Latest news with #GregHickman
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Scone previews: Boutique fare on offer in nation's horse capital
Trainer Greg Hickman is on the hunt for a double in the Nation's thoroughbred capital on Monday with horses designed by two of the industry's most successful, and longest serving, boutique breeders. First of the pair out of the blocks is the two-year-old filly Vincetio who was born and raised at lush 'Ruane' at Menangle in the Camden district southwest of Sydney. Vincetio was retained by her breeder John Baxter who is best remembered as the owner/breeder of the crack filly With Me whose seven stakes-wins included back to back Moir Stakes, the extinct Brambles Classic and Gosford Slipper, as well as the race now known as the Robert Sangster Stakes. Of course, With Me's most memorable, nay, unforgettable win, came in the 1991 Oakleigh Plate when and where she ran 1.02:80 seconds to beat Paklani and Joanne despite jumping from barrier 18 of 18. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Baxter sent With Me to Canny Lad (the horse she finished runner-up to in the 1991 Golden Slipper) in her first season at stud, resulting in Jack and Bob Ingham's Galaxy and Doomben 10,000 winner Accomplice. As for Vincetio, consecutive trials wins at Warwick Farm and Rosehill set a cautiously optimistic tone in the camp ahead of her debut on the Kensington track on June 25. The daughter of Golden Rose winner Astern raced in behind the speed but faded in the straight to clock in with only one behind her in what was a surprisingly underwhelming effort, even to those who know her best. 'I haven't got a clue,'' Hickman said. 'I just think the occasion might have got to her. She looks a nice quiet filly but if you change her from her box to another box, she does get very upset. 'So I am hoping that's what it was and she's done well at home (since).' Vincetio will have a stablemate to keep her company on the trip from Warwick Farm to Scone on Monday from her four-year-old stablemate Annoint. This royally-related gelding was also bred by one of the sport's most successful breeders and racehorse owners namely John Muir. Annoint was one of 103 foals that sprung from The Autumn Sun's first crop that arrived in the 2022 spring. The then colt was part of Muir's Milburn Creek draft at the 2024 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale where he was knocked down to Hickman for $100,000. Annoint was the first foal of his dam, Bishop's Pond, who managed six wins from 1600m to 2200m in the USA. Included among them were Listed features in the bordering States of Maryland and Delaware, both by five and a half lengths. Bishop's Pond is a one of only six daughters in Australia sired by the two-times American Horse of the Year Curlin whose 2025 stud fee is US$225,000 despite him turning 20 at the start of the year. And while Annoint is still circa $30,000 short of paying for himself, he is getting there, albeit in instalments. 'He's a horse, to put it nicely, [that] is only average,'' Hickman said. 'If we put him through the sales, we wouldn't get $5000 for him but he won that last start. 'He doesn't mind the sting out of the ground, hence why we are keeping in work in winter time. 'The only negative is that he has been up a while but he is a happy horse and he's done well since his last start.' â– â– â– â– â– Piper happy to pay up for Cheap Gas at Scone Mudgee trainer Derek Piper will load stablemates and siblings Hannah's Bridge and Cheap Gas onto the float on Monday for the two-hour trip to Scone. The pair account for exactly half of Piper's in-work string at present, both horses foaled out of one of his former residents, Talk Is Cheap. 'We raced the mare in partnership with some friends of ours,'' Piper said. 'She only won the one race, she was never the soundest horses in the world but she had a bit of ability but we never really saw the best of her really.' Talk Is Cheap's lone salute came at Orange on April 8 in 2016 when ridden by Jake Pracey-Holmes. 'JPH' will ride Talk is Cheap's daughter Hannah's Bridge at Scone on Monday as was the case when she made her eye-catching debut at Dubbo on June 29. Piper's filly was set a task prior to the race having been dealt barrier 14 of 14. Still with only one other horse behind her on the turn, Hannah's Bridge finished sixth, beaten a diminishing four-lengths. 'I thought from that outside gate that she was good,'' Piper said. 'She's drawn well on Monday so hopefully she can repeat that sort of run 'We'll certainly ride her with the aim of being closer for sure. Hopefully Jake will have her just in behind the speed somewhere. 'I don't think Monday's race is any harder (than the Super Maiden at Dubbo) although there are quite a few Newcastle horses in the race so you wouldn't know what comes out of them.' Hannah's Bridge's four-year-old brother Cheap Gas meanwhile is on a quest for his third career win when he steps out in the Clive Duddy Memorial Benchmark 66 Handicap (1200m). Piper's cleverly-named son of Santos has struck form this preparation, deemed as unlucky at Coonamble in June and rock solid in his subsequent start at Tamworth in July. 'He did get a bit of an interrupted run there at Coonamble,'' Piper explained. 'Then at Tamworth, Aaron (Bullock) said he made up good ground that day on a track that no horses were making ground all day. 'He was quite happy with the run apart from the sluggish start. 'He's got winkers for the first time on Monday so hopefully that might just sharpen him up out of the barriers a little bit and he can possie-up a bit handier as well.'
