In today's Straight Shorts, three-year-old Justify filly Spicy Martini books a Stradbroke berth, Doomben placings mix-up impacts bookmakers, Godolphin youngster blitzes Sandown rivals and Las Vegas is calling Australian technology firm BetMakers.
Spicy Martini in Best form for Stradbroke bid
Online bargain Spicy Martini has earned a lightweight shot at the $3 million Stradbroke Handicap with her win in the Fred Best Classic at Doomben.
Rebounding from a Gold Coast Guineas disappointment, Spicy Martini secured a ballot-free passage into the Stradbroke after chasing down Media World under Craig Williams in the rescheduled Group 3 race.
Brisbane Racing Club and Racing Queensland officials moved the Fred Best to Wednesday after Saturday’s racing at Eagle Farm was abandoned mid-meeting.
A daughter of Coolmore sire Justify, Spicy Martini cost $8000 as a yearling when sold to Edmonds Racing via the Inglis Digital platform in March 2023.
Time to celebrate! That's a spicy win for Spicy Martini in the G3 Fred Best Classic at Doomben 🙌 🌶️@CWilliamsJockey | @EdmondsRacing | @BrisRacingClub pic.twitter.com/dotBPdx9tH
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 4, 2025
"She's workmanlike, there's nothing flash about her at all, she's honest," co-trainer Toby Edmonds said.
"We found her online. We wanted to buy a Justify filly, but they were too dear. They (Coolmore) couldn't put her through the sale, so she's just one that got away.
"She's a filly that's got quite a few issues and takes a lot of managing but she does well."
Spicy Martini has 49.5kg in the Stradbroke.
Bookies pay out on incorrect Doomben placings
Queensland racing officials have launched an investigation into how major Australian wagering agencies paid out on the incorrect numbers in a race at Doomben on Wednesday.
Following the running of the second race at the midweek meeting, bookmakers, including the TAB, declared dividends on Provoker finishing ahead of Mortal Halo for the minor placings.
Racing Australia’s results service shows Mortal Halo was placed second, 0.02 of length ahead of Provoker in third.
Win and place betting was unaffected by the mistake but the miscommunication between stewards and the TAB raceday control room affected exotic options such as quinellas, trifectas and first 4s.
A review of that process is underway.
Observer catches the eye at Sandown
Observer was hard to miss after the Godolphin homebred two-year-old by Ghaiyyath blitzed his rivals by five lengths at Sandown on Wednesday, the Darley sire’s second first-crop winner in eight days.
A James Cummings-trained stablemate of Ghaiyyath’s impressive Hawkesbury winner Crocodile on May 27, Observer appreciated the step up to 1400 metres at the Melbourne metropolitan meeting under a front-running ride by Mark Zahra.
Observer, out of a sister to two-year-old Triple Crown champion Pierro as well as the dam of Group 2 winner Estriella, is a half-brother to Group 3 winner Sandpaper and Sydney metropolitan winner Mellifluent.
Observer makes an absolute mess of his opposition to break his maiden in dominant style 😤@godolphin pic.twitter.com/jhQORd1nZ6
— Racing.com (@Racing) June 4, 2025
Ghaiyyath, a son of the influential Dubawi, has shuttled to Darley’s Northwood Park in Victoria for the past four seasons but he will not be on the plane to Australia this August.
His second crop southern hemisphere-bred yearlings sold up to $260,000 this year.
BetMakers buys Las Vegas tote service provider
Australian wagering technology company BetMakers has expanded its US presence with the intended acquisition of a Las Vegas-based betting business.
In an announcement to the ASX on Wednesday, BetMakers said it had entered into a binding heads of agreement with the Las Vegas Dissemination Company (LVDC).
LVDC is the only approved supplier of pari-mutuel wagering services on racing in Nevada and the move is tipped to provide $4 million in annualised revenue for BetMakers as it increases its North American presence.
The acquisition is aimed at strengthening relationships with major casino operators in Nevada and diversifying BetMakers’ products.
