Joe Pride-trained sprinter Storm The Ramparts laps up heavy conditions in Randwick victory
Top jockey Adam Hyeronimus produced another tactically perfect frontrunning ride on Storm The Ramparts in the Taylor Construction Handicap (1000m) to complement his earlier winning effort on unbeaten two-year-old filly Agarwood.
For trainer Joe Pride, it was more a case of maximising what was a gilt-edged opportunity for Storm The Ramparts given the heavy track conditions.
•
'This horse is a very good wet-tracker, that was the big ace up his sleeve today,'' Pride said.
'I was pleasantly surprised to get here to see how wet the track was and the times they were running as it gave Storm The Ramparts his chance to win.
'With a horse like him, we have got to take advantage of these opportunities because they might only get one or two each preparation.
'We probably won't get a track this wet again for him this campaign but we will keep chasing the wet tracks with him.''
Storm The Ramparts leads from start to finish and wins at Randwick! ðŸ'Œ
Hippo gets his double! ✌� @PrideRacing pic.twitter.com/BY5yFVTQip
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 24, 2025
Storm The Ramparts ($7.50) held off the late charge of Grand Larceny ($5) to win by a neck with Hi Dubai ($8.50) a half-length away third.
Winning Proposal was backed into $4.20 favouritism but after going wide on the turn, she failed to run on as well as expected and laboured to finish only seventh, beaten about four lengths.
The winner stopped the clock at 1m 01.33s which was nearly six seconds outside the course record set by another Pride sprinter, Eduardo, and reflective of the extremely heavy track conditions.
There was also more than 16 lengths between Storm The Ramparts and the last-placed finisher, Big Me, which is a huge disparity in a 1000m race but also an indication of the testing track surface.
Storm The Ramparts is a half-brother to stablemate Dragonstone, a last-start winner of the Listed Hawkesbury Rush.
Although Storm The Ramparts might not be quite as good as his older sibling, the four-year-old is proving a great moneyspinner and is building a good race record.
Storm The Ramparts scored his third career win (and eight minor placings) from just 14 starts and took his overall prizemoney to nearly $300,000 – a considerable return on the $85,000 connections paid to purchase the horse at the 2022 Magic Millions Yearling Sale.
Pride was also more than satisfied with the closing effort of Testator Silens to finish sixth, beaten just over two lengths by Storm The Ramparts.
'Testsator Silens has run really well and he will be back here at Randwick for a 1300m race in two weeks,'' Pride said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
17 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Behind the scenes in Kia's Tasman Town
How many sports stars does it take to convince Australians that Kia can make a good, off-road, dual cab ute? The South Korean car manufacturer – better known for their sensible SUVs – clearly thinks the answer is a lot. Last week, for the launch of its first-ever ute, the Tasman, Kia shipped Alex Volkanovski, Lance Franklin, David Boonie, Damien Oliver, Alfie Langer, Steve Waugh, Dane Swan, Nathan Hindmarsh and Darren Lockyer to a small country town in the Central West of New South Wales. A truly impressive bevy of athletes. Some of the biggest names in Australian sport. And they were all brought together to participate in what might best be described as a night of improvisational theatre. No, really. For the launch, Kia took over Sofala, a historic gold rush town with a population of around 100 people, and transformed it into 'Tasman Town', the imaginary destination featured in their ads. I was one of a few dozen motoring writers and media types who were invited along for the event. On arrival, we were greeted as though we were newcomers to the area, interested in buying a local property. To help us get acquainted with the town, an actor, playing the local mayor, gave us a tour of the main street. Along the way, we were introduced to a few of the 'residents'. These were, of course, the athletes who were in character as … well … themselves. But versions of themselves who drove Kias, worked trades, and lived in a fake town. Frankly, I call this non-consensual improvisation. Usually, I would gnaw off my own hand to avoid it. Kia, perhaps being one step ahead of dissidents like myself, were mercifully quick to distribute beer and wine to prevent any such drastic actions. Certainly, some athletes were more comfortable in their acting roles than others. UFC Featherweight Champion Alex Volkanovski – pretending to a butcher – was a standout performer. I suppose if your actual job is beating men into a pulp with your knuckles, all other gigs are comparatively easy. A few actual Sofala residents were also involved in the show. They had the important job of walking ponies and goats up and down the street. You know, just like any ordinary country town. The rest of the locals had gathered at the pub, schooners in hand, to watch the palaver unfold. Their faces were inscrutable as the media pack shuffled past. Once the mandatory theatre component of the evening had concluded, guests and the sporting icons were free to mingle. This, I realise, would be a dream event for many Australians. Unfortunately, as someone with terrible facial memory and a dearth of knowledge on any non car-related sport, I was in a personally-tailored horror story. Every conversation was socially fraught. Did this person look familiar because I've met them at a car launch? Or are they an Australian sporting legend whom I should absolutely know? There were a million ways for a person like me to socially embarrass themselves. Inevitably, it wasn't long before I found one. During the evening's formal dinner, the person assigned to the place next to me sat down, shook my hand and asked, 'Who are you?'