Speaker 1We're on, we're ready, set to go, off and racing, out of the way, knuckling out a great finish, 3-4 in front, what a superstar, what a courageous win, an absolute thrill, the crowd here is phenomenal, it's unreal. On Sky Sports Radio and Radio Tab, welcome to Racing HQ, here's your host Dave Stanley.
Speaker 2Yeah, good morning and welcome to Racing HQ on this Thursday, the 8th of October, wherever you're listening across the Sky Sports Radio or Radio Tab network, it's great to have you on board. We have a massive day today, we've got a big show lined up, and then tonight, the Big Sports Breakfast and Racing HQ team will be there at Port Macquarie, at the Port City Bowling Club, where we've got a live broadcast tomorrow morning, so we'll talk about that throughout the course of the day and look forward to seeing you all tonight. And if you're wanting to see. Middo and Grubby, they'll be there tomorrow morning, live and early from 5.30, that is, of course, daylight saving time, it is 9.06 here in Sydney, to our friends in Brisbane though, it's just gone 6 past 8, in Adelaide, 8.36, great to have you on board in Adelaide listening, Hobart 9.06, and of course, our friends in Darwin in the Top End, another beautiful day there, sunny, 28 degrees, gee, you enjoy yourselves up there, where it has just gone 7.36. The Tab have just announced, or they announced. At 8 o'clock daylight time today, the Jimmy Star officially is confirmed as their runner for the 2026 Tab Everest, and Adrian Siglitano, we have some very important people with that horse on the show this morning.
Speaker 3We do, Dave, good morning to you and everybody listening in, so Jimmy will run it back for the Tab, he was fantastic last year, wasn't he, representing us in the Tab Everest, and hopefully he does the good job again, obviously have to take on Kaiying Rising, as everyone else does, but we know he'll be strong, a little bit of rain around in Sydney next week won't hurt his chances, and the managing owner, Ozzy Kerr, will join us shortly, Dave, and have a go at the firepower that Ozzy has going into this Spring Carnival, Jimmy Star, Gringotts, James J. Braddock, Birdman, Zaran, he could have up to four Melbourne Cup runners, Cox Plate runner, he's also got a Tab Everest runner, so plenty of firepower in Ozzy's stable.
Speaker 2He certainly does, and we've also got some other big guests on the program, I know you're very interested in this Caulfield Guineas, from a Sydney v Melbourne. Well Dave, I think there
Speaker 4could be a bit of an upset, we all like Warwoven, very good horse, but what about Blind Ray's very impressive last start, and we're going to chat to Natalie Young later in the show, before that we'll get to Nash Rewilla, your favourite jockey in the entire world, won the Hill Stakes last year with Lindemann, can he go back to back, we're going to give away some tickets for our Radio Tab audience, always love grilling Tim Bryan because there was a big go yesterday, so Tono Glow went up four bucks. Well Dave, I think there could be a bit of an upset, we're going to chat to Natalie Young later in the show, before that we'll get to Nash Rewilla, your favourite jockey in the entire world, won the Hill Stakes last year with Lindemann, can he go back to back, we're going to give away some tickets for our Radio Tab audience, always love grilling Tim Bryan because there was a big go yesterday, that's into 290, Ben Dorries from Queensland, and we'll also chat some sport later in the program, get some multis into the sports office section of the Tab app, Thursday's always a big show as we build towards a big Saturday on the punt.
Speaker 2And it has been a big morning as we announced with the Tab officially announcing their runner for this Big Everest, the Tab 2026 Everest, the 10th running, and Jimmy Starr will be representing the big team, and managing owner of Jimmy Starr is Ozzy Kerr, joins us on the line, morning Ozzy.
Speaker 5Good morning David, how are you?
Speaker 2I'm very well, not as probably good as you are, you've got a runner in the world's richest turf race, it took some negotiating, you've got him there, and you've got a lot of belief and you're quite proud of this bloke, aren't you?
Speaker 5Yeah we are, we've sort of spent some time negotiating with the Tab, who were great to deal with, but they don't like to give away too much deal there, but we got a fair deal in the end, and very much looking forward to it. We're looking forward to having Jimmy represent us in the Everest.
Speaker 2What gives you guys as an ownership group, and from dealing with Kieran Marr so much, and his team, the belief that you can be competitive in this race?
Speaker 5Look, I think everybody knows Jimmy, on his day, he can produce an amazing turn of foot, and I think the Everest trip, even though it's 1200, I really do think a horse like Jimmy, who can run a good, a strong 1400 will suit, so I just think if the race shapes out the way we hope, and there's a little bit of rain on the day, or some softer ground, I just think that he's right in it. That's our view with the race, I think you've got to be a 1400 metre horse at least, to be able to win a race like the Everest.
Speaker 2And you're locked in Nash or Willett, we heard that news filter through in the last 24, 48 hours, that if he was to be officially lining up, Nash would be stuck. Yeah, he's got to be steering him, and you've had a lot of luck with Nash in those colours of yours over the last sort of, you know, 12 to 18 months?
Speaker 5Yeah, Nash has been great, I spoke to Nash, I guess, today or the day before, just to confirm, and look, we had, obviously, Ethan's regular rider, he's sitting on my Koffel Cup horse with Zara, and so he's got to stay in Melbourne, and we thought, you know, Nash is a pretty good replacement. But, you know, when you look at it, and he's had some great success for us in those colours, he's been amazing with Gringotts, and yeah, he's very excited, and so are we.
