The Straight Daily News – Randwick still on track | Hunter parades impacted by weather | King Island’s reduced program
Sydney racing officials on edge despite improving forecast
Sydney can expect some respite from what weather forecasters have described as “a month of rain in two days” heading into the first Group 1 race of the Australian season on Saturday.
But Racing NSW stewards and Australian Turf Club officials will still have a nervous wait if the prediction for the Winx Stakes meeting at Randwick is correct.
By 9am on Thursday, Randwick had received 160mm of rain with 76mm in the previous 24 hours.
Up until 4pm on Thursday, another 15mm was recorded.
“The rain is forecast to continue for the next 24 hours. Our forecaster is saying it could clear up by mid-morning on Friday,” the ATC’s general manager of racecourses Michael Wood said during a Thursday morning update.
“There is a slight chance for some lighter showers there on Saturday but certainly nothing as significant as we’ve had in the past week.”
All 12 acceptors for the Winx Stakes stood their ground on Thursday with Via Sistina firming at the top of betting as a $2.30 chance.
Trainer Chris Waller says he has no qualms about running Via Sistina on a heavy track but admits will be concerned if it rains on raceday.
The ATC was forced to call off the Group 2 Missile Stakes meeting at Randwick on August 9 because of wet weather.
Wet weather washes out Kia Ora parade
NSW’s wet weather has forced the cancellation of the Kia Ora Stud stallion parade, which was due to take place on Saturday.
Scone received 40mm of rain on Wednesday, which continued into Thursday.
Kia Ora is one of a host of stallion parades set to take place in the Hunter Valley this weekend, but the stud, which stands Farnan, Prague and Captivant, made the decision not to go ahead.
“We are deeply disappointed to cancel the Stallion Parade this Saturday but the ground were already heavily sodden from recent heavy rainfall, and with more rain this week, condition have significantly worsened to the extent we can not hold the parade,” Kia Ora Stud said in statement.
Breeders are urged to contact Allison Sedgwick or Shane Wright at the farm if they want to inspect any of the stallions over the coming weeks.
Nearby Newgate was forced to postpone its parade on Thursday but is set to proceed on Friday and Saturday as the weather improves.
The Hunter Valley region has been placed on flood watch, with major warnings in effect further north for the Namoi River around Gunnedah and Tamworth.
King Island season reconfigured but doubts remain
A deadline is looming to decide the fate of a King Island Racing season that has been restructured amid a shortage of racehorses.In conjunction with the King Island Racing Club (KIRC), Tasracing has devised a reduced racing schedule for 2025/2026 of four meetings throughout January.
A starter incentive will also be offered to entice owners and trainers to a unique racing enclave that has been part of the Australian racing landscape for more than 130 years.
Traditionally, the KIRC season opens from late November and runs through until the end of January.
King Island doubts remain
Big wet causes Murwillumbah Cup postponement
Murwillumbah’s feature Cup meeting has been moved to next Thursday after constant rain made staging the meeting on Friday impossible.
The Murwillumbah track was deemed unsuitable for racing following 30mm of rainfall over the last 24 hours and 62mm last seven days.
Fresh nominations will now be taken for the meeting on August 28.
Racing NSW was also forced to move Monday’s Gunnedah meeting south to Scone with the Namoi River again set to experience a major flood. That came after Thursday’s Rowley Mile meeting at Hawkesbury was postponed due to the wet weather.
Barrier trials set to be held on the Warwick Farm course proper and steeple grass on Friday have been moved to the polytrack.
Putting a name on it
Sponsorship deals for Australian race clubs have evolved far beyond a bit of branding on the winning post. But while these agreements provide valuable revenue for clubs, what’s in it for the sponsors, particularly Australia’s corporate bookmakers?
Why bookies sponsor race clubs
Two slots filled for Kalgoorlie’s $1 million Golden Saddle
Two horses have been confirmed as starters in regional Australia’s equal richest slot race, the $1 million Golden Saddle.
Bravo Centurion and Final Siren are the first sprinters to occupy slots in the 1200m race to be held on October 4 at Kalgoorlie in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia.
A winner of the Listed Crawford Stakes and the Group 3 Prince Of Wales Stakes last season, the Luke Fernie-trained Bravo Centurion will run from the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Racing Club’s (KBRC) slot.
The KBRC has launched an innovative raffle in conjunction with its slot, offering the winner $20,000 and a percentage share of Bravo Centurion’s prize money earnings.
Final Siren has been snapped up for the slot held by Morton Racing and RAM Racing.
Straight Talk Podcast – Clare Lindop on her second racing career, Chris Russell on inspecting yearlings, plus The Pattern, breeding trends and the latest in wagering
MIXI ups PointsBet sweetener
MIXI has further sweetened its play for Australian bookmaker PointsBet, with $1.30 per share on offer to shareholders should the Japanese company secure 90 per cent of the takeover target.
Facing stern competition from betr, whose formal all-scrip offer opened earlier this week, MIXI has confirmed its ‘last and final’ offer which will see it pay $1.25 per share if it acquires less than 90 per cent, but a premium on that should it get beyond that mark.
That may prove an incentive for betr, which owns 19.6 per cent of PointsBet, to drop out of the race, and cash in on the premium, given it paid $1.06 a share for its piece of Pointsbet in April.
The revised offer is a direct response to the competing proposal from betr, which MIXI Australia said is ‘materially inferior’ as its offer is unconditional and all-cash.
MIXI, whose offer closes on August 29, currently holds acceptances for 37.12 per cent of PointsBet shares.
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Dylan Dunn back in the saddle with renewed enthusiasm
Dylan Dunn is coming out of retirement after an almost four-year absence from Melbourne’s riding ranks.
The 28-year-old, who is also a licensed trainer, announced on Thursday that he will be available for rides as soon as next week.
Dunn hasn’t ridden since suffering fibula and tibula injuries in a trackwork fall at Caulfield in 2021.
The son of retired Group 1-winning jockey Dwayne Dunn rode 270 winners from 2014 until 2021.
Since taking out a licence to train, Dunn has prepared nine winners.
“I just love being a jockey,” Dunn told Racing.com.
“I just love being a professional athlete and I am just not ready to give it up. I am really excited to make the transition back into riding from next week.”
Dunn said he would retain a dual licence but would scale back his team.
“Over the next five or six months, I will continue to drop my numbers as a trainer,” he said.
“I want to put that to the side in time so I can focus on my riding and try to be the best jockey I can.
“I just love being a professional athlete and I am just not ready to give it up. I am really excited to make the transition back into riding from next week.”