. This was an aggressive start to a conversation, I thought. I fired back, 'I'm Stephanie, who are you?' To which he replied, very politely, that he was Nathan Hindmarsh, one of the footy players. Also, he clarified, he'd asked me how are you, not who are you. Hindmarsh then proceeded to further shame me by being thoroughly funny and charming for the rest of the evening. The Tasman launch was an extravaganza, but I was obviously not the target audience. The fact that no female sporting stars were present – even though they featured in some of the ads – is further evidence of this fact. If Kia has a vision board for the Tasman, dead centre is a caricature of an Aussie tradesman. Their method for appealing to these men – getting high-profile sporting heroes to pretend to be tradies – is borderline patronising. But Kia is not in a position to take any serious creative risks. They need the Tasman to work in Australia. This is no small task. Kia is entering a very established, highly-competitive dual cab ute market late in the day, and with a car that is being thoroughly panned online for its boxy, brutalist design. Kia has decided to align itself with winners.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
‘The doctor said I'd won the lottery': Appendicitis may have cost Jack Howarth an Origin debut, but the health scare was a blessing in disguise
Storm centre Jack Howarth probably would have made his State of Origin debut this year had it not been for two separate setbacks, but he says everything happens for a reason after doctors told him he'd 'won the lottery'. Howarth was in the mix for the series opener but was ruled out of contention due to a dislocated shoulder that opened the door for Roosters rookie Robert Toia to make his Maroons debut after just 10 NRL appearances. The powerful Storm centre returned and was part of Queensland's extended squad for game two, with Howarth expected to eventually get his shot given he represented his state in the under 18s and under 19s. The door was open for him to get his crack when Kalyn Ponga went down with a foot injury, but it wasn't meant to be for Howarth, who was struck down with appendicitis just days before the game three squad was announced. Broncos bolter Gehamat Shibasaki was picked at left centre and did a fine job for Billy Slater as the Maroons clinched the series in Sydney, but it could have easily been Howarth celebrating in the sheds with his teammates. 'It's hard to tell. There were a few conversations but there was no definite call (from Slater),' Howarth told the NewsWire. 'I was just happy that I was in the picture to be selected. Everything happens for a reason and maybe it wasn't my time to play. I'm just glad they went out and won, and Shibasaki has been playing great footy and he has an unreal story, so he deserved it. 'As much as it sucked at the time, it worked out that I was able to get my issues fixed, so it wasn't a big loss.' Those issues could have become very serious, with Howarth revealing how quickly things turned for the worse after initially feeling unwell on Monday, June 23, before he had his appendix removed the next day and was out of hospital on the Wednesday. 'Mine was instant,' he replied when asked about the pain, with the Maroons side for the decider named a week later. 'I was lying in bed and I thought I had eaten something off and it was just stomach pain. But it started to get a lot sharper, so I drove myself to emergency that night. 'It was too much of a big line, so I thought 'stuff it' and I just went home. 'I went and told the club doctor my symptoms and she decided to get me checked. They did a little ultrasound, saw it and told me I had appendicitis and needed surgery that day. 'It was such a fast process but I just had to wait for the wounds to heal.' While appendicitis is nothing new for footy players, Howarth says there were other concerns that showed up after the initial ultrasound. He only missed two club games, but it could have been a lot worse if he hadn't been checked out. Jack Howarth is out this week after requiring surgery to have his appendix removed. Storm expect him to miss at least a few weeks (+ Origin 3). Return time can vary, but most are in the 3-5 week range. Quickest - Adam Reynolds returned just 2 weeks post appendix removal in 2017. — NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) June 25, 2025 'I missed a bit of footy, which sucked, but they also found a bit of internal damage while I was there, so it was a blessing in disguise that I had my appendix checked,' he said. 'I don't know exactly what the other stuff was, but the doctor said I'd won the lottery and that down the track it could have been a lot worse if they hadn't spotted it. 'Everything happens for a reason and I'm just lucky that they found that problem.'