Speaker 2You've had a great success as an owner, Ozzy, and you've had, you know, some wonderful moments, you've been a part of a Melbourne Cup, you know, winner, and you've won multiple big races in this country. What is it about the game that you love? Because you're obviously a very successful businessman, but you spend a lot of your, you know, your money and your income. on purchasing horses, and so what is it about our sport that you love?
Speaker 5Well, let me just tell you, since Monday, I reckon I've done about 80% horses, and about 20% work, and we're into Thursday, so I'm not getting much work done at the moment, which is the time of the year that, you know, I love spending all my time on horses, but, oh, look, I love it, and I think the thing I love the most is it's just so hard. It's just a real hard game. It's a real hard industry, and I just think the harder it is, the more challenging it is, the more motivation that you want to achieve, and I think probably one of the biggest things is the ownership group that is on the journey. It's not about myself, and I know I sort of, I'm the one that gets the interviews and that because we're the managing owner and we find the horses, but it goes much further than that. It's the conversations that you have every night and the WhatsApp groups that you've got with such. So many good people, and just the smiles and the joy they get from racing gives me the motivation, satisfaction, and I just want to do well for those guys, so I think it's a bit of all of that together that keeps me hungry to just for more success.
Speaker 2That's good. Ozzy Kerr is that voice you can hear across the country, punters. He's a managing owner of Jimmy Star and others, and one of those others is Gringotts, so he will perform in the Allen Brown, and then he's looking for his straight third big dance. Gee, he's been a. He's been a good horse to you.
Speaker 5Oh, look, you take one of those all day long, you wouldn't, you know? Yeah. We bought him from New Zealand from a trial off a heavy 10 at the time, and I was very unsure about it, to be honest, and look, he's come out. I can't remember what he's won now, but I think, unlike, not too dissimilar to Jimmy Star, I think he's won about $8 million or something, you know, since we've had him here. He's been just such a joy for all the owners. Everyone loves him, and, you know, Kieran's done a great job to get him to win. You know, a lot of that prize money has come from the big dance, and, you know, he has to carry his weight, so he's not getting in there, you know, with a given. I think he gets 62 kilos or something, and he's been punished for that, but, look, he's been a great horse, and, again, another real success story, you know, for all the ownership group and, you know, those colors going around. We're really proud of those colors, and the best thing about those colors, it's not just me. It's just a whole group of owners that, and it feels like a club, is how I'd explain it.
Speaker 2Can I ask what those colors represent? Because, you know, everyone has their own story with silks. Is there a meaning or a story behind them, or are they just a design that you guys liked?
Speaker 5Oh, look, when I first thought about colors, I wasn't really that interested. I was sort of happy to just tag along with everybody, and a friend of mine said, look, you've got a few horses now. Why don't you look at doing colors? And I'm like, oh, we had a go at them, and as you know, I'm a crazy Carlton supporter, so the Navy Blues was the first inspiration of the Navy, and then we wanted to do something a bit sort of not so bright in your face. And I know there's some, you know, the lime greens and the orange, and without bagging anyone else's colors, but we wanted to do something a little bit different, so we thought a sort of subtle gold, and that was pretty much how. So we got there, and again, it's a representation of a group of owners that just enjoy racing together, and most horses in our ownership group are similar owners, so, yeah, I think it's like a club. It's like a footy team that we're all together, and we enjoy it. Every night, there'll be no less than probably 40, 50 text messages that go around, so it's a bit of fun.
Speaker 2Ozzy, I've got to ask about Birdman. You bought him originally as a Melbourne Cup horse. And that Queensland winter, well, he became. the new weight for age kid on the block. And it was, you know, it sounds like Chris and the team and James said, no, no, look, 10 furlongs, 2,000 metres. This is his go. So we're going to see him in the Might and Power Stakes. And then Cox Plate, that's the main sort of grand final goal with him.
Speaker 5Yeah, that's the goal. So we'll line up on Saturday and it's going to be an intriguing race. I'm actually quite excited about the race, being a small field and it's just going to be an interesting race against probably one of the best, you know, mares or fillies that's going to be going around for a while. And then, yes, hopefully he runs well. I'm not saying we could beat her, but I do think she'll run really well. To how close he can get to her or knock her off, I don't know. But definitely, luckily he's not racing against her in the Cox Plate. And then, yeah, we'll go to the Cox Plate. But you're right, look, we just had him as a pure handicap. He was a stayer when we bought him. And Chris has just done an incredible job to turn him. It's not easy to turn a handicapper, a staying handicapper that's run over 2,800 in Europe as a three-year-old to a weight-for-age horse over 2,000 metres. So, yeah, exciting to see how he goes.
Speaker 2A lot of our audience are texting on the text line about Zaran, who we've sort of circled as a Caulfield Cup horse. What did you make of his turn we'll run? What was the feedback? And you mentioned Zaran. You mentioned that Ethan Brown, he will be riding this horse in the Caulfield Cup, which is why he can't ride Jimmy Starr in the Tab Everest.
Speaker 5Yeah, look, it was a very disappointing run. And to be honest, I was pretty flat, you know, from that run. I had sort of two horses where the bubble burst on both of them with St. George and Zaran. But, look, it was that bad that it was too bad to be true. So if he had got beaten a couple of lengths, I would have probably been more concerned. But the fact that he runs so poorly, there must be excuses. We can't find the excuse. He's perfectly sound. He's come up perfectly well. And I think what gives me even more confidence is Ethan sort of had a choice whether he'd ride Jimmy Starr in the Everest or stick with Zaran. And, obviously, he decided to stick with Zaran. So I'm pretty sure if anyone can do it, it's going to be Kieran Ma. And no pressure on Kieran. But I did. I was ringing him and said, you've got two weeks to sort it out and win the Crossfield Cup. So, and he said, rightio, leave it with me. So he wasn't too concerned about it. So we go in there with a bit of confidence. But definitely a head-scratcher and not ideal to go into the Crossfield Cup with that run.
Speaker 2We just get a better price. And St. George in the same boat, too?
Speaker 5Yeah, they're both the same. So, yeah, unfortunately, Zaran didn't actually drift that much, even though he got beaten about 10, 12 lengths. He only drifted out a dollar. But St. George drifted out a bit. So there's some value there on both those horses. I generally think they'll bounce back in the Crossfield Cup. So, well, fingers crossed.
Speaker 2You've also got another horse, which is getting lots of questions on the text line, James J. Braddock, who's a Melbourne Cup horse. You've already got Craig Williams, pardon me, booked in to ride. What did you like about him to purchase a share in him?
Speaker 5Yeah, so, we bought him some time ago, David. We bought him as a two-year-old in Europe after one start. Again, on heavy ground. Probably, I wasn't actually that convinced on him. I was on the fence and Joseph O'Brien twisted my arm and said, you should buy him. I think he's a horse of the future. And we probably bought him just out of good faith. And he wasn't an expensive horse. So I thought, well, let's give him a go. And he's just come out. And he improved and he improved. And similar story to him. Just a great bunch of owners now involved in him that are enjoying the journey in Europe. He's won Group 3 in Europe, this prep, and then I think he ran third in the Epson Derby. And we'll go straight into the Melbourne Cup with him. But, look, he's a horse for the future. He's only a young horse, lightly raced. So he'll go to the Melbourne Cup with very little weight. And, I mean, it's never easy. It's never easy to jump off a plane at that age and run in the Melbourne Cup. But we think he's sort of got the credentials to do it. And then, you know, we'll see how he goes from there on. But, yeah, look, exciting horse. And I definitely think he's up to it. I definitely think he's good enough to run sort of top three, top five in the Melbourne Cup. So why not have a go?
Speaker 2Ozzy, what's the one race you haven't won? You know, not necessarily the one with the big prize tag, but the one that's the most, of sentimental value to you that you'd love to win?
Speaker 5Look, there's obviously the Golden Slipper I haven't won. I've run third in it and fourth in it with Corngatta and Tagaloa. And I think Yes Yes Yes might have also ran fourth in it. So we've had, we've been close. So that's a race. The Golden Eagle is probably a new one that we haven't won. But I think, I mean, everybody would love to win the Slipper and the majors. But, look, we've been fortunate enough to have won most of the majors and we don't take it for granted. So we're pretty humble about having won those races. But, look, they're not easy to win. Even when you win them, unfortunately, you just want, you want to win them again. So it's not like you win them and you say, OK, I'm happy now I've won that race. Let's hang up the boots. Yeah. So it's actually, it's not great. It's not a great feeling because you just want to keep winning them again. But, yeah, look, at the end of the day, every prep we start, we're hungry for a win. So, and all you want, it's just to win any group one. And that's how we sort of measure our success, winning group ones.
Speaker 2And most of the people listening to this program, you know, they might be on the job site. They might be driving the van around or they could be having a day off in the back shed and they're just listening and they're just punters. Are you a punter yourself, Ozzy? Like, do you get the, you know, the video report through from Mar or Waller and you think, OK, righto, boys, we're going to have a multi this week? Or do you, because you're racing, you're racing for so much money, do you sort of just let them go around?
Speaker 5No, I must be honest. I don't actually follow trainers' tips. So you're like us. Yeah, I think it's a good way to actually lose money. But, no, we do our own form and our own ratings. And, yeah, look, we have a bet. Probably bet more on my own horses than I bet on others. Or if there's a horse that's beat one of our ones that we really like. You know, I'll follow that and have a punt there. But I probably like giving out tips more so than punting myself because, yeah, I just enjoy the fact that, you know, people are winning and that's part of the sport.
Speaker 2Well, can I ask you for a tip on the sport? Have you got something we can follow? I know it's a question without notice, but.
Speaker 5Yeah, I haven't really looked, but I know I've got one running on Saturday. I think it's Raceway. One in Canto Start. So there's a bit of an emotional bit there because it's Jimmy Starr's brother. Yep. And it's stepping up, so I'm not sure what it's paying. And I haven't really looked, but it's going well. Yep. So I don't know what that's paying. Race one, I think.
Speaker 4Nath, what's it paying? It's paying $4 Aussie.
Speaker 5$4 Aussie. $4, that's okay. That's okay. Beautiful. Maybe something like that.
Speaker 2Congratulations. You got the deal done with Gil and the team. It's great that Jimmy Starr and the Tab can team up again. And now at this prospect of. Bit of rain around and we've still got to get barrier draws and whatnot. Who knows what can happen, mate? But if he performs like he did in Melbourne in that Manicato, bring it on with the blinkers on again. Good to chat with you. Thank you. Cheers, mate. There's Aussie Kerr, the managing owner of Jimmy Starr. And if you've just joined us on the network across the country, he's locked in. Jimmy Starr to race for the Tab in their slot and doing the steering is Nash Rewilla. He joins us now on the program. Morning, Nash. Morning, Dave. How are you? Very good, mate. So Jimmy Starr locked in for you. We just spoke with Aussie Kerr. He said he spoke to you a couple of days ago. You got that locked in and he's a great horse to be jumping on. And these colours, I said to Aussie, you and the boys have had a lot of success together.
