Horsing Around: 21/9 - 27/9

Magic Man: Magic Moreira Scores 6 Timer At Happy Valley

Brazilian jockey Joao Moreira was in fine form late Sunday evening when he scored an incredible six timer at Happy Valley.

“It was a day I’ll never forget!” Moreira said. “I needed a good day like that badly, as I needed to build up my confidence for myself and of course the relationships with the trainers.”

Moreira came out of the gates flying into the new season with 14 wins in just 5 race meets. He currently leads the Jockeys Premiership by 6 over rivals Zac Purton and Karis Teeten on 8 wins. 

“I knew I was going to have a good start to the season but six winners in a day at the beginning is always a big plus and hopefully we can keep on kicking winners,” he said.

The Magic Man will undoubtedly be looking to continue his red hot form with a stacked Wednesday night card where he has no less than 8 runners.

Stand out amongst his Wednesday runners will be his pairing with John Size trained Beauty Applause in the Class 2 Big Wave Handicap over 1200m.

“The races aren’t as strong as they are at Sha Tin, so the competition won’t be as strong as he has previously faced,” Moreira observed. “His last run over 1400 metres, he fatigued over the last 200 metres so the drop back in distance, I think, is going to suit him even better.”

https://twitter.com/HKJC_Racing/status/1307859290967830530?s=20

Racing Legend: Horse Racing Salutes Bob Ingham After Passing Aged 88

Australian Racing lost a racing legend on Tuesday with one of the most successful owners, Bob Ingham sadly passing aged 88.

Ingham and his late brother Jack together set up one of the most successful racing and breeding powerhouses in Australian Horse racing. With the famous Cerise silks as the flagship the Ingham brothers brought joy to punters with legendary runners including Lonhro and Octagonal. 

“I’m personally very saddened by the passing of Bob – when I first entered the industry, he was of great assistance to me and provided much learning and information,” Racing NSW CEO Peter V’landys said.

“Bob was a very kind man who had presence and a great personality; the industry is so much the poorer for the loss of one of our legends.

“We would like to pass on our sincere condolences to Mr Ingham’s family and friends at the loss of such a well-respected individual in both racing and business.”

Champion trainer John Hawkes was the most successful of the brothers private trainers dominating the Sydney training ranks during the 1990s and 2000s, winning nine premierships.

“He was an icon of the sport, he and his brother. They were icons,” Hawkes said.

“They gave me a really good opportunity in Sydney and we had some fantastic times.

“Lonhro and Octagonal. It doesn’t get much better, and there were many other good horses.

“It’s always sad when those people pass but unfortunately it does happen.”

The racing community as a whole will sadly miss Bob and never forget the great memories the stable have created!

Name Shame: NZ Racer Raising Eyebrows With Latest Name

There have been a few eyebrows raised this week in NZ as Wednesday saw the debut of the unusually named Colin Oscopy. 

Its definitely a unique move to name your horse after a medical procedure that surrounds the backdoor however the NZ racing commission seemed to be okay with it. 

Colin, making his debut at MataMata is trained by Samantha Logan and actually ran well at a big price finishing well at the line. 

"Someone was napping that day in the Registrations office," tweeted Sky Racing presenter Cassie Fahey.

https://twitter.com/hello_broadcast/status/1308594801491677186?s=20

The name has definitely divided opinion on the runner with many looking for an inquiry to probe how the name was passed. 

Return To Sender: Text Message Horse Sold

Emerging talent Barocha has been sold to Hong Kong. The 4yo ran his last race earlier this month with connections abroad sealing a deal earlier on Friday.

The sale price is not known nor planned to be revealed however owner Rod Douglas was quoted as saying: “We were sad to sell but the offer was too significant,” 

Barocha definitely showed plenty of talent when arriving on the scene going unbeaten during his Australian racing career. 

The most stand out moment though will be the controversy caused at Sale in mid August where the horse was centre of a text message tip that went viral. Barocha was subsequently backed into a short price favourite with 99% of the pot on the Douglas runner. 

That race saw Barocha’s talent emerge as he went on to win easily under hands and heels. 

A deal to sell Barocha, brokered through bloodstock agent Peter Twomey, was completed last week but the four-year-old had to pass Hong Kong’s famously strict vet checks.

