Horse Racing News
Champion trainer Chris Waller chases first VRC Oaks win
Chris Waller will tick off a rare first this week, with The Pearls giving him his maiden starter in the VRC Oaks during Melbourne Cup week. The three-year-old filly has earned her shot at the 2500m Group 1 after steadily rising through the grades from a Hawkesbury maiden to Stakes-placed company. She...
How G1 Melbourne Cup winner Half Yours got to McEvoy stable
Half Yours has delivered Tony and Calvin McEvoy their most significant victory, just a year after they took a calculated gamble at the Late November Inglis Digital Sale. Purchased for $305,000 in the dispersal of Colin McKenna’s bloodstock, the St Jean gelding is now the latest horse to achieve the rare...
Dance placegetters in hunt for 2025 Five Diamonds consolation
Both Vivy Air and Lugh could be back at the races again this week, with the Ciaron Maher team keeping their options open for Saturday’s $2 million Five Diamonds at Rosehill. The stable celebrated a clean sweep of the placings in Tuesday’s Big Dance, and assistant trainer Jo Gerard-Dubord says both...
Mr Brightside back for a fifth Champions Mile
Class campaigner Mr Brightside returns to Flemington for another tilt at the Champions Mile, and co-trainer Ben Hayes says age has done nothing to dull the star gelding’s desire. The eight-year-old again brings form into Saturday’s $3 million event, having finished second in the King Charles III Stakes and earlier adding...
Sliding doors moment wins Caulfield Cup - Melbourne Cup double
Jamie Melham’s remarkable Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup double will go down in racing history — but it nearly never happened. Before her partnership with Half Yours, it was Ashley Morgan who steered the gelding to key early victories. But Morgan’s commitment to ride in The Everest opened the door for...
Gringotts leads home Maher trifecta in $3m The Big Dance
Ciaron Maher has created history in the $3 million Big Dance, training the trifecta just one year after preparing the quinella in the same race. Gringotts ($3 fav) backed up his 2024 victory with another polished performance, defeating Vivy Air ($16) once more, with Lugh ($31) hanging on for third after...
Jamie Melham’s moment in Melbourne Cup
Michelle Payne’s historic breakthrough in the Melbourne Cup will always stand as one of the most iconic moments in Australian racing, but Jamie Melham added her own chapter to the story on Tuesday at Flemington. Melham became the first female jockey to secure the Caulfield Cup–Melbourne Cup double in the same...
Tornado Valley hits back at Flemington
The connections of Tornado Valley have quickly moved on from the disappointment of his luckless first race appearance, with the colt confirming his promise in Tuesday’s running of the Maribyrnong Plate at Flemington. Prepared by Ciaron Maher, the well-bred son of Too Darn Hot showed smart improvement from his third in...
Jamie Melham and Half Yours take historic Melbourne Cup win
Jamie Melham has joined Michelle Payne in the record books, becoming only the second woman to ride the winner of the Melbourne Cup, after steering Half Yours to a decisive success in Tuesday’s 3200-metre feature at Flemington. The triumph marked Melham’s 19th at Group 1 level and saw Half Yours become...
Time for Brian Ellison to shine in the Melbourne Cup 2025
Few participants in the Melbourne Cup story have endured more setbacks in pursuit of the great race than UK trainer Brian Ellison. For two decades he has travelled to Flemington with hope, only for misfortune, injury or timing to intervene. His Cup journey began in heartbreak. In 2005, Carte Diamond injured...