Speaker 6Yeah, we've had a great association over the past sort of 18 months. And yeah, really excited to be on Jimmy. He's a horse that sort of thrives on high-pressure races. And so did his jockeys. So we should team up very well.
Speaker 2Yeah, I think you will, mate. So, because I was going to ask you, you would have had a few options, no doubt, you know, possibility. We heard that, you know, Savvy Halley gets a run. We know you've got a big rap on her and you love her. But what drew you to Jimmy Starr? What was the sort of the factors?
Speaker 6Oh, look, I think he was extremely impressive the other day at Caulfield. You know, he's, you know, he's had a, he's had a, he's been one of our best sprinters now for some time. And, you know, he's just sort of the old war horse that, you know, we're hoping can be the last man standing. If the race sort of pans out and there's a little bit too much pressure up front, he can be one of the, one of the old, you know, the old wars to get over the top of him.
Speaker 2Did you see the trial the other day of Ka Ying? What did you make of all that trial? Did you buy into it or just go?
Speaker 6No. Nah, his tour was good. I mean, he's. He's a racehorse too I think A lot of their best horses are like that You know, turn up race day That's where the The money's to be made That's it And They thrive on race pressure
Speaker 2Blue Door I know you're not riding her in a Tab Everest But you did get to steer her around that heritage You were pretty glowing afterwards Singo is obviously a good mate of yours And I mean, it's pretty cool for him And the other connections that She gets her chance to be in that race
Speaker 6Yeah, definitely Look, she's been outstanding, really She runs the time She She's got a very promising future It's a tough arse, no doubt, in the world But No, I'm sure she'll She'll handle herself Very credibly Now, you're
Speaker 2another mate of yours We talk about, you know Gringotts I reckon this Saturday Correct me if you're wrong But these could be your two favourites I mean, I know you've got some good other horses you ride But Lindemann's been a great horse for you And Gringotts as well Firstly, Lindemann and the Hill Stakes He comes back to Rose Hill And, you know What did you make of that last start effort? Obviously, you know I know that in regards to that performance You might have been looking at it on the replays and whatnot But, yeah, what do you think about coming back to Rose Hill?
Speaker 6He's going to He's going to Enjoy coming back to Rose Hill No doubt in the world Look, I just I was really scratching my head Actually, I rang Blake on Sunday After the race And tried to pick his brain about it Because I was You know Just sort of thought it was a Perfect race for the horse But I find it Found it sort of hard to believe that It was Melbourne Way The horse has always been Pretty adaptable But Yeah After watching the replay a couple of times I just wondered whether it was a track Whether it was just a bit shifty I know they had it rated a good three But on TV it didn't look that great And he is a horse that If he doesn't sort of Gain confidence on the ground That's when he's at his worst He just really looks after himself
Speaker 2Away from being shifty as well Possibly That track is a bit shifty He's only ever been to Caulfield twice before that In an Underwood where he was beaten by Alligator Blood And then in a Caulfield Stakes He was beaten again by Alligator Blood And he was beaten on I think he was beaten in the Caulfield Stakes By what nearly Nearly eight and a half lengths And Underwood You've ridden Caulfield You know A majority of your life Is it just When we say that some horses can't handle Caulfield Can you sort of explain that to the audience? Like is it because of that That rise at the back And the way the camber Of the turn is Or Because he might just not get around Caulfield Might not like it
Speaker 6Yeah Look it has been a bit of a graveyard Over the years For Sydney horses But Yeah look I haven't been on his back there So I honestly can't Yeah Say that
Speaker 2But when people say You know When people say it can be a graveyard From the horses that you've ridden there That don't like it Is it because of The surrounds Is there a lot to look at Like from a jockey's perspective
Speaker 6What What does that mean? It can even be Just as little a thing As quickening up on that corner there Turning for home You know Whereas at Flemington You can sort of get the opportunity To balance right up You're sort of forced Quite often to quicken there Turning And You know The Sydney horses have a Have a tendency to To swap for their Sydney leg When When they're doing that And that can sort of bring in A little undone But Honestly I think You've just got to go On the Saturday Put in a pen Through his Caulfield run And And I'm back on him And Yeah And hopefully Hopefully we get a Nice track And you can hopefully
Speaker 2Control the race too
Speaker 6Well Look With the horses It's just I've always found It's about riding in Not the Not the You know Whatever Anyone else does around you You know He just likes to do his thing I don't really Interfere with him too much In a race If he was to go A little bit quicker He does And if he If he sort of Wants to sit up And prick his ears On a long run He does that too So You know There's a Possibility Of a bit more pressure here On Saturday But Like I said We'll just Be positive And then ride the horse From there You ride Gringotts
Speaker 2We're chatting with Nasharilla this morning In the Allen Brown You jumped on him Of course In the Seven Stakes You chose to sort of Sit there beside Autumn Glow On the turn Was that Sort of a deliberate move To put him in the race
Speaker 6Yeah And look Probably won the back forward You know I've found that He's always Well Since I've been riding him He's appreciated Just that Sitting off that That pressure up front You know And with a bit of Genuine speed on He seems to thrive on that You know I mean The other day We were probably racing The best mare in the country And not the best horse So Look we I sort of Went up to eyeball there Just before straightening And I think The sectionals He's ran between The 600 and the 400 200 were As good as They could be And That just sort of Took its toll The last little bit Which You know Like I say If he's sort of Coiled up And can get The 350 meter sprint He's outstanding This horse
