With only ten or twelve horses in work these days, veteran trainer Clarry Conners doesn’t expect to have a glut of city runners.

The thrill of a Doncaster win on Celestial Legend in the autumn of 2024 kept Tyler Schiller in a buoyant frame of mind for many months.

Everybody was talking about Private Harry long before Yulong Investments tied up fifty percent of his ownership under a deal reported to value the colt at sixteen million dollars.

Darryll Kell was still pinching himself on Sunday morning in the wake of Mahogany Girl’s gutsy win in the Polytrack Provincial-Midway Championship Qualifier at Hawkesbury.

 Any jockey resuming after an injury enforced layoff prays for an early winner. Owners and trainers like to watch the comeback rider for a few weeks to ensure that his or her confidence hasn’t been affected by the trauma of a racing accident.

For those who’d supported Pride Of Jenni it was an exciting watch. For those who’d backed any one of her eight rivals it was a frustrating experience.

Ray Selkrig, Bill Camer and Cliff Clare were close in age and carved out distinguished careers for themselves in an era when the Sydney riding ranks were as strong as they’ve ever been.

Danny Williams has saddled up 26.5 TAB Highway winners since the inception of the concept in 2015. He got a special thrill in 2017 when Don’t Give A Damn posted a 6.5 lengths winning margin at Rosehill.

It was only a BM 72 for fillies and mares on the Kenso track at 6.30pm last Friday night, but for Paul and Martha Cave the race could have carried black type status.

When it comes to racetrack performances there are wins and there are wins. Those punters who’d hammered Shadows Of Love into favouritism in Saturday’s Midway groaned in unison…

Sweet Mercy’s explosive win in Saturday’s Four Pillars provided a much needed boost for David Payne.

There was a ripple of excitement in the big Dubbo crowd on Sunday when course broadcaster Col Hodges announced that Sizzle Minizzle would appear in an exhibition gallop between races five and six.

Followers of picnic racing look forward to a unique triple header in northern NSW at this time each year. The series begins with the Boolooroo Cup fixture at Moree, followed at fortnightly intervals by hugely popular meetings at Mallawa and Talmoi.

I was well aware of Deane Lester’s towering reputation long before I met him in person for the one and only time. Like thousands of Australian punters and racing fans I’d been impressed by his easy style on radio.

It was going to be an uncomplicated ride for Michael Cahill when he bounced out of the gates on $2.60 favourite Why We Drink in the opening race at the Sunny Coast meeting on Friday night.

Experts say the effects of an adrenaline rush can be felt for up to an hour. If that’s the case Michael Costa was still well primed by the time the Missile Stakes field moved into the gates at Randwick on Saturday.

Kerry Parker was in a buoyant mood long before Think It Over gave him a Group 3 win in the historic Craven Plate on Saturday.

Only a student of South African history would have picked up on the significance of the colours carried by Montefilia in Saturday’s Flight Stakes.

Co trainers Richard and Michael Freedman are leaving their options open regarding the remainder of Love Tap’s spring campaign.

Fierce Impact’s original owners must have mixed feelings about the stallion’s slashing Group 1 Australian treble - Toorak Hcp, Cantala Stakes and Saturday’s Makybe Diva Stakes.