Barocha got the all-clear from the Hong Kong vet earlier this week before the completion of the financial side of the transaction overnight on Wednesday.

https://twitter.com/Racing/status/1302506806032261124?s=20

Speed Demon: Pippie Takes Out Group 1 Moir Stakes

It was a marvel to watch as 5yo mare, Pippie handed out a lesson in sprint racing at the Valley to take out the Group 1 Moir Stakes. 

The John and Chris Meagher-trained mare gave never gave another runner a look as she jumped to the front and controlled the race throughout to score by 2 lengths.

Under the ride of Damien Lane Pippie jumped well and pushed clear from the 200m marker and never looked in trouble kicking clear off the corner to score her biggest career victory to date. 

The downgrade of the track to a soft 5 didn’t affect the Mare either as she tore up the first 200m leaving the likes of 10yo and serial front runner Jungle Edge in her wake. 

Co-trainer Chris Meagher said the Manikato Stakes on the eve of the Cox Plate was now being considered.

"We came here as confident as you can be going into a Group One," Meagher said.

"I don't care what I run her in, I know she's going to run enormous," he added.

"The track suited us ... just over the moon."

Protest Problems: Punter Misses Out On $53k Payout Through Minor Protest

One punters joy was firmly nipped in the bud on Saturday in the last at Rosehill as a potential $53k payout disappeared when the protest sirens fired,

The decision to uphold a minor protest by the race day stewards meant that one Sportsbet customers ambitious same game multi was scarpered.

Placing a same race multi the punter was looking for Bottega (SP $9) to run in the top two, Prime Candidate ($14) and Purple Sector ($61) to run top three, and Dancing Gidget ($21) to finish in the first four.

In an extremely tight finish to the BM88 Handicap, Prime Candidate just prevailed over Bottega, with Purple Sector 0.2L away in third.

With Dancing Gidget outbobbing Mirra Vision to snatch fourth, it meant the punter had turned a $10 bet into $53,010.

https://twitter.com/Toucansam000/status/1309972299450204160?s=20

Celebrations however were short lived as Hugh Bowman aboard Purple Sector (3rd) lodged a protest against Bottega (2nd) for alleged interference at the 200m, before Rawiller lodged a counter-protest alleging interference between the 600m and 500m.

Stewards tossed out the counter-protest, but - to the horror of 'same race multi' punter - upheld 3rd v 2nd.

While most punters would have been saved through various Protest Payout promotions they unfortunately don’t extend to multis or exotics leaving this punter with a $53k swing to stomach. 

Big In Japan: Deep Impact Cult Continues Road To Triple Crown

The 3yo son of Deep Impact, Contrail has given the impression big things are coming for the rising star in Japanese racing and his latest performance seem to confirm that. 

Walking a road to the Japanese Triple crown there has been a lot of Hype around the colt after recently taking out the Satsuki Sho (2,000 Guineas) and Tokyo Yushun (Derby). 

Working his way to the middle of the pack in the Sunday running of the Kobe Shimbun Hai at Chukyo, Contrail never looked in danger and was given a slight kick after turning into the straight to go clear by 3 under hands and heels. 

So easy was the win that jockey Yuichi Fukunaga never took Contrail out of second gear, easing the horse down over the line and beating the other 17 runners with ease. 

Contrail will now be looking to complete the triple crown by taking out the Kikuka Sho, the Japanese St Leger, at Kyoto on October 25. 

Check out the dominant run here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLPYHOrHZVY

Man Down: Rothfire Injury Rules Him Out Of The Everest

Jockey Jim Byrne said that he knew the moment Rothfire went lame during his Golden Rose run on Saturday after the horse failed to produce in one of the first big G1s in spring.

Rothfire has subsequently been confirmed to have a broken sesamoid bone and faces the prospect of up to a year on the sidelines to recover from the injury. 

Trainer Rob Heathcote was obviously bitterly disappointed to be going from a Golden Rose hopeful and a slot in the Everest on the horizon to facing the prospect that his star runner may never return the same. 

"He put hoof down awkwardly in the Golden Rose, I would say he would need a year or so off," Heathcote said.

"Whether he will need surgery is unknown at the moment.

"No doubt at the 200(m) of the Golden Rose when he deviated suddenly, he suffered the injury.

"The vets post race thought it was high in the shoulder."

It has since been confirmed that Rothfire will now go under the knife on Monday with the hopes that he can recover to be the star performer we saw only weeks ago: 

Check out more of the latest PGR news >>>

Don’t miss out on the best offers from Australia’ top bookmakers >>>