Speaker 2Your other rides For Saturday You rode Powder Man last start The horse From Kembla That was down At the Illawarra Grange Oh look He's seven year old Did he give you a good feel He was a good win In 64 grade
Speaker 6Did he He did He's a handy little horse You know Stable He's done a great job With him Throughout his career You know Johnny had been riding him Don't know how to Him looking fantastic And I'm sure I'm sure There'll be no difference And And it was just His right race You know Johnny sort of said He was He was full of confidence And I'd had a ride on him And he was happy to Happy to give me the opportunity And the horse was The horse was terrific He's Yeah I'm just looking here At the best bets They've got him sort of $61 in the race I'm sure I'm sure he's a Good each way chance at that
Speaker 2And then two others You've just ridden Which I'm keen to get you A comment on Madatsu Madatsu Up to the 2000 Bit of a tricky gate there With him In the The third race
Speaker 6Yeah Look he's He's come back This preparation And Well his last two runs Have been terrific You know He's crying out For the 2000 If not even a little bit further So This looks like Most winnable race He's He's gotten into And Yeah He can sort of Overcome that draw Which I'm sure he will He's been showing A lot of A little bit more speed Than Recent times With a bit of A positive ride He'll be able to Put himself into A nice spot there And I think the extra 100 metres Will make a big difference To him And last one
Speaker 2Because I reckon He's a really interesting horse Steel wheel Now I know you haven't Been on him since Warwick Farm Earlier this year But He's got He's got ability This horse He has
Speaker 6He's a promising Cult I I think He's got Yeah I rode him as a two year old And He was sort of Well You know A long way from the finished product And You know He's been beaten By the next episode So We were Really I was really happy With his First start I remember Riding him well And Yeah He's just shown The promise That He can go through His grades And sort of Get into a race like this And be very competitive For sure He's He's Awesome I'm really looking forward to it
Speaker 2Alright Nash So we've locked in For Everest Day With Jimmy Starr What about Elsewhere for the Carnival Are you thinking Spring Champion Stakes Or are you thinking About getting down For a Cox Plate ride
Speaker 6Oh No We'll just see How it transpires I guess I'd like to see Lindemann blow him away Saturday Yeah And then go back
Speaker 2For a Cox Plate
Speaker 6Yeah well I don't know I just Couldn't buy into The Melbourne Way of going But Yeah look Yeah We'll see what This horse Can do In the Three-year-old race There on Saturday too It might be A nice horse To be Yeah okay For the Spring Champion Yeah Some more Whatever it is
Speaker 2Yeah Yeah That's in the The gloaming You've got You've got I think it's A Scarolay Is it Scarolay
Speaker 6Scarolay That's it
Speaker 2Mate I'm no good With names Remember I was Calling Golden Strand Golden Star Ann So don't Please get that Double checked Please get that Double checked Before you Get to ring Don't ring up Mar and say I'm terrible I'm terrible There's a text here Saying Have you got a Golden Eagle ride Or a cup ride Or something Yeah
Speaker 6I think Bayward Will bounce back Very well There
Speaker 2Okay, so you will be in Sydney then for the Golden Eagle? And then there's a text here saying, could you get a Melbourne Cup ride? I mean, it's hard, obviously, being a handicap, but I was trying to actually think about one of your best performances in the Cup. Have you run second or third?
Speaker 6Fourth on Elstrum, many years ago.
Speaker 2Didn't you ride a horse for, was it Mayfield Smith, or was there someone, maybe I'm thinking of another jockey, and it was an overseas horse, a Kazakhstanian horse, not a Kazakhstanian.
Speaker 6No, no, look, Melbourne Cup's just been a race that's eluded me. You know, and look, a lot of it's to do with weight. Yeah. I remember as a young fella, I had the favourite, trained by Chris Woods, Capstead Ways, right up until an hour before the race, I'd wasted, when I say wasted, I'd been watching him wait for a month to ride him at more than 53 and a half or something like that. Wow. And they scratched an hour before the race when the rain came. I ran third on Delta Blues in the Caulfield Cup and did everything I could to stay on him in the Melbourne Cup, and he won. Yeah, it's just been a race that's, you know, just eluded me, but you never know. Hopefully, Aussie can find me a good ride there one day.
Speaker 2Yeah. You never know. You never know what's around the corner. I appreciate you joining us, mate. Good luck on the weekend. Much appreciated. Thank you. There we go. There's Nash Ruella. And so we get, obviously, Lindemann on the bounce back. Looking forward to seeing him. Gringotts has to carry the weight in the Alan Brown. He's been a great horse for Nash Gringotts. And then, there we go. Babock back in possibly good form, Nash believes, for a Golden Eagle. So he will be in town on that. That day. Let's go to Natalie Young now, who joins us this morning on Racing HQ across the country. Morning, Natalie. Morning. This is a good race, this Caulfield Guineas, because we get the clash of Sydney v Melbourne. And Blind Rays, who you've got representing your stable, he looks to be very, very special. Can you tell our audience a little bit about him and what you're expecting for the weekend?
Speaker 7Yeah, well, look, he's had a couple of runs, and he's, you know, won the McKinsey nicely. And then went into the prelude. And look, he's under quite a bit of pressure, a way out, you know, like Wolfgat, Wolf to run around them. And Blind Rays sort of just sat and waited. And then he just sort of put them away. So, you know, to do that in a prelude, the group to a lead up is always gives you a little bit of confidence going into the group one. You know, he's got to get up to the 1600 metre mark, which shouldn't be a problem on pedigree. But yeah, he's ticked over really nicely since that run. He's tightened up good. And he galloped really nicely at Cranbourne track on Tuesday. And Blake rode him. And look, he rolled through the line, did some really nice sectionals, and sort of pricked his ears past the post, looking for a little bit further. So really happy with the way he's pulled up from that. And just need a little bit of luck going into Saturday.
