There was a note of urgency in James McDonald’s body language as the field topped the rise in Saturday’s Polytrack Provincial-Midway Championship Final.

Whether you’re competing in the professional or amateur ranks, it’s quite a feat to win nine races in a single month. Dubbo trainer Connie Greig did exactly that in March with a team of just twenty two horses in work.

“She lifted her head out of the feedbin, walked to the stable door and looked me straight in the eye,” said owner breeder John Muir as he recalled the day Magic Time was passed in at the 2021 Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

Thanks largely to her ability to ride at a featherweight, Rachel King is one of Sydney’s busiest jockeys. When acceptances were declared for last Saturday’s Rosehill meeting she’d been locked in for a whopping nine rides.

Fortunes fluctuate in most walks of life, but in the racing game they can literally run amok. Just ask Scone trainer Luke Pepper who’s been at both ends of the spectrum in the last few weeks.

The creation of the Black Opal Stakes in 1973 triggered a buzz in racing circles. A major two year old race in the national capital sandwiched in between the Blue Diamond and the Golden Slipper made good sense.

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.

Saturday’s 1000m TAB Highway at Randwick may have produced the most impressive winner in the restricted sprinting ranks anywhere in Australia.

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.

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.

“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.

Garry McQuillan has lost a lot of sleep since late October when his beloved Tuncurry-Forster Jockey Club was given the green light to stage the opening Country Championship Qualifier for 2023.

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.

Now in her fourth decade as a trainer, Helen Page was chuffed to win Saturday’s Sunshine Coast two year old race with Trifling in the colours of long time clients and friends Frank and Christine Cook.

Four wins on the Moruya Cup programme on January 2nd wrapped up the first award of the new year for Natalie Jarvis.

Sydney’s famous Haymarket district was fairly buzzing on Saturday night when Brock Ryan and his partner Madison Waters joined an excited crowd at the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations.

The Roman playwright who penned the words “Fortune Favours The Brave” would have been honoured to know that his iconic proverb would still be ringing true on Sydney racecourses more than 2000 years later.

There’s not a race caller on the planet who doesn’t feel some degree of stress before and during the broadcast of a horse race. He desperately wants to get it right for the punters large and small who collectively create huge betting pools.

Donna Scott’s nine win haul for the month of December is an outstanding achievement for a stable of twenty five horses. Donna’s impressive tally included two doubles and a home track treble at Albury in the middle of the month.

The practice of trying to forecast winners during the running of races is fraught with danger. Sometimes horses can enjoy a cosy trip and give the impression they have a tankful of petrol, only to be found wanting when they come off the bridle.