Pierro - New Winner

South Africa will tackle the All Blacks at Eden Park on Saturday night and earlier in the day a horse named after one of their favourite sons will be vying for Group One glory down the road at Ellerslie Racecourse.

The John O’Shea and Tom Charlton trained Pierro filly Candlewick was a touch of class on show at Randwick on Friday contesting the Benchmark 64 event over 1400m and she duly saluted to make it two wins from three starts.

Champion Sydney trainer Chris Waller has 27 of the 120 entries for this year’s $10million Melbourne Cup, which equates to more than 20 per cent of the total, so it’s probably worth having a closer look at them.

A member of one of New Zealand racing’s most famous and successful families has died, with the recent passing of Tony (Anthony) Dennis, aged 86.

With a plethora of Group racing for colts and geldings last weekend and fillies to take centre stage Sydney on Saturday for the Group II ATC Furious Stakes it was interesting to see a Caulfield trial on Tuesday morning that featured six stakes-winning 3YO’s.

With so much stakes racing on Saturday it’s hard to keep an eye on everything, but this maiden winner at Wyong on Saturday was an eye-catcher for both her pedigree and ability with more wins to come for the talented daughter of Pierro.

Tattersalls Online, Europe’s leading online thoroughbred sales platform, will break new ground when offering for auction five lots who took part in the ITM Irish EBF Barrier Trials at Leopardstown Racecourse earlier this week. The sale which takes place on 3rd – 4th September can be viewed on the Tattersalls Online website www.tattersallsonline.com.

One of the most interesting young stallions that we saw on the recent Victorian stud tour was at Swettenham Stud and it has not taken long for the big baldy face of Lofty Strike to find it’s way on to one of his first foals.

The Group III ATC San Domenico Stakes was won last Saturday by exciting Cosmic Force gelding Raging Force, so this week we’re chatting to his breeder Dr Richard McClenahan of Mullaglass Stud, who has a self-confessed ‘mare addiction’!

We usually associate the Mark Walker stable with the tangerine colours of Te Akau racing, but it was John Camilleri’s Fairway Thoroughbreds colours in the frame for the astute Kiwi trainer trainer at Benalla on Tuesday carried by blueblood Frankel filly Chateau Eze.