Latest news with #KrisLees
News.com.au
7 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Robbie Dolan hit with a 13-day suspension
Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Robbie Dolan has copped a 13-day suspension for careless riding from an incident at Doomben on Saturday. Queensland stewards suspended Dolan after he restrained his mount She Ours to a position behind Estrondo when 'insufficiently clear' