Friday Flash – 8th November 2024
BELLATRIX STAR – 5th Raceday win – Caulfield 12th October 2024 – Craig Williams aboard
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Headline News
BELLATRIX STAR races for A$3m in the Group One Darley Championship Sprint
ENTAIN Edition – October
Four take aways from the US election
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Fortuna has three runners on Saturday, two in NZ, one in Victoria
Te Rapa – Saturday
RAGAMUFFIN contests the R75 1600m event – race 8 at 4.37 pm – rider still to be declared but will jump from barrier 13. Produced strong finishing sectionals 1400m at Otaki last start, up to 1600m suits here – can feature in this with some luck from wide barrier and at big odds – TAB says “improver here. Wide draw – has one second up.” – showing odds of $23/$6
Riccarton – Saturday
VIVACIOUS contests the R75 1400m event – race 6 at 2.55pm – Liam Riordan crosses the Tasman again to ride from barrier 13. Brilliant winner last time from a hopeless position on the turn – up in grade and has to contend with a wide draw again – but look for her usual powerful finishing burst and a certainly a very strong each way chance here – TAB says “class riser – can win again here wide draw and all – best on dry ground” – showing odds of $4/$1.75
Flemington – Saturday
BELLATRIX STAR runs in the Group One Darley Champions Sprint – race six at 3.50 pm Aus time (5.50 pm NZ time) with Mick Dee back aboard to ride down the Flemington Chute. Backs up after a strong performance running second in the group one Coolmore on Derby day – meets huge opposition here against the older horses with Everest winner Bella Nipotina, Everest runner up Giga Kick and Overpass, but gets big weight relief under the weight for age scale and is racing in very good form – Strong each way chance -TAB says “ran very well in hot Group One Coolmore and that should hold up” – showing odds of $12/$3.50
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Other News
BELLATRIX STAR races for A$3m in the Group One Darley Championship Sprin
t“ALI”, as she is known to her 70 strong ownership group, has had a brilliant spring in Melbourne winning three times at Black type level and running second at her first attempt at Group One level last Saturday – she definitely meets her biggest challenge here taking on some of the best sprinters in Australia at Weight For Age but has not put a foot wrong since her run last week – she went straight to the beach after the race where she would be at the beach in the morning, paddock during the day and boxed at night – she returned to the stables on Wednesday and trainer. Mark Walker reports that he cannot fault her in any respect and says “she is certainly ready to give the big guns a shake on Saturday”. Mick Dee who has won on her twice already, replaces Blake Shinn as Blake cannot ride at 51.5kgs
Click HERE to see a video clip of her in the trotting ring at Cranbourne yesterday morning with comments from Mark Walker
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ENTAIN Edition – October
See below the latest Entain Edition from Cameron Rodger and it has some interesting news about the growth in betting turnover from harness. One of the things I’ve noticed with Entain is that they are very active in recommending and assisting the racing authorities with programming and incentives. They have certainly done that emphatically with Thoroughbred and it looks like the initiatives they have helped to implement inharness are paying dividends as well
| Welcome to October’s Entain Edition
This month, I want to highlight the impressive growth in harness racing. When we took over in June 2023, the code was in steep wagering decline despite strong fundamentals. Weekly active numbers and a dedicated fanbase indicated there was potential for significant growth but the main issue was inconsistency. The code had lost its predictable weekly structure and had allowed it to become too hard for certain horses to find competitive fields, making it challenging for fans and casual punters to follow races, form, and horses. Working with Harness Racing New Zealand (HRNZ), we developed a strategy to restore consistency. We introduced, as examples, a steady and consistent Friday night racing slot (and established Friday Night Lights on Trackside to support this), added Heats and Finals series to create continuity in form, and established Tuesday racing to showcase competitive matchups within similar classes. Since making these changes, harness racing has outperformed even our highest expectations. Turnover, actives, and gross revenue have all seen double-digit growth. Key metrics, including starter numbers, horse retention rates, and the average betting days per customer, have also improved markedly. Most importantly, this growth is sustainable, showing steady improvement each week. What we have seen out of harness racing in these past few months stands as one of the sharpest turnarounds we’ve seen in any sporting code from a wagering perspective—a true credit to HRNZ under Brad Steele’s leadership, with support from John Mooney, driving this transformation forward. Alongside, HRNZ has augmented the feature race calendar with two $500,000 slot races for 3-year-old pacers and trotters during New Zealand Cup Week, and we were very pleased to secure He’s From Heaven for our slot in The Velocity. Read more about that below. I encourage you to share or forward this newsletter to anyone in the industry who you think might like to read this. They can sign up to receive the Entain Edition directly by contacting communications@entaingroup.co.nz. If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, please contact the same address. |
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Four take aways from the US election
1.Harris delivered the celebrities
2.Trump delivered the policies
3. The US voters delivered the verdict
4. The sun is still rising in the morning
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Guest Selector – Des Coppins
Here is what Des has to say this week for our readers
Good morning John and Team
As the people from the tour depart from Melbourne this morning in different routes back to NZ may I add that tour number 35 for me was just as an enjoyable as tour number one back in 1987.
So many memories they’ll take with them from the tour outside the brilliant racing including the visit to the Cranbourne stables of Te Akau where they caught up with David Ellis, Ben Gleeson, Mark Walker and Reece Trumper who gave them a guided tour. Bellatrix Star, in her stabling box, was caught on camera many times after her brilliant run in the Coolmore.
As the curtain falls this Saturday on what should be another outstanding day at Flemington which I’m really looking forward to the focus turns on Riccarton and Te Rapa back home.
Here are my three to follow this weekend and maybe beyond.
Petrucci, race four Te Rapa
This is the race for her to recapture some cracking form.
She’s a notorious back marker who can put in some telling late strides and she did this last time here behind Shoes and company to record the second quickest final sectionals. The extra 100m will suit. Hopefully she extends her finishing burst this time to get the job done. She’s well weighted with the in form apprentice Ace Lawson Carroll on board.
Livid Sky, race 8 – Te Rapa
She’s also ready to win.
Her last start second at Ellerslie reflected the run prior on this track where she registered the quickest sectionals from the 800 to the post. Therefore the follow up run at Ellerslie came as no surprise. We should be able to back her with confidence again.
South of Houston, race 6, Riccarton.
This mare was racing in the spring carnival in Melbourne 12 months and while she was unplaced in the group 3 on Derby Day she did subsequently beat yesterdays impressive winner at Flemington Running By at the following Sandown Classic carnival.
She was also a winner down the straight six at Flemington in May of 2023.
I’m not sure how forward she is but on rare ability and the fact Terri Rae has a great record fresh up with her runners it may come as no surprise if she did the business at Riccarton on Saturday.
Des Coppins
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