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Courier-Mail
17-07-2025
- Sport
- Courier-Mail
Grafton preview: Will Hulbert hints at a Cup upset with Dillian
Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News. To say co-trainer Will Hulbert was surprised at the price of Dillian in the Listed Grafton Cup (2350m) would be an understatement. Hulbert is adamant Dillian should have won the Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Eagle Farm on May 31 and at least placed in the Caloundra Cup at the Sunshine Coast last start and feels the $26 is way over the odds. 'To be brutally honest in my opinion, I think he has been slaughtered his last three starts,' said Hulbert who trains in partnership with his father, Peter. The imported gelding finished 10th in the Group 3 Queen Elizabeth II Cup and last in the Group 2 Brisbane Cup behind Campaldino both times before an eighth to Half Yours in the Listed Caloundra Cup. The Form: Complete NSW Racing thoroughbred form, including video replays and all you need to know about every horse, jockey and trainer. Find a winner here! Prior to those three runs, he kicked off his campaign, his first for the stable, with back-to-back wins over 2050m at Doomben and 2400m at Eagle Farm. 'I think he should have run second in the Caloundra Cup, the Brisbane Cup, who knows if he can run two miles but being three-wide for the first 1000 metres doesn't help,' Hulbert said. 'In the QE II Cup, I've got no doubt in my mind he would have won that if he got clear air from the 800 metres. 'I would have thought Dillian would have been near favourite. 'We know he can definitely run the distance. 'I've got our old apprentice, Adin Thompson, on this week 'He doesn't need good luck to win, he just doesn't need bad luck. 'From barrier 4, he's going to get a nice run and if he gets clear running from the 800 metres, I think he will be the one to beat.' Joining Dillian in the Grafton Cup is fellow import Zoology who is also in his first preparation for the stable. The son of Zoustar pleased Hulbert on his first-up run over 1350m at Doomben despite beating just three home. The five-year-old then finished second over 1800m at the Sunshine Coast and third to Eaglemont over 1650m at Doomben before returning there last Saturday with a nice win over 2000m. 'He has shown a lot of ability from the first day her arrived in the stable,' Hulbert said. 'He was going really well leading into his first-up run for us but he just had to go back to near last from the barrier because I didn't want to give him a gut buster first-up. 'He still ran quite well and the form has been franked by The Inflictor. 'I thought he would win two starts ago over the mile at Doomben then I galloped him on the Saturday then when the data that came back from the Equimetre came back, I thought 'crap' he is looking for 2000 metres. 'That's was how he raced so we stepped him up to the 2000 metres last Saturday and he blew them away. He had a really good turn of foot at the end of it.' Apprentice Rob Thorburn rode Zoology a treat last weekend and Hulbert had no hesitation sticking with him in the Cup and isn't concerned by the five day back-up for the gelding. 'I had no intentions of taking Rob off at all,' he said. 'He rides a bit of work for me and has had 13 rides for five wins. 'The quick back-up back doesn't concern me at all. He pulled up extremely well. 'The only query is stepping up to the 2350 metres for the first time. 'From barrier 1, he's not going to spend any petrol for the first three-quarters of the race anyway so may as well through caution to the wind and see what happens.'