Speaker 2So tell us about him and his journey. He's a gelding. He, what started off at Cranbourne, he's by ace height. Was he an expensive horse, these owners? Are they, you know, some of the owners that you've had for years and years and years? Or is this a new ownership group?
Speaker 7No, the majority owner is sort of Andy Grant. We've got a few mates in from New Zealand, a few old owners, you know, like Paul McDonnell, Kevin Ransfield, just good old mates from New Zealand, Logan Fenwick and, you know, Martin Bradley. I mean, he used to be in Horses in New Zealand, like Six O'Clock News and stuff like that. So just old friends from New Zealand, basically. And, you know, he showed he could gallop a little bit and said, "This horse goes all right." He was a past in lot of the Oak Stud and we just really liked the look of him. And Trent really loved him. And we just thought, "Well, if you really love something, you've really just got to buy it and put your hand up." And yeah, so we did that and he got him over and he won his first two races as a two-year-old. He won the Anzac Stakes and then we sort of took him up to Brisbane. And it didn't really quite go according to plan. He didn't travel as well and he'd probably just come until the end of his campaign. And he actually just pulled up a little bit of mucus after that Brisbane race. So we let him spell up there and brought him back down. And so far this preparation, it's been trouble-free.
Speaker 2So when you say he was past in, did you get him quite, you know, as a, well, he'd probably
Speaker 7be perceived bargain. I think he paid $70,000, yeah. Wow. Okay. Yeah. So, yeah, I think- That's a bargain. He did a little bit of haggling. That's a bargain now. He did a little bit of haggling with Rick. Yeah. Yeah, it sure is. You know, he's won. He's won half a million now, I think just about, and he's, you know, he's running in a group once a day with 3 million. So he's not going to get a stud deal, obviously, afterwards, but you've got to take on the strong cult of Buen bakers, wool woven, and there's a little bit of a banter between Trent and Buen because they're good mates and, you know, he always brings his horses down here. So he'll arrive in the stable tomorrow morning at 5:00 AM and, you know, and they'll be eyeballing each other through the stable, wool woven and blind rave.
Speaker 2Quite nice that, well, it's nice from a racing fan and a punter's point of view that he is a gilding and I know that obviously if he was a cult, you'd be, you know, well, he'd be worth an incredible amount of money, but the way that you guys are going to get money out of this horse and have some, you know, amazing times is by racing him. So you're going to have to continue to do that. So if he does win, just crystal ball, if he wins his Caulfield guineas, would you have any hesitation throwing him right in the deep end?
Speaker 7Definitely. That's definitely where we'd go, but he'd have to win and, uh, look, he's a racehorse. So, you know, they get in with low weight, um, so you might as well have a crack if he pulls up well and happened to get the group one guineas and, uh, beat the strong cults, then you'd definitely go that path and, and sort of carry on from there. But, uh, look, he's only, you know, he's, he's, he's what, third up, you know, so he's got plenty of racing still to go in this campaign. So you definitely, uh, definitely be a food for thought.
Speaker 2Do you have to, because it's so competitive to book riders, do you have to sort of make those tentative plans? Like if he did win and go that way, have you got someone on standby?
Speaker 7Uh, yeah, we've got a couple, um, that are just, you know, we've been talking to, so, um, nothing completely confirmed yet, but it's, you know, basically if he got onto something like a Cobb Spade, I think he's got, what's, what was it, 50 kilos, Sam?
Speaker 2Yeah. Is it 49 and a half?
Speaker 749. Yeah. So basically it's whoever can ride that weight and you're a little bit limited for options there. So yeah, we've got, uh, we've got, yeah, we'll, we'll think about that at the time we'll get through Saturday first, obviously. Um, but yeah, it's a, it's a nice problem to have if we do happen to have it next week.
Speaker 2Yeah. I guess too, if he, you know, even, even if he wasn't to win, let's say that him and War Woven or, or something else, you know, they go to the line and it's just a beauty and the ratings people come out and say, Hey, look, this is just, you know, off the chart, time-wise, et cetera. You might still end up going that way anyway. The 2000 meters clearly is no concern. Do you feel like he's just going to get better as he gets longer?
Speaker 7Well, he can take a certain relax and he can sort of be pushed forward and, you know, it showed last start that he can really absorb pressure when it goes on and just on pedigree, he should, um, if you go down his pedigree page, he's got sea change on there. I mean, she was probably more, uh, a really good miler, but, um, yeah, you'd think he should, you know, ASI won a Derby, beat us and then, uh, BRC Derby beat us. Sully. And, um, yeah, so he'll definitely, he should get the trip on pedigree and, uh, he's just got a really good turn of foot and he relaxes nicely, being a gelding, he doesn't over race. So, you know, it's, yeah, I definitely know no qualms there at all that he'll skip out and trip, but you know, Saturday, it just seems like there's not really a lot of speed in the race. So that will be interesting. And I think Blake's going to just have to see if there is speed or not. I presume we'll wave and may go forward. Um, yeah. There's not really much else really putting on a bit of speed and that's that, that could be the problem if it's a really slowly run race and a sprint home. Um, but we know our guy he's, you know, he, he, he's a high cruiser and we've got him the best we possibly can going into it. Um, if not better, I think going into the prelude, his coats come through and he's just, you know, he's bouncing around, he's bright and he's, he's just really come on from that run under his belt.