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Melbourne captain Max Gawn says he didn't get organised fast enough in the frantic loss to St Kilda
Melbourne captain Max Gawn concedes he failed to 'nail' the dramatic final few moments of Sunday's stunning loss to St Kilda that has put coach Simon Goodwin's future in the spotlight. But the Demons skipper was adamant Goodwin was his 'favourite coach' and said the blame should lay with the players as he broke down exactly what went wrong. Gawn tried to organise his troops after some centre-circle confusion when St Kilda was given a 6-6-6 free kick, with scores level and just eight seconds on the clock. But that organisation didn't secure an opponent for Saints star Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, who kicked his second goal in the final minute of the game to deliver his team the greatest comeback in VFL/AFL history and a six-point win with a goal after the siren. 'I'm probably the only one on the field who knows that we got a warning in the second quarter; they tell the ruckman,' Gawn said. 'We were about to step in the circle, and I realised we had about two seconds to find a winger; there wasn't a winger on the other side. From there, I didn't nail it. 'In the end, it's three seconds, so I don't have much time, but I sent (Jack Viney) to the wing and tried to get a forward in – but it was a back that we had too many of. After that free kick happened, we didn't nail it as well.' Melbourne gave up a 46-point three-quarter-time lead as the Saints charged home with nine final quarter goals, including the last two to Wanganeen-Milera that has been labelled the best 60 seconds of football ever. Gawn, who said he didn't play 'my best quarter' in the final stanza, said while it looked like the Demons 'shut up shop', it was just too hard to halt St Kilda's momentum. 'We played pretty well for the first three quarters, but they kicked two or three early in the fourth (quarter) and it's pretty hard to stop momentum, especially the way the Saints were playing,' he told Triple M's Mick in the Morning. 'We started to lose the centre bounce, and then when it's three goals to play with that comeback, it's extremely hard to stop. Leaders, most importantly, were responsible for a bit of that. I didn't play my best last quarter.' The Demons tried to break down the final few minutes in the aftermath, which Gawn said had happened too many times, including against Collingwood when the captain's kick across goals in the dying seconds resulted in a major to the Magpies. Gawn said it seemed his team 'don't know how to win' close games. 'We spent 10 minutes in the rooms before Goody called us in. We talked among ourselves for a little bit, and the mechanism of the last play and try to find out what happened,' he said. 'There's been five times this year where we haven't known how to win; Giants in the first game we lost by a kick-out, Collingwood we lost by a ruckman trying to kick a torp across goal, and then last week against Carlton we stuffed up. Right now, we don't know how to win in those close games which comes down to resilience and ruthlessness. 'We are trying our backsides off, and we all really want to win. We have to learn how to win. We will talk the talk again in training; all our talk is there and then we get to the point, and we don't do it.'
