Ray Thomas' Blackbook: Five to follow from Scone on Saturday
Ray Thomas reviews Saturday's stand-alone meeting at Scone, revealing the horses punters can follow with confidence at their next starts.
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FIVE TO FOLLOW
OH DIAMOND LIL (0.9-length 1st of 12, Race 4) had been trialling up a storm prior to her return at Scone. She had never won first-up previously and was vulnerable at 1300m but she settled nicely in behind the leaders until the top of the straight where she seized control of the race and drew clear for a comfortable win. Oh Diamond Lil is an emerging mare and will only improve the deeper she goes into her preparation.
ðŸ'Ž Oh Diamond Lil gets the perfect run and wins at Scone! @KPMcEvoy | @DavidPfieffer pic.twitter.com/L8AM0u5DwG
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 17, 2025
SPANISH FOX (2-length 3rd of 15, Race 6) won five races in succession when last in work and his second-up effort at Scone when third to ZEALOUSLY in very fast time was encouraging. He is ready to win in the right grade next start.
Zealously with a big win after leading all the way at Scone! ðŸ'¨ @NockBraith | @SnowdenRacing1 pic.twitter.com/oAuyRfOSgj
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 17, 2025
AKAYSHA (1.4-length 3rd of 16, Race 3) drew wide and was ridden conservatively early, drifting back to near last in the Woodland Stakes. On the home turn, she was in front of only one horse and simply had too much to do but still ran on strongly to finish third. Talented filly and is a stakes-winner in waiting.
â� Stardom holds on to win at Scone with Adam Hyeronimus doing the steering! @GaiWaterhouse1 pic.twitter.com/fRPQ3glZjj
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 17, 2025
GENTILESCHI (0.1-length 2nd of 15, Race 5) was having only her second run back and was out to 1700m but her effort to finish the closest of seconds was eye-catching. She charged home wide out to just miss at Scone and will be at her peak next start.
Cormac T wins by a whisker in a very tight finish at Scone! ðŸ'� @ANeashamRacing | @tomo_sherry pic.twitter.com/1beQnd7qco
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 17, 2025
Godolphin fillies THAMES (0.6-length 3rd of 15, Race 7) and PHOTOGRAPH (1.8-length 9th of 15, Race 7) had no luck in the Denise's Joy Stakes. Thames struck trouble on the turn before charging home to lose by only a half length. Photograph never got clear galloping room in the straight and wasn't tested before finishing ninth, beaten less than two lengths.
Summer Flame wins the Denise's Joy Stakes at Scone in a boilover! ðŸ'° @cwallerracing pic.twitter.com/bmIzRWhA8Q
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 17, 2025
WHINCHAT (0.2-length 2nd of 15, Race 10) was having his first start in over a year and set track record-breaking pace in front only to be collared in the final few bounds by the race-fit and in-form THE INSTRUCTOR in the Luskin Star Stakes. Whinchat can only be improved by his game comeback run.
WHAT A FINISH! 😮
The Instructor wins on the line to beat Whinchat in the Luskin Star Stakes! 🙌 @GaiWaterhouse1 pic.twitter.com/zv6EIFg0dn
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 17, 2025
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CRUNCH TIME
ZEALOUSLY (Race 6) gave a brilliant display of sustained speed to score a commanding win. He was hand-timed to run the Scone 1100m in 1m 02.13s – no horse has ever gone faster over the course and distance.
CABALLUS (Race 8) showed impressive acceleration to reel in tough frontrunner The Novelist to win the Ortensia Stakes. Caballus was timed to run his final 300m in a tick over 33s.
Caballus is too good in the Ortensia Stakes at Scone! ðŸ'¥ @AshMorgan6 | @BBakerRacing pic.twitter.com/MJNSrUxhyT
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 17, 2025
MELODY AGAIN (Race 9) broke the race record to win the Dark Jewel Classic, recording 1m 21.23s for the Scone 1400m. Her winning time was only a tick outside the track record of 1m 21.12s that was set by Cavalier Charles three years ago.
. @CoreyGoodSkillz pick of the yard gets up!
Melody Again storms home on the inside and wins the Dark Jewel Classic! ðŸ'Ž pic.twitter.com/cVM7Rb2Vz0
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 17, 2025
STARDOM (Race 3) set a new race record for the Woodland Stakes when she ran the 1100m in 1m 03.07s, breaking the previous standard set by dual Group 1 winner In Secret of 1m 03.75s.
THE INSTRUCTOR (Race 10) set another race record when he won the Luskin Star Stakes, stopping the clock at 1m 14.41s for the Scone 1300m. He broke the previous mark by 0.08s.
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WHAT THEY SAID
'That is like our Melbourne Cup. I thought if Melody Again had any chance of winning a race like this it would be at home and when she was at the top of her game.' — Trainer Scott Singleton.