A BetMakers statement said it would position the company to improve horse wagering experiences in the American gambling stronghold by leveraging its technology and global racing network.
BetMakers is undertaking a $10 million capital raise for the acquisition and went into a trading halt on Wednesday.
MIXI determined to being ‘fresh approach’ to Australian wagering
Japanese giant MIXI said it is determined to make Australia part of its global plans, having this week confirmed it had upped its offer for PointsBet to $402 million.
The MIXI board met this week in Japan and decided to alter its offer for the Australian wagering provider to an all-cash $1.20 per share proposal, lifting it from the $1.06 it put forward in February.
A statement from the company on Wednesday said it was determined to get a strong foothold in the Australian market, having already established a minor presence through BetM.
“MIXI has global growth ambitions and intends to bring a fresh approach to Australia’s wagering landscape, leveraging its technology development capabilities and successful social betting model to overlay on PointsBet’s existing wagering platforms, to create a better customer experience and increase market share,” it said.
Significantly, if 75 per cent of shareholders don’t approve the deal on June 25, MIXI has confirmed it will pursue an off-market takeover bid for the company.
NZ Excellence nominees announced
Finalists for the New Zealand Racing Industry Excellence Awards have been announced with 28 people under 40 named across the nine award categories.
Entain’s General Manager – New Zealand Jessica Meech said the awards, in their second year, continue to uncover some exceptional talents within the New Zealand racing industry.
“The future of the industry is in outstanding hands, based on the nominations we received,” Meech said.
“They all struck a chord with the judging panel, and it was challenging enough to find the category finalists, let alone the winners and the overall Entain Excellence Award winner, which is our next incredibly important task.”
The winner of each category – and the supreme Entain Excellence Award winner – will be announced at an awards night at Tote On Ascot at Ellerslie Racecourse on Sunday, June 29.
Category winners will receive $10,000 with finalists in each category receiving $2000. The overall supreme winner receives an extra $5,000 and a $5,000 educational package.
Industry Excellence Awards Finalists:
Administration and Innovation Excellence: Emma Thompson (thoroughbred racing); Jack Collings (thoroughbred racing), David Branch (harness racing)
Care & Welfare Excellence: Lisa Kennedy (thoroughbred racing), Hannah Hegarty (greyhound racing), Shannon Armour (harness racing)
Dedication to Breeding: Brad Molander (thoroughbred racing), Grace McMillan (thoroughbred racing), Kayla Milnes (thoroughbred racing)
Equine Licence Holder Excellence: Sam Bergerson (thoroughbred racing), Robert Wellwood (thoroughbred racing), Zachary Butcher (harness racing)
Greyhound Excellence: Katie Wyllie, Matt Roberts, Jamie Pruden
Leadership Excellence: Nathan Purdon (harness racing), Robert Dennis (thoroughbred racing), Simon Lawson (thoroughbred racing)
National Racing Woman: Caitlin O'Sullivan Doyle (thoroughbred racing), Samantha Ottley (harness racing), Crystal Hackett (harness racing), Mallory Phillips (thoroughbred racing)
Newcomer Excellence: Alice Jeffries (thoroughbred racing), Billie Roach (thoroughbreds), Taleah Voigt (thoroughbreds)
Stud, Stable & Kennel Excellence: Olivia Blane (thoroughbred racing), Avinash Bhosale (thoroughbred racing), Kohen Collett (thoroughbred racing).
NSW Northern Rivers shuffle up continues
Racing NSW has made a series of changes to race meetings in the mid-north of the state, which continues to recover from major floods last month.
The Grafton race meeting scheduled for Saturday has been put back to Monday, following recent heavy rainfall and a further 8mm of rain.
The Ballina race meeting scheduled for Monday has been abandoned following 135mm of rainfall over the past week.
Meanwhile, the status of the Lismore meeting scheduled for next Thursday is being assessed, with Racing NSW monitoring the situation.
“Alternative tracks will also be inspected should Lismore be unable to race. Racing NSW will also divide races where there are sufficient acceptances across upcoming Northern Rivers race meetings,” a Racing NSW statement said.