Speaker 2Magic. And then I guess maybe this time next year, there's a, uh, 1500 meter race. At Royal Randwick, you might like to target worth an incredible amount of money.
Speaker 7Yeah. Well, you know, horses like this, uh, with his sort of physique, they do get better, you know, the older they get sometimes and he's sort of got that makeup physically. So, you know, he's, um, he's not, I don't know when he had the finished article. He's probably still got a little bit of strengthening up through the shoulder, but he's not doing anything wrong at the moment and he's a lovely happy horse and he's bright and we've just got to make sure that, uh, we don't get stuck down on that rail. We've got barrier two, so we should be okay. Um, but look, Blake's got, I've got all the faith in Blake. He's ridden them perfect. The last couple and he knows the horse and he's, uh, sat on them and the gallop previously, um, before each race. So, you know, it just gives them that little bit of confidence that he's got the horse and the motor underneath, underneath them.
Speaker 2Have you got anything we can, uh, as putters, apart from blind race, be having a little bit on over the course of the coming days? I see that, uh, you've got, well, you've got a couple at, uh, one today at Kiten, you've got Cranston. Cranbourne tomorrow, and then, of course, Ballarat to tomorrow as well and then that one runner at Caulfield, Blind Rays. What are we, are we having a bet, Nat?
Speaker 7I actually really quite like the Doctor of Love. He's in the Hamilton Cup Saturday. I think he's ready to do something. He's got meat on him. Yeah, I think he's ready to go a big race and I really like immediacy in the Seymour Cup Sunday. He galloped with Blind Rays on Tuesday over at the main track here at Cranbourne and he galloped really good. He was a little unlucky at Flemington. He just got held up at the wrong spot but really sort of run through the line. So I think he can be a little smoky. So I really like those two for the weekend.
Speaker 2So we're playing a couple of cups here, Hamilton and Seymour. Hamilton and Seymour are cups.
Speaker 7Gotta love winning a country cup.
Speaker 2100%. Hey, good to chat with you and good luck with this horse on Saturday. It's exciting, very exciting and we can't wait.
Speaker 7Great, thank you.
Speaker 2Cheers, mate. There's Natalie Young who co-trains of course with Trent Busseton and Blind Rays goes around in the Caulfield Guineas. It is the classic Sydney v Melbourne, that race and two very, very nice horses. One a colt, one a gelding and I love that from Nat just saying, you know, look, if we win the Caulfield Guineas, oh yeah, bring on a cocks plate. We'll take a break. It's 9.46 Eastern Daylight Saving Time. That of course is Sydney, Melbourne Hobart. In Adelaide, it's 9.16. In Brisbane, it's 8.00. 8.46 and it's just gone. 17, now past eight in Darwin.
Speaker 1You're listening to Racing HQ with Dave Stanley on Sky Sports Radio and Radio Tab.
Speaker 2Welcome back to the program. Mitch Friedman is my next guest. We get to see Attrition in the Hill Stakes on Saturday morning, Mitch. Good morning, Dave. How are you going? Yeah, not too bad, mate. Three trips to Sydney. You've earned 1.6 million with Attrition, so you're back to get some more cash.
Speaker 8Yeah, heading back up there, chasing a race he likes and seems to like the circuit there at Rose Hill and that way of going, so looking forward to having him back up there on Saturday.
Speaker 2Yeah, you ran, well, you won this in 24 and then you've been up for five diamonds as well and he returned to the hill last year. He's a very brave second behind Lindemann, so how is he compared to previous times he's been up to the Harbour City?
Speaker 8I think he's probably as good as I've had him heading up there. And he, you know, he's fully matured now, obviously being a bit older. He was a little bit slow to mature, and we had a really big break off the back of the autumn. He just didn't quite come up and got a little bit crook after his last run and he had a really good break and he's had a really nice, even preparation. He's been really sound all the way through and we're looking forward to Saturday. I think he's in great shape.
Speaker 2Now, look, he ran third in the Underwood last day at a huge price, but did that surprise you at all?
Speaker 8We thought he was starting to gather a bit of momentum and we certainly thought he was looking for the trip of the Underwood, so we elected to go that way rather than the Fears and it's a little bit of a different path to what we've followed in the past. But it didn't surprise me. I thought that he was starting to get back towards his best and he had two couple of sort of uninspiring runs, but he needs a few things to be in his favour. He likes races to be run a certain way. We planned to get that in the Underwood and he did it. Yeah, he was beaten sort of four lengths, but it showed that he was getting back into form, that's for sure.
Speaker 2And you've got Jamie Mott retaining the ride after that Underwood, so he was happy to stick with and come up and get some cash possibly too. He's a good rider, Jamie.
Speaker 8Yeah, very good rider. Obviously one of our leading riders in Victoria and he started to rack up the Group 1 wins. He's a strong rider, good horseman and looking forward to having him aboard on Saturday.
Speaker 2And then Plan, let's say he runs extremely well on Saturday, what would you do with him then?
Speaker 8Well, we went onto the Cox Plate last year and he ran fourth and he was a really good run and probably our ambition to potentially head that way again, but we'll assess how he goes on Saturday and we can either look at sort of either leaving in Sydney or travelling to Sydney again if we need to or find some other options throughout the spring. But at this stage it's hill stakes and then onto the Cox Plate, but we'll just be guided by how he goes on Saturday.
