Proper Rogue and Wilmot Pass are both lightly raced 4-year-olds, excel in sprints, and have run well in recent starts. They meet for the third time in a six-furlong handicap on the Lakeside course at Ladbrokes Park in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Pat’s Nipper returned from a four-month layoff to finish a decent fourth in a handicap at Moree Racecourse in Australia on July 16. The recent outing should allow Pat’s Nipper to show improvement in his second start after the rest in a handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs at Gunnedah Racecourse on Tuesday.
Palace Pier took his record to 5 for 5 with a sharp three-quarter-length win over the 3-year-old filly Alpine Star in the Group 1 Prix Jacques le Marois on Sunday at Deauville.
Mishriff, The Summit, and Victor Ludorum, the first three home in the Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club on July 5, meet again Saturday at Deauville in the Group 2 Prix Guillaume d’Ornano.
The three-race winning streak compiled by The Sledgehammer in Australia in the last six weeks has occurred at tiny racetracks such as Warren, Dubbo, and Forbes. The next stop is Sunday at Narromine, northwest of Sydney, for the Narromine Cup at a mile on turf.
Seven horses are entered in the Group 1 Prix Jacques le Marois on Sunday at Deauville and it takes no great leap of the imagination to envision five plausible winners.
Mystic Journey is back in the Group 2 P.B. Lawrence Stakes, a race she won a year ago at Caulfield Racecourse. Trainer Adam Trinder is using the Lawrence as a prep or Group 1 races in coming weeks and months.
The 7-year-old Australian-bred gelding Buster Block started at 1 1/4 miles for the first time when he was second in the Mackay Cup on July 31, finishing 4 1/4 lengths behind Best Hoffa. Friday at Townsville Racecourse, Best Hoffa will be favored at about 3-1 in the Townsville Cup, against a field that will include Buster Block, who is likely to be around 12-1.
Gary West, co-owner of Maximum Security with his wife, has responded to the decision by Saudi Arabian horse racing officials to continue to withhold the winning purse of the inaugural Saudi Cup by urging the country’s authorities to make their investigation into the matter “transparent,” including releasing any test results that would indicate that Maximum Security had been administered an illegal substance.
The recent New Zealand import Sig Positano and The Gauch, unraced since December, start in a handicap at 5 1/2 furlongs at Sale Racecourse in Australia on Thursday with both facing key questions.