"That's like our Melbourne Cup"
An emotional Scott Singleton speaks on the massive win from Melody Again! �� @singletonracing pic.twitter.com/gvuvRgtOFH
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 17, 2025
'I always love riding for Scott, I respect him as a trainer and more so as a friend. He's been very good to me. I haven't been riding a lot but he is always giving me opportunities so it's a special moment to win this race on Melody Again.' — Jockey Christian Reith.
'I rode Caballus work during the week and when you get the chance to sit on him, you understand why they have such a high opinion of the horse.' — Jockey Ashley Morgan.
'In this class of race we expected Summer Flame to get back and I was just going to hold her together. But she jumped so well and got into a lovely rhythm. The further we went the better she travelled. Coming to the turn she was on the bit looking for somewhere to go. We got the run through on straightening and away she went.' — Jockey Jeff Penza.
'If you look at Oh Diamond Lil, physically she still has to develop which makes it so exciting as there is more improvement in her.' — Trainer David Pfeiffer.
'Generally, Gai and Adrian's horses progress out over further once they start racing so they deserve a lot of credit for bringing Stardom back to 1100m.'' — Jockey Adam Hyeronimus.
A â�ï¸� is born âš°ï¸� â�¤ï¸� STARDOM ran up to her name and took out the Listed Woodlands Stakes in decisive fashion ðŸ'�ðŸ�¼ ðŸ�† This @torryburnstud bred and owned daughter of @widdenstud Zoustar is going from strength to strength and has a very bright future ✨ 🥂 https://t.co/4vsjVqLE9q
— Gai Waterhouse AO (@GaiWaterhouse1) May 17, 2025
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STEWARDS SAY
CABALLUS (Race 8) was found to have bled from both nostrils after winning the Ortensia Stakes and has incurred a three-month ban from racing. RENOSU, who ran eighth behind Caballus, was also found to have bled and is out of racing for three months.
THAMES (Race 7) improved into a tight run between WAVE BREAKER and SHOHISHA on the turn then was buffeted between those runners. Due to contact on its hindquarter Shohisha was then turned out into the running of Thames, resulting in Thames becoming badly unbalanced before that filly ran on strongly for third.
PHOTOGRAPH (Race 7) ran only ninth but was very unlucky. After passing the 200m she was checked when disappointed for a run between LADY OLENNA and GERRINGONG. Photograph then had difficulty obtaining clear running, before being held up over the final 50m and went to the line without being fully tested.
GENTILESCHI (Race 5) finishing powerfully wide out to just miss behind Cormac T. Prior to the declaration of correct weight, the connections of Gentileschi requested to view the official photo finish for first placing. Once Stewards were satisfied there was a margin between Cormac T and Gentileschi, correct weight was declared.
JUMEIRAH BEACH (Race 1) was slow to begin and was then shuffled back near the rear of the field when awkwardly placed on heels. Jumeirah Beach was not suited when the race developed into a sprint home from the 600m.
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RON DUFFICY'S SCONE SNAPSHOT
RUN OF THE DAY: Caballus had been nurtured back to health and was terrific winning with dominance first-up looking like a possible Stradbroke type. Unfortunately his campaign come to an abrupt halt with him being found to have bled from both nostrils so they have to start from scratch again.
FORGET THEY RAN: Thames didn't have the best of luck in the Denise's Joy Stakes never really getting balanced and should have made it interesting.
HORSE TO FOLLOW: Oh Diamand Lil and been carefully handled by trainer David Pfieffer working through the grades. She is a mare that is ready to take the next step into black type grade.
RIDE OF THE DAY: Jace McMurray is a new name to Sydney racing after having a good grounding with nice success on the Gold Coast. He looked very polished with his winning ride on Fiorsum Fred and should get more opportunities fall his way.