Speaker 2How Skybird pulled up after Saturday and we all saw what happened. We saw your post-race and yeah, it was, I remember you saying to Channel 7 after the race, said, "Listen, she's just got a handbrake. So if you ask her to stop, she just doesn't go, you know, it doesn't idle down. She just stops."
Speaker 8Yeah, a hundred percent. She, you know, she gives you a little bit of a sore back at track work. She's always asking her to go forward and yeah, once he, took his foot off the accelerator, she stopped very quickly. Probably give him a bit of a surprise and yeah, it was good to see her get back in the winner's circle. It was a sort of a well thought out plan by the team to get down in the weights and get back to the straight track. She's pulled up super and we'll either see her up there next Saturday in the Sydney Stakes or she'll wait for Cox Plate day down here. -
Speaker 2Well, I was going to say, have you seen the weather report for Sydney next week? -
Speaker 8I haven't. I have been told mixed reviews, so. - Well. - We'll add another piece of the puzzle here. -
Speaker 2Rain, rain, rain, all midweek. And we're maybe, we were waiting to see, and we're going to chat with the Bureau, whether it's going to hang around on Saturday morning, but how do you become a, Adrian, you might know, I might bring you in here without notice. How do you become a reserve for the Everest? So if you, if you're, you know, like we say with the Kosciusko is, is, you know, could you somehow put your hand up to be a reserve? Cause if it's a heavy tweet, Mitch you'd want Skybird there because she just swims yeah we had
Speaker 8discussions yesterday about it connections were fairly keen to run at the Sydney Stakes they went through some solid negotiations last year and actually got a spot in the Everest and they kind of got a good understanding of how it works I think you've probably got two horses in there that look very very hard to beat and you're sort of fighting out for the rest of them so don't let me knock the prize money but it might be more sort of valuable for Sydney Stakes. Go the Sydney Stakes
Speaker 2way well there look whichever way she does go she's going to well she'll be there for the Sydney Stakes but from a Sydney perspective it'll be a rain affected surface if the Bureau is right which will be music to your ears I mean she just seems to just skip through it. She does
Speaker 8she just handles it better than most and we we see it at home with her as well so we we rub our hands together when we see this the weather coming and we know that we've got her in good shape and she's in a race that she can be competitive in so we're really looking forward to the rest of the spring her absolute grand final is the champion sprint and you know if we can pick off a race like the Sydney Stakes along the way and it'd be you know it'll be it'd be a really good for the connections and for the stable.
Speaker 2So Adrian has just sent me through I know he's on the phone now to Carl de Kru but he just sent through a thing what they do is with the substitution window so slot licenses must nominate an emergency replacement as soon as practical or no later than 120 minutes after a horse is scratched so if we did have a situation but so does that when you say that discussions have happened with your ownership group have has that actually been a possibility has someone asked if you would possibly be their emergency?
Speaker 8No someone had asked about a slot that was still available so okay oh so
Speaker 2someone this year had asked you if you'd be interested in running in this year's race with Skybird?
Speaker 8Yes yeah right but we just selected not to go that way that that was the sort of connections you and like I said they they've been through those negotiations last year the way the race is setting up this year just it just we just thought the Sydney Stakes might be might be better and it might prepare a better for her absolute grand final in the champion sprint so it's going to be an interesting race.
Speaker 2Well mate I I hope we see her here next week I hope that the next couple of weekends in Sydney are quite fruitful for you mate have you got anything else in the stable over the next couple of days weeks that we can be following as
Speaker 8punters? Yeah I think that you follow along early at Caulfield there I think Savitri's really sort of climbing through the grade she's a nice horse, Araqua's going well they gelled together at the course proper on Tuesday there wasn't much between them and there's a big there's a big price discrepancy between them on Saturday and sort of one thing going around in the maiden on on Friday night it's been knocking on the door it should be going close.
Speaker 2Good to chat with you thanks for coming on Mitch.
Speaker 8Good on you thanks Dave all the best.
Speaker 2Yeah we'll see you very soon I want to bring you in here Adrian so you've done the old Google and and you've just sent through the text message so that's interesting because that is something we think about let's say that something does happen with a horse in that race or in a cause with a Kosciuszko runner and we've seen it in preview we saw it that morning front page was coming up for the Kosciuszko because the slot race and finally he was scratched and another horse had to be selected it's the same for the Tab Everest.
Speaker 3Yes so plus so six emergencies can be there so a panel from Racing New South Wales and the ATC will choose those they must accept in the Sydney Stakes on the same day so I'm guessing there's negotiations saying well do you want to be an emergency if there is a scratching do you want to even run in the Everest and this year maybe people want to say no so there might be a list of two or three emergencies and then if there is a scratching on race morning like we saw when lost and running unfortunately came out of the tab Everest he was substituted so the slot holder then has a choice of those horses and they can choose whichever way they want to go from those six that are chosen and that's
Speaker 2interesting that someone has approached Skybird after that win and obviously they're looking at the weather for next week so they're sort of having a little gamble there thinking well if there is going to be rain around do we look to try and get one of the the better sprinting wet trackers in the country because she is very
Speaker 3good and it's interesting now we've heard from a few people that maybe two or three horses have been approached and they've knocked it back this year so that's where people's heads are at that they don't think they can genuinely beat him that's cutting rising in 10 days time and they're happy to go financial way and go to the sydney stakes that's going to be a hot race well that comes down that
Speaker 2comes down to the deal though too so obviously the deals aren't being structured with that in mind and that's why the connections are going well hang on no no i go and race here and i get more so while i race here and possibly run third fourth fifth sixth
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