The Australian
07-07-2025
- Sport
- The Australian
Muswellbrook, Goulburn previews: Winx and you'll miss it
There is Winx form at Muswellbrook on Tuesday. Kind of. Enter Wayne Wilkes' home-bred first-starter Bellerata. Granted, Bellerata was foaled 10 years after Winx arrived but her own dam, Uratta Belle, wasn't just a contemporary of Winx, she was once a rival. Housed on the Central Coast by Kylie Gavenlock, Uratta Belle was sent out a $4.40 favourite in the IBIS Milano Restaurant Handicap (1100m) at Warwick Farm on June 4, 2014. Try as she might, Uratta Belle finished a distant third to one of Chris Waller's debutantes, namely, Winx. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! On Tuesday at Muswellbrook it will be the turn of Uratta Belle's second foal, Bellerata, to make her racetrack debut in the Godolphin Maiden Plate over 1000m. Bellerata was among the 116 foals from the first crop of Greg Hickman's All Aged Stakes winner Pierata. Wilkes' filly has trialled twice, finishing third of four in a December 30 heat at Taree before resurfacing at Port Macquarie on June 24 to clock in a close second of the half dozen runners. 'She has just got to do things right in the race,'' Wilkes said. 'She did a little bit wrong in her trial so I am just looking for a good educational run. 'She is a nice filly but she is still probably a bit young in the head too.' It may not be too long again before Wilkes is back in Sydney on a Highway quest. The Taree master is eager to test his handy chestnut Tanglewood Jimmy in another Highway after his barnstorming fourth in his first Highway back on Spring Champion Stakes day, 2024. 'I would like to find a nice 1600m Highway for the next start would be ideal,'' Wilkes says. 'Jimmy's' immediate mission will be Tuesday's Arrowfield Class 3 Handicap (1450m). It will be the horse's second run in 2025, the best part of a month after his eye-catching third at Muswellbrook in a 1280m Benchmark 66. 'I was very happy with him,'' Wilkes said. 'He was probably a little bit on the fat side first-up but still found the line. 'The 1400m will suit him, it's just if he gets the right run.' Both Bellerata and Tanglewood Jimmy will be steered on Tuesday by Wilkes' talented apprentice jockey/daughter Shae, whose tally of winners has reached 60 in quick time, with 23 of those wins are shared with her father. Trainer Wilkes' third and final runner on the Muswellbrook card today is Sheila's Fanta Sea who boasts a tidy CV of two wins, three seconds and two thirds. Sheila's Fanta Sea will no doubt find Tuesday's assignment decidedly easier than her last start when pitched against all-comers from around the state in a 1200m Class 3 TAB Highway at Royal Randwick. 'She just goes up a little bit in weight but she comes back to the country,'' Wilkes said. 'I nominated her for Scone as well on Friday and this is quite a tough race but I don't expect Scone to be much easier. 'She's had a couple of goes at Scone and hasn't done well there, whereas she has placed twice at Muswellbrook the only times she's been there.' Sheila's Fanta Sea boasts a fascinating pedigree. Her fifth dam is none other than Sweet Embrace who still holds the somewhat dubious honour of being the longest priced winner of the Golden Slipper. The Jack and Bob Ingham owned daughter of inaugural Golden Slipper winner Todman was sent out at 40/1 when successfully shedding her maiden status in the 1967 renewal. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Cleary wants a win for 'Uncle Gerry' Trainer Joe Cleary (right) with his trainer father Frank. Trainer Joe Cleary aims to deliver the man he affectionately knows as 'Uncle Gerry' a parting gift when blue-blooded mare Juliette's Joy makes what could very well be her final racetrack appearance on Tuesday. Juliette's Joy was bred by Gerry Harvey and foaled down in New Zealand. Not only is she a daughter of New Zealand's nine-times Champion Stallion Savabeel, she is from the same family as the Harvey-bred 2003 Golden Slipper winner Polar Success. 'The wet track won't worry her, she is rock hard fit, 2100m – there's more positives than negatives,'' Cleary says. 'I have taken the blinkers off her, she's just been getting a little bit revvy with the hoods on so hopefully she can just get back and relax and find the best part of the track. 'And I think that will be it for her on Tuesday. I think she heads home after (today). 'She's been a ripper. She really cops her work and she enjoys her work and her racing but it is that time of the year when Uncle Gerry wants his mares home and I think she'll be one of them.' 'Uncle Gerry' can reciprocate by handing Cleary a present of his own should the in-form Pretty Vegas cash in on Tuesday. A daughter of Exosphere, Pretty Vegas made her way to Cleary's Queanbeyan HQ from Harvey's Baramul Stud in the Hunter Valley via Adelaide when offered at the 2021 Magic Millions. 'She is super consistent,'' Cleary said. 'I just thought I would stay away from Saturday's Highway and try and find her a confidence booster and I think I've found the right race for her on Tuesday. 'Keagan (Latham) seems to ride her really well, they seem to have clicked, and she carries weight okay. 'An outside barrier won't be a hindrance with the way the track is going to play, so it is probably a bonus drawn out to be honest, and she has trained on well since her good effort in the Highway (June 21). The Canberra Raiders tragic will also saddle-up stablemates Pick A Symphony and Crazy Atom. 'Pick A Symphony has still got his L-Plates but he is going to be a nice horse,'' Cleary said. 'Crazy Atom is screaming out of a bit of a journey and a bit of juice in the track and she is going to get both.'
News.com.au
29-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Trainer Greg Hickman to saddle up Private Legacy in 2025 Lord Mayor's Cup at Rosehill Gardens
Private Legacy, a sentimental favourite of trainer Greg Hickman, is attempting to become only the third mare this century to win the Listed $200,000 Lord Mayor's Cup (2000m) at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday. The late autumn middle distance stakes race was first run in 1944 and was won by one of the greatest mares of all-time, Flight. But since Flight, mares haven't had a lot of success in the Lord Mayor's Cup and only two have won the race in the last 25 years – Gypsy's Daughter (2000) and Polly Grey (2021). Private Legacy, a locally-bred mare, not only has the weight of history against her but also an invasion of imported stayers. A study of the Lord Mayor's Cup field reveals 13 of the 15 starters were born overseas – four from France, three each from Great Britain, Ireland and New Zealand. A talented daughter of Arrowfield Stud's boom sire The Autumn Sun, Private Legacy was purchased by Hickman at the Magic Millions National Yearling Sale on the Gold Coast three years ago. Hickman liked the yearling filly's conformation but he admired her pedigree page even more. She was last foal out of Private Secretary, the former talented mare who was a direct descendant of the legendary American superhorse Secretariat. Private Secretary, who Hickman trained to win eight races including the Magic Millions Fillies and Mares for more than $1 million prizemoney, died just days after giving birth to her The Autumn Sun filly. 'We had sold Private Secretary to Arrowfield after she retired and they sent her to Snitzel twice,'' Hickman said. 'I trained her first foal called Charteris who went well but had a few knee issues. 'We missed out on her second foal then when I saw her filly by The Autumn Sun, I was hoping we could buy her and we did for $90,000.'' Private Legacy is now a rising five-year-old mare but Hickman, the trainer and part-owner, has raced her sparingly with the mare having just her 22nd start in the Lord Mayor's Cup. Although she has only won twice, Private Legacy has shown glimpses of real ability including her close second in the Group 1 Australasian Oaks at Morphettville last year. Hickman took Private Legacy back to Morphettville earlier this month where the mare scored a career-best win in the Listed Centaurea Stakes (2017m). Private Legacy cuts the corner finding the fence to charge home! @BMelham — 7HorseRacing ðŸ�Ž (@7horseracing) May 10, 2025 • 'I felt that was the right race for her, it was a target race,'' Hickman said. 'But that was only her fourth run back this preparation and she has trained on really well since Adelaide. She's fit and well and gets into Saturday's race on the limit (54kg).'' The trainer has booked emerging apprentice Jace McMurray to ride Private Legacy on Saturday. Hickman met McMurray for the first time at the Canterbury midweek meeting when the young apprentice rode the trainer's gelding Unwritten to an unplaced finish. 'I think Jace has the potential to be a very good apprentice,'' Hickman said. 'Although he can't claim in the Lord Mayor's Cup, I'm happy to have him on my mare.'' Private Legacy and Bacio Del Mist are the only mares in the 15-horse Lord Mayor's Cup field on Saturday and are rated $5.50 and $81 respectively in early TAB Fixed Odds betting. Topweight Major Beel, winner of the 2023 ATC Australian Derby, is the $5 favourite to give Hall of Fame trainer Gai Waterhouse her sixth win in the race after Eliyass (2024), Ecuador (2016), Kinnersley (2012), Common Objective (2010) and Stoway (2004). Waterhouse, who trains in partnership with Adrian Bott, also has Sir Lucan ($26) resuming in the Rosehill stakes race. The quintet share something in common having started their race careers in Europe, just like the stable's previous winners of the race, Hopeful (2022) and Bois D'Argent (2023).