Fiorsum Fred finds the gap and powers home at Scone! ðŸ'¥ @singletonracing pic.twitter.com/Nlw7vakQEI
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 17, 2025
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( Supplied ) Valdas and his friends want to travel to five continents. Valdas (on right) grew up kayaking and rafting rivers in the former Soviet Union. ( Supplied ) The last stop on their mission was Australia, and an epic multi-day pack-rafting journey along the Franklin River. On November 22, 2024, the group of 11 is five days in. They're in the Great Ravine, a spectacular and formidable gorge. They decide the conditions aren't right to run the rapid ahead; instead they will portage their catarafts down this stretch of the river. Valdas scouts the route ahead on foot. It's after midday when he loses his footing. "I think it was my hydro-boot with its hard sole that made it slippery on rock," says Valdas, speaking to Australian media for the first time. In a split second, he is trapped at Coruscades rapid; submerged up to his chest in cold water, about 10 degrees Celsius. For 40 minutes, the rafters try to free their friend. 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( Supplied ) "How does someone's leg go into a crack and not come out?" paramedic Rohan says. "Surely there's a way — there's always a way. "And there wasn't." As the hours pass, the rescuers are repeatedly struck by how calm Valdas appears. His wetsuit is helping him stay warm, and friends bring him hot food and drinks every 30 minutes to keep his body temperature up. "You could see the determination in Valdas's eyes," swift water rescuer Adrian 'Ace' Petrie says. "Even though his body was deteriorating, in his mind he was not giving up." But despite his stoicism, there is growing fear that Valdas will not survive. "I began to think, maybe I'm destined to stay here, stuck, forever," Valdas says. Valdas was given pain medication during the gruelling rescue. ( Supplied ) His leg or his life The crews stay with Valdas through the long, dark hours of the night. His friends keep the hot drinks coming. But the elements are taking their toll, and hypothermia starts to set in. Valdas receives pain medication as the hours pass. "He was getting colder. He'd lost a fair bit of conversation. His demeanour had totally changed," Ace says. By the early hours of the morning, it is clear only one option remains — and it's the option nobody wants. "It was a big mental hurdle, realising that we were going to cut his leg off," Rohan says. "I'd never had to hurt someone to save their life." Swift water rescuer 'Ace' Petrie tries to free Valdas's leg from the crevice. Valdas doesn't speak much English, so rescuers call on Arvydas, who is a medical doctor, to deliver the grim news. "Valdas asked, 'So I will become handicapped?' Maybe, Valdas. But if not, you will die here in this hole," Arvydas says. Valdas nods his head, meaning, "Alright, do what you need to do". The amputation will take place at first light. "I prayed to God, that's all I could do. Even as a medical person, I couldn't help," Arvydas says. 'I knew I'd broken something' The only doctor among the rescue crew, Nick Scott, is tasked with amputating Valdas's leg above the knee. No amount of experience could have prepared him for surgery underwater, in the wilderness, with very few resources, on belay. The doctor longs for the support of a colleague, but the towering cliffs of the ravine make communication almost impossible. "I felt isolated," he said. As he makes his way down the wet rocks towards the water's edge, the unthinkable happens. He slips and falls. "I put my hand back and all my weight went through my hand," Nick says. "I immediately knew that I'd broken something." It's his wrist. He lets out "a few expletives", realising the amputation can't go ahead as planned. "Nick was pretty shattered," swift water rescuer Ace says. "When you're in those scenarios, you like to see them through." Communication was difficult in the remote location. The ground crews get a message out: another doctor needs to be flown in. The big question is whether Valdas will survive another few hours. "His power and strength were dramatically decreasing," Arvydas says. 'Like stepping off a cliff' It's mid-morning when the new doctor, Jorian 'Jo' Kippax, himself an experienced white-water kayaker, is winched into the scene. He feels overwhelmed as he hears the loud roar of the river, and takes in the faces of the people who have worked all night on a precarious rock platform. The doctor also agonises over the decision to amputate, but everyone agrees Valdas is running out of time. "The inevitable consequence of him staying there was death, and that was going to be quite soon," he says. The doctor lowers himself down beside Valdas. Dr Jo Kippax prepares for the amputation. ( Supplied ) Immediately he feels the pull of the water, wanting to suck him under. He wedges himself in an awkward spread-eagled position, and takes a breath. "There was a moment, a real sense of, I really, really don't want to do this." Once he starts, there is no going back. "It was like stepping off a cliff. All of a sudden from that point, you were in freefall and the only endpoint is an amputated leg," paramedic Rohan says. The moment the saw snaps With general anaesthesia not being possible, Valdas is knocked out with ketamine. Jo can't see the leg, so he opts to do the surgery with bare hands, so he can feel what he's doing. The velcro tourniquets don't work under water, but he improvises using ratchet straps. Then he starts the procedure. He cuts away the muscles of the thigh, "leaving the tremendously strong femur". "We are trained to saw through this using a Gigli saw — a fine wire which has got sharp serrations on it," he says. "It's very light, which is why we favour it. But it's also pretty delicate. "And in this case, it broke." Jo's heart drops. Fortunately he manages to break through the rest of the femur. Within seconds Valdas is free. Jo helped Valdas onto the stretcher, where he was