Marc Conners’ heart skipped a beat when Willaidow put in a couple of “wobbly” steps close to home in a Cl 1 event at Nowra in May of 2023.

The majority of racehorses are oblivious to the signs of imminent competition. Most are unfazed by the familiar pre-race routine at home, the inevitable road trip by horse transport or trailer, and the unmistakable buzz of the racetrack when unloaded at the other end.

Those who had visions of Brett Bellamy punching the air at Rosehill when Lordster won Saturday’s TAB Highway were wide of the mark.

While farmers on the western side of the Great Dividing Range are already nervous about the possibility of an impending dry spell, NSW coastal dwellers are wishing the rain would go away.

On any other sweltering Sunday the thought of a near 500 km road trip towing a horse float would have held little appeal. Last Sunday however trainer Nick Olive felt no pain as he departed his Queanbeyan stables with just one horse on board

Joe Pride has all but given up on trying to outguess Private Eye. The enigmatic but massively talented gelding has had the top trainer scratching his head all through this current preparation.

“I watched the Kosciuszko on ground level opposite the winning post with a clear view of the big infield screen,” said David McColm.

Dean Mirfin’s TAB Highway win with Marenaro on Saturday took a lot of weight off the shoulders of the Bathurst trainer.

 With just 25 horses in work at Taree, Tony Ball did well to post five wins and five placings for the month of August.

Last week brought a gamut of emotion to emerging training talent Danielle Seib. Few people were aware of her innermost thoughts as she watched two year old filly Sweet Treats

When you’ve trained the winner of a one million dollar Country Championship Final at Royal Randwick you’re entitled to celebrate accordingly…

By the time the ninth of ten races came up at Kembla Grange on Saturday, jockeys were feverishly searching for a home straight lane somewhere near the middle of the track.

Joe Pride rarely goes out on Saturday nights. A week of absurdly early rises and the grind of running a fifty horse operation takes its toll. He made a rare exception on Saturday night…

Gayna Williams was quietly chuffed late last year when asked to take over the training of Overlord from the Chris Waller stable.

The smile on Scott Aspery’s face said it all as Uzziah snatched victory in the last few strides of Saturday’s Midway. For a Newcastle hobby trainer to saddle up a city winner is one thing. When you’ve only got two horses in the stable it’s something else again.

Grahame Begg’s stakes double on Saturday wasn’t unique in his thirty year career, but it was the first time he’d won black type races on the same day in two states.

When you have only eight horses in the stable it’s no mean feat to produce four winners in a single month - and a short month at that. Long time Port Macquarie trainer John Sprague began the month of February with a double on his hometrack.

“He’s nice to have around in the stable and professional in everything he does,” said trainer Mark Newnham of Saturday’s Parramatta Cup winner King Frankel.

Albert Stapleford can’t lay claim to being Australia’s oldest active horse trainer but he’s probably running a close second. There’s a remarkable 95 year old in South Australia called Bob Hannigan.

Danny Williams was feeling a little sceptical about European horses by the time Marsabit arrived at his Goulburn stables in September of 2021. He’d had two previous involvements with imports for two very unhappy experiences.