ABC News
11-07-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Racing at new $85 million Queensland greyhound facility suspended again due to 'unsuitable' track
A high-profile Queensland greyhound racing event has been cancelled, after a track at the new $85 million greyhound racing facility The Q was deemed "unsuitable for trialling or racing" for the second time in a week. The Brisbane Cup was postponed for a week last Saturday after a "watering issue" at The Q in Ipswich caused the track to become unsafe for racing. Racing Queensland paused racing at the facility on Monday to allow an independent assessment of the track and remediation works to be completed. It comes as The Q grapples with a string of dog deaths since trials began at the track in March. In a statement on Thursday, Racing Queensland announced that following assessments, the rescheduled event had been cancelled and racing on the Q2 track suspended indefinitely. "With Queensland Racing Integrity Commission stewards inspecting the Q2 Parklands track last night and deeming it unsuitable for trialling or racing, all upcoming meetings and trials have been cancelled until further notice so further remediation works can take place," the statement read. RQ said rescheduling meetings at Albion Park was considered but "operational capacity" made it unfeasible. "As a matter of priority, RQ and the QGRC are focused on delivering a consistent and suitable racing surface before meetings are rescheduled on the Q2 Parkland," RQ said. Racing will continue on the facility's other two tracks. The former Queensland government put $44.15 million from the racing infrastructure fund towards the $85 million facility, which has been running trials since March and officially opened in June. Last month, the ABC revealed at least seven dogs had died due to injuries sustained at the racing track before its official opening. Acting Minister for Racing, Steven Minnikin said he was "disappointed for participants and supporters" that the Brisbane Cup had been cancelled. He said the facility was commissioned and built by the former Labor government, but that the new government would "make sure all steps are taken" to uphold animal welfare standards. "Independent investigations into the track and operations at The Q are now underway," he said. Labor's Member for Ipswich, Jennifer Howard, said in a statement the safety incidents at the track were "not acceptable". "The Minister for Racing, Tim Mander, along with Racing Queensland must act now," she said. "The… Q… was launched with the bold claim it would be the safest track in the country saying it 'uses the best practice standards for greyhound racing safety'. "This claim is nauseatingly repeated in advertising all over Ipswich and online." Ms Howard said any official material making those claims, which were first spruiked by the former Labor government when the track was announced, needed to be removed. She said she wanted to see "real steps" taken to "ensure the welfare of every animal involved in the industry". "The public deserves transparency. The dogs deserve better," she said.
News.com.au
10-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Racing Queensland set to pay out $1.5 million in prizemoney for abandoned Brisbane Cup meeting
The inaugural Group 1 Brisbane Cup meeting at The Q was supposed to usher in a new dawn for Queensland greyhound racing and put an exclamation mark on a winter carnival to remember. A cause for celebration, optimism and hope at the industry's brand spanking new $90 million state-of-the-art facility. But with the postponement of last Saturday's card after just two races, and the decision on Wednesday night to abandon any hopes of staging this weekend's rescheduled meeting, it will instead go down in infamy. Make no mistake, the fallout from this seismic bungle will be immense. And so it should be. When announcing that the showcase meeting had been abandoned, Racing Queensland (RQ) declared that the $1.49 million in feature prizemoney would be dispersed evenly among the finalists in the respective races. And rightly so given the significant expense and time connections – both locally and interstate – expended to partake in the carnival in good faith. But while RQ now must absorb the astronomical prizemoney expense, it carries no meaningful wagering return to support it. It's essentially dead money that the industry must now wear, along with the embarrassment and public fallout that goes with it. And the owners and trainers aren't immune from the havoc either, many staring down the barrel at their one and only shot of group race glory, now just left to ponder what might have been. • 'These are the facts': Shailer defends Winx favourite scratching A dark void left on the sport's most prestigious honour rolls for 2025, one that was meant to mark an important moment in history. When the post mortem begins on the whole sorry saga it will need to circle back well past the most recent events which led to the Q2 Parklands track being unfit and unsafe for racing. Bubbling away for months has been material concerns about the track surface management at the three-track complex which has largely been shunned by club officials. 'Trainers have been raising concerns week after week but there's been no appetite to listen, let alone acknowledge,' said one leading trainer. 'We could all see where it was heading but they just wanted to keep hiding behind reports and readings and listening to people that quite frankly just aren't up to the job at hand.' As consequential as the loss of the Brisbane Cup meeting is, it may just very well be the circuit-breaker needed for change. Since the Queensland Greyhound Racing Club (QGRC) was brought to life as a merged entity between the now defunct Brisbane GRC and Ipswich GRC, it's been anything but smooth sailing. Constant political infighting and jostling for power and relevance from within the club's corridors has been a constant theme. And that was no better illustrated than during the saga that engulfed the club during the departure of the club's former CEO Peter Gleeson earlier in the year. Then on Monday, it was revealed that highly respected northern NSW track curator Scott Higgins was set to take the reins as the track's new lead curator. It now seems for varying reasons that appointment is now on shaky ground as well. As a greyhound facility and entertainment venue the opportunities at The Q are endless. But for it to realise that potential change is needed. And with Racing Queensland and the Queensland Government demanding answers, you can expect that change to come sooner rather than later.