put on a mechanical CPR machine. ( Supplied ) "Suddenly, he came backwards into my arms. I was waiting for a gush of blood, but there wasn't," he says. "The entire procedure, although it felt a long time to me, only took about two minutes." Crews haul Valdas out of the water and up a rock face. As Arvydas watches, he is devastated. "The colour of his skin, and the body … my diagnosis was Valdas is dead," he says. He returns to his camp and is silent for several minutes. He only tells his friends to pray for Valdas. The second stage of the rescue Everyone is aware that the amputation doesn't guarantee Valdas's survival. After 24 hours in the water, there is an "extremely high chance" of hypothermic cardiac arrest. Initially Valdas responds well, but then he starts to crash. He stops breathing, so the paramedics put him on a ventilator. Then his heart stops beating. "There's a little part of you that thinks that we killed him as his rescuers," Rohan says. Arvydas notices that no one makes eye contact with him. He asks the rescue crew if Valdas is dead. Arvydas Rudokas was one of the Lithuanian rafters on the trip. ( Australian Story: Tom Hancock ) "I couldn't say yes, but I definitely couldn't say no," Rohan says. Valdas is hooked up to a mechanical CPR machine before he is winched up to the chopper. By the time he arrives at hospital in Hobart, the machine has been keeping his heart beating for 90 minutes. "If your heart stops beating on the side of the Franklin River," Rohan says, "Except that Valdas died of a hypothermic cardiac arrest, and it's one of the really unique ways where you actually have a chance." Because hypothermia slows the body's systems down so much, Jo says, humans can survive "quite long periods of not breathing or very little heart activity". Six rescuers were on the ground with Valdas. ( Supplied ) The last hymn you hear before heaven or hell A paramedic has called ahead to alert the hospital that Valdas urgently needs to go on a heart-lung bypass machine, called ECMO, if he is to survive. The ECMO machine warms and oxygenates his blood outside his body and then pumps it back in, until they can restart his heart. Valdas stays on the machine in a coma for four days. As he wakes, he hears a hymn playing over and over in his head. "The last hymn you hear before ending up in heaven, or in hell," he says. "After the hymn I open my eyes and see white — a white ceiling above. I was waking up in the ICU ward." Valdas regained consciousness in hospital. ( Supplied ) While doctors, nurses and paramedics are overjoyed, there is concern he has suffered brain damage from the accident. Jurgita Rakauskaite-Stanwix, a member of the Hobart Lithuanian community, comes in to help with translation. She holds his hand and translates for doctors as they undertake tests to assess his neurological state. On the second day, Valdas surprises everyone when he speaks in English. "He said, 'I'm survivor!'" Jurgita says. "I was in tears. Nurses were in tears. It's just such a beautiful moment. And he is. He is a survivor." Before long, Valdas meets the man who amputated his leg in the wilderness. Valdas meets his rescuers in hospital. ( Supplied ) Jo also works as a trauma specialist, and becomes Valdas's treating doctor. "I felt like I had to apologise. And he too was quite emotional," the doctor says. "We both looked at his leg, and looked at each other, and said, 'I'm sorry, this is the way it is.'" Valdas knows the amputation was the right call. "Otherwise I would still be stuck there to this day. I would have two legs, but I would still be over there," he says. 'Life is a beautiful thing' In late January, Valdas returned home to Lithuania's capital Vilnius. His sister Rasa is helping in his recovery. "This accident has given me the understanding that in life, everything is possible. Every challenge can be overcome," she says. When Australian Story visited Valdas in May, he was walking on crutches. Now, he's learning to walk again with a prosthesis. Australian Story met Valdas in Lithuania. ( Australian Story: Tom Hancock ) "I survived. I endured. That's the greatest joy," he says. "As for the leg, that's not a problem. "The main thing is being alive and life is a beautiful thing." Arvydas says his friend was a legend with two legs, and is now a "double legend". "It doesn't matter. Broken leg. Cut leg. But alive," he says. A lot went wrong for Valdas, but a lot went his way, too. His thick wetsuit kept him warm. He was wearing a life jacket — without it, Ace believes he "probably would have got sucked under the rock". If it had rained even a few millimetres, the river could have risen and drowned him. The marathon rescue involved two helicopters, 500 kilograms of gear and a record-breaking 57 winches. And, communication problems which dogged the rescuers were helped when an AMSA jet was flown overhead later in the rescue to provide critical radio communications. Valdas is grateful for those who saved his life. "The Australian people were fantastic. It brings tears to my eyes when I remember their care," he says. "If it had happened in a place other than Australia, heaven knows what would have happened to me." Valdas and his friends in Lithuania. ( Australian Story: Tom Hancock ) A vow to finish what he started Valdas now has the "crazy idea" to return to the Franklin River in 2026 and finish the journey that changed his life forever. "Because that incident interrupted our expedition, the Franklin River venture remained unfinished," he says. "I don't know whether anyone has ever gone rafting with a prosthesis." Arvydas would be at his side — and their rafting party may include a new member. Jo has formed a strong bond with Valdas. "Valdas is a tremendously strong, independent, accomplished person," he says. "This idea that Valdas might want to come back and do the Franklin doesn't surprise me one little bit. "And I'd love to do that trip with him." Watch Australian Story's 'The River' part 1, 8:00pm Monday June 23, on ABCTV and ABC iview . 'The River' part 2, on Monday July 7. Credits:
