plate (1000m) at Kembla Grange yesterday. Prepared at Gosford by Adam Duggan and ridden by talented apprentice Mollie Fitzgerald, the Pierata three-year-old got the job done in spite of her inexperience. Duggan and Brown Sugar’s breeder-owner Peter Horsnell are long-time friends, and it’s

FOR a relatively small stable, winning three races in a season wouldn’t be a bad effort. But to do so in only 10 days is something to shout about. Little wonder Hawkesbury trainer Peter Green said he was “on top of the world” after Bold and Blazen had doubled up at Wyong today. Again ridden by Grant Buckley, Bold and Blazen followed up his $19 success in a Super Maiden Plate (1200m) at Gosford on November 6 by taking the CG&E Class 1 Handicap (1350m) at $7.50. Green’s other w

BRUDENELL BETWEEN them the two stablemates have raced 56 times and remarkably never started on their home track at Broadmeadow. What better time to belatedly make their Newcastle debuts to give leading local trainer Kris Lees the chance for a breakthrough in the seventh running of the $1m The Hunter (1300m) tomorrow? And though both Brudenell (Tim Clark) and Infancy (Dylan Gibbons) are outsiders in the Group 2 feature, Lees considers them both value chances. Brudenell has fac

JOCKEYS will wear black armbands at Saturday’s The Hunter meeting at Broadmeadow as a mark of respect for the late Muswellbrook trainer Pat Farrell. “Newcastle Jockey Club wants to honour Pat,” chief executive Duane Dowell said today. “Jockeys riding in the Lees Racing Legend Mile will wear black armbands. “We feel this is an appropriate race for this recognition.” Farrell, whose career spanned more than six decades, passed away last weekend, aged 83. He was inducted into the

Long-serving Assistant Manager of Tracks & Grounds, Darryn Blinksell (pictured above), has been promoted to the top job at Kembla Grange Racecourse. In his new role as General Manager of Tracks & Grounds he will oversee the day-to-day management and maintenance of the training and racing surfaces at Kembla, ensuring they meet the highest standards of safety, consistency, and performance. “Darryn has served as the 2IC of Tracks and Grounds for 15 years and has extensive knowle

BRAD Widdup was successful with his first runner at Gundagai’s iconic Snake Gully Cup meeting 12 months ago. Now the leading Hawkesbury trainer is striving to win the feature race itself – and has a very good reason for doing so. Widdup will start pre-post favorite Money Team in the $100,000 Snake Gully Cup (1400m), which carries eligibility for next year’s $3m Big Dance (1600m) at Royal Randwick. “My older brother Warren rode for a few years and won a Snake Gully Cup on Albu

HAWKESBURY’S Evergreen Turf Ladies Day Cup is here to stay on a Saturday. A near 4000 strong crowd voted with their feet last Saturday, ensuring the switch from a traditional Thursday date proved a winner beyond doubt. “The new date was well promoted and it was a fantastic day where everyone on course enjoyed themselves,” Hawkesbury Race Club chief executive James Heddo said this morning. “Being able to run a $200,000 Listed race on a Saturday complimented the Five Diamonds m

WYONG trainer Nacim Dilmi is considering backing up last Saturday’s Hawkesbury winner Probability Theory for a shot at Group 3 glory at Newcastle on Saturday. Dilmi initially didn’t plan to nominate the daughter of Microphone for the $250,000 Spring Stakes (1600m) at The Hunter metropolitan stand-alone meeting, but changed his mind when he inspected her around lunchtime. “We got her out of her box, and she has definitely come on since the Hawkesbury race,” he said this aftern