ABC News
07-07-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Greyhound racing suspended at Queensland's new $85 million track due to unsafe conditions
Races at Queensland's new greyhound track The Q have been suspended after the track was deemed "unsuitable for racing". It comes as the new $85 million facility grapples with a string of dog deaths since trials began at the track in March. The Queensland Greyhound Racing Club (QGRC) said a watering issue was identified prior to trials being conducted ahead of scheduled races for Saturday's Brisbane Cup. In a statement, it said teams worked to resolve the issue to allow the Brisbane Cup to go ahead, but the event was later cancelled midway. Racing Queensland released a statement saying the Q2 track was unsafe for racing and events would be rescheduled. Racing Queensland said it would complete a refurbishment of the track and a new field would be drawn for the postponed event. "A final decision on whether the rescheduled meeting will proceed will be made after the refurbishments are completed including an independent assessment of the track." The postponed Brisbane Cup will take place on Saturday. The venue, which is a collaboration between state government-owned Racing Queensland and local clubs, has a one-turn, two-turn and straight racing tracks. The Queensland government put $44.15 million from the racing infrastructure fund towards the $85 million facility. The Brisbane and Ipswich greyhound clubs have both relocated to the venue. Last month, the ABC revealed at least seven dogs had died due to injuries sustained at the racing track before its official opening. Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds president Amy McMahon, the former Greens member for South Brisbane, said it was worrying that races went ahead on Saturday, despite concerns over the state of the track. "We know that trainers were raising the alarm about The Q prior to the weekend — we had written to the minister that there are issues at The Q that needed to be attended to," she told ABC Radio Brisbane. "They already knew on Friday that the track was unsafe … but they went ahead with at least two races on Saturday." Premier David Crisafulli said he had spoken with the Minister for Sport and Racing Tim Mander, adding that greyhound racing is vital to "who we are as Queenslanders". "The minister is asking the right questions," he said.
The Age
06-07-2025
- Sport
- The Age
Racing suspended at Australia's ‘deadliest' greyhound track
Racing at Queensland's new greyhound racing hub has been suspended due to unsafe conditions – a decision made after a string of dog fatalities at the brand new $85 million three-track facility. The annual Brisbane Cup was abandoned on Saturday after two races, with scheduled meets on Monday and Thursday also cancelled at what Racing Queensland has described as the 'world's best' greyhound racing venue. 'The decision was made after the Q2 Parklands track was deemed unsuitable for racing,' RQ said in a statement. At least 11 greyhounds have died at The Q since track trials in March, according to anti-racing campaigners, with most of them euthanised after picking up injuries during races. The most recent, Beau Ripple, was euthanised on the track on June 28 after suffering a foreleg injury. That followed on from the deaths of Texas Wedge and Divided By Nine on June 16, Spring Freya on June 3 and Travis's Scrub on May 17. The former Labor Queensland government put $44 million from the racing infrastructure fund towards the facility at Purga, south of Ipswich, which officially opened last month. Announcing the venue in 2022, then-racing minister Grace Grace said track design and injury prevention experts had been engaged to help design the track. Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds president Amy MacMahon said that approach had clearly failed. MacMahon, until last year the Greens MP for South Brisbane, said The Q was responsible for 11 of the 59 greyhound deaths nationwide this year, which made it the 'deadliest track in the country'.
