Apache Belle, the 8-year-old Australian mare, won a handicap at 1 7/16 miles at Newcastle Racecourse in September before she was tried in three starts in tougher races at tracks in the Sydney area from late September to mid-October.
The journey to the city did no go well. Apache Belle finished sixth twice, and was last of 10 in the $320,000 St. Leger Stakes at Royal Randwick Racecourse on Oct. 14.
Romantic Warrior, the Irish-bred gelding who became a multiple stakes winner in Hong Kong in recent years, won for the first time in Australia in Saturday’s Group 1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley Racecourse in Melbourne.
While the Group 1 Melbourne Cup, a handicap that will be run on Nov. 7, is Australia’s most famous race, the Cox Plate is the nation’s leading weight-for-age race at 1 1/4 miles.
By Declan Schuster
Caspar Fownes is Happy Valley’s leading all-time trainer and this Sunday (29 October) he’s assembled a formidable hand for a rare afternoon fixture at the iconic city circuit.
Looking to improve his unrivalled 577 wins at Happy Valley, Fownes – revered as the ‘King of the Valley’ – has confirmed time after time that he’s one of Hong Kong’s finest ever trainers and he remains one of only four in racing history to reach 1,000 wins in the city after John Moore, John Size and Tony Cruz.
The Australian gelding Invincible Dash won the minor Queanbeyan Cup last November to end a 12-race losing streak. The same scenario could occur this weekend at Queanbeyan Racecourse in the Australian countryside.
Invincible Dash is winless in seven starts since May and starts in the Queanbeyan Cup at 1 1/4 miles on Saturday evening with an excellent chance for an eighth career win in his 52nd start.
Last year, Invincible Dash was 11-1 in the Queanbeyan Cup. This year, he is rated as a top contender along with Upper House and Departing Bullet in a field of nine.
Unbeaten in four starts in the last year, Equinox will be a massive favorite to win the Grade 1 autumn running of the $2.8 million Tenno Sho at 1 1/4 miles at Tokyo Racecourse in Japan on Sunday for the second consecutive year.
The Tenno Sho, one of Japan’s top late-season races for older horses, was the first victory of Equinox’s current winning streak. Last December, Equinox won the Grade 1 Arima Kinen to clinch his title as Japan’s 2022 Horse of the Year.
The Group 1 Futurity Trophy Stakes on Saturday, last important flat race of the year in England, might turn into a swimming competition. Doncaster Racecourse, like much of the country, is waterlogged. The going was rated heavy as of Thursday and things could get wetter still.
The handy racing tactics of the seven-time Group 1 winner Alligator Blood may be a vital asset in the Group 1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia, on Friday night across American time zones.
Alligator Blood often sets the pace or runs as a stalker. Considering he has won his last two starts in Group 1 races, and that Moonee Valley has a stretch of just 190 yards, Alligator Blood could be well-positioned at a vital time in the $3.16 million Cox Plate, run at about 1 1/4 miles.
Haysiri, who will have his third career start in a handicap sprint at Scone Racecourse in Australia on Thursday evening, kept good company when he was beaten for the first time earlier this year.
Haysiri won his debut in a maiden race at 6 1/2 furlongs at Scone in May, and was sixth by 4 1/4 lengths in a handicap at 6 3/4 furlongs at Wyong Racecourse in June.
