PROVINCIAL TRAINERS END SEASON ON WINNING NOTE

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 ($2.10 favorite), and Maher with $2.45 favorite Kharif.

Team Kearney’s $14 chance Cyclone Jaz blew her rivals away at Scone.

Apprentices Olivia Chambers (Mamma Mia) and Mollie Fitzgerald (Moana Gold) rode the Buchanan winners, and senior jockeys Grant Buckley and Jeff Penza had the mounts on Kharif and Cyclone Jaz respectively.

King’s Legacy filly Mamma Mia was having her 10^th start but first since joining Buchanan’s team from a Sydney stable when she defeated leading Newcastle trainer Kris Lees’ Dark Justice ($3 joint favorite) in the Class 1/Maiden Plate (1812m).

Mamma Mia had finished fourth in a Midway Benchmark 64 Handicap (1850m) at Newcastle on June 27, and dropped back to country class opening her campaign for her new trainer.

She had won a 1200m Maiden Plate at Goulburn in April at the start of this campaign.

Buchanan trained the last provincial winner of the 2025-26 racing year when Moana Gold justified her favoritism tag by comfortably taking the Benchmark 58 Handicap (1509m) at her 14^th start.

She went back to the track where she notched his first success in a 1512m Super Maiden Handicap on June 14, with a fourth at Scone over 1700m on June 29 sandwiched in between.

Kharif, a three-year-old son of The Autumn Sun, broke through for Maher at his sixth start, in the Maiden Handicap (1509m).

Blinkers came off Kharif, who narrowly defeated Wyong trainer Tracey Bartley’s What A Gent ($4.20).

Team Kearney was confident Written Tycoon filly Cyclone Jaz was ready to win when she went to Scone – and she didn’t let them down.

At her third start she finished strongly to overhaul local debutante Sir Boom A Lot ($3.30) in the 900m Maiden Handicap.

Cyclone Jaz at $70,000 was one of 10 yearlings the Kearneys’ close friend Daniel Springfield purchased at last year’s Inglis Classic sale in Sydney – and is named after his partner Jasmine Banks.

“We have always had a good opinion of Cyclone Jaz,” Desiree Kearney said this evening.

“Jeff (Penza) rode her first-up at Kembla Grange a fortnight ago when she got experience racing back in the field, and was adamant that was the best way to ride her.

“Cyclone Jaz is still maturing, and it was really good to get a win with her as a two-year-old on the last day of the season.

“She will go for a break now, and will come back even better next season as a three-year-old.”

Cyclone Jaz was the Hawkesbury training base’s 179^th winner of the season – 10 more than last year.

STORY JOHN CURTIS, JULY 31, 2026 - PICS BRADLEY PHOTOS