In today's Straight Shorts, a formal move is underway that targets the Australian Turf Club chairman, former racecaller Josh Fleming lands a new role, additional entries for NZB weanling auction and another winner for Coolmore sire King's Legacy.
Save Rosehill in latest petition bid to oust McGauran
Peter McGauran remains firmly in racing’s political crosshairs with another members’ petition launched to remove the chairman from the Australian Turf Club board.
In response to McGauran’s defiance in the face of calls to stand down after a proposal to sell Rosehill was defeated at the ballot box, the Save Rosehill group is urging members to sign a petition calling for a general meeting to vote the chairman off the board.
Save Rosehill says the move is needed to restore unity to the ATC.
“Throughout this period, he has failed to unite even his own board - publicly revealing deep internal divisions at the highest level of our club,” Save Rosehill said.
“This raises serious concerns about the ATC’s capacity to move forward under his ongoing leadership.”
Save Rosehill needs 5 per cent of the membership to sign a petition to trigger a general meeting to vote on his dismissal under the Corporations Act. It has already attracted 500 signatures among the 11,500 members.
An earlier petition to remove McGauran was dismissed because the ATC claimed it had insufficient signatures.
Fleming back on track at Toowoomba
Former Sky Racing broadcaster Josh Fleming will continue to work in the thoroughbred industry after taking on a crucial appointment at the Toowoomba Turf Club.
Brisbane’s principal race caller for Sky since 2015, Fleming has been employed as Toowoomba’s racing and operations manager, effective from June 10.
“Josh’s depth of experience, his understanding of racing and the importance of country racing, makes him a perfect match for the role," Toowoomba Turf Club CEO Grant Sheaher said.
"We are proud to operate Queensland’s largest regional training centre, and it’s critical we have strong leadership to keep our racing operations running at the highest standard. Josh will no doubt help us deliver exactly that.”
Fleming, along with Brett Davis in South Australia and Colin McNiff in Tasmania, was a high-profile axing by Tabcorp under Gillon McLachlan’s sweeping changes made at the wagering and media company in April.
Autumn connection in French Derby
The Autumn Sun’s half-brother Azimpour is one of two runners for the late Aga Khan in Sunday’s Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly.
The Dubawi colt, a last-start fourth in a Listed race at the same track, is considered an outside chance in the French Classic for trainer Francis Henry Graffard and jockey Clement Lecoeuvre.
The other Aga Khan contender, Ridari, a son of Churchill, is second favourite in the race.
The favourite among the 21 starters is the Aidan O’Brien-trained Camille Pissarro, the son of Wootton Bassett who won last year’s Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and was a last-start third in the Poule d'Essai des Poulains behind stablemate and fellow Wootton Bassett colt Henri Matisse.
Waikato Stud gets behind NZB Weanling Sale
The depth of the New Zealand Bloodstock National Weanling Sale has been boosted by the addition of 10 supplementary foals, seven of them from Waikato Stud.
On top of the 134 lots initially catalogued for the one-day sale at Karaka on June 26, and Waikato's draft, renowned breeze-up sale vendor Riverrock Farm will also offer two late entries by Turn Me Loose and Circus Maximus respectively. Little Avondale will also consign a supplemented Tivaci filly, bringing its draft to 10.
“We were a little late getting organised, but what we’re offering at this weanling sale indicates the strength of what we’ve got in store for the Karaka yearling sales,” Waikato Stud’s Mark Chittick said.
The on-farm parades for the NZB sale are scheduled from Wednesday to Friday next week.
Stakes aim for in-form Honey Badger
Runaway last-start winner Honey Badger will head to Te Rapa in New Zealand on Saturday as a hot favourite for the Ambient Group 3YO (1100m), where another big performance could earn her a black-type opportunity at Tauranga next month.
Honey Badger has shown a real affinity for heavy tracks, with both of her two career victories coming in those conditions. That includes a spectacular performance at Rotorua on May 10, where she blew her Rating 65 opposition away by eight and a half lengths.
Trainer Tony Pike is open to the possibility of the El Roca filly taking on older mares in the Listed Team Wealleans Tauranga Classic (1400m) on June 21.
“We’ll see how she goes tomorrow before making any plans, but if she happened to win well, we’d certainly give consideration to trying her out at weight-for-age at Tauranga,” Pike said.
Two winners in as many days for King’s Legacy
Coolmore freshman King’s Legacy took his first crop total to seven winners with the win of Nothing But Net at Goulburn on Friday.
The Blake Ryan-trained gelding won the 1000-metre maiden on his race debut with Jay Ford in the saddle, defeating Farnan colt Farset.
Initially purchased for $65,000 at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale from Twin Hills Stud, Nothing But Net was then secured by Matthew Sandblom for $30,000 via Inglis Digital.
His victory comes less than 24 hours after King’s Legacy’s daughter, Bella Pietra, won impressively at Pakenham.
Warnings for two overseas betting companies for breaching Australian law
Two Curacao-based online betting companies have been warned by the Australian Communications Media Authority (ACMA) for illegally offering gambling services to Australians.
Hollycorn NV, was issued a warning on April 16 for allowing Australians to access its Neospin, Among the charge sheet was that it offered betting services, including in-play betting, to customers physically present in Australia without holding the required Australian state or territory licence.
Dama NV, also based in the Caribbean island, a hotbed for unregulated gambling services, received its warning on March 26 for similar breaches regarding Spirit Casino.
Both had flagrantly breached the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA) but were not subject to financial penalties. Being based in Curacao, they received warning letters instead.
In contrast, licensed operator Unibet was recently fined $1 million by ACMA for breaching responsible gambling regulations, while PointsBet was fined $500,000 for spam and BetStop breaches.
Investigation launched into final hurdle fall
An investigation has been launched after Irish stewards initially cleared an incident which saw jockey Philip Byrnes dislodged at the final jump in a Wexford hurdle, with his mount trading at $1.14.
Byrnes, riding Redwood Queen, was well clear coming to the final jump, and while the horse did not appear to make a mistake, he was vaulted off the horse.
The race was won by Beacon Edge, who scored by 22 lengths.
Lots of online discussion following the opening race at Wexford earlier, and our team look back at the incident pic.twitter.com/pSoDgYpy1E
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 28, 2025
"The raceday stewards reviewed the unseating of Philip Byrnes, rider of Redwood Queen, at the last hurdle when leading. Having viewed the recording of the race and considered the matter, the raceday stewards took no further action,” the stewards report read.
However, the Irish Racing Regulatory Board [IHRB] has since confirmed the incident will be subject to a further investigation.
"We note the position of the raceday stewards following their review of the incident. We can now confirm the matter is down for review by an IHRB senior racing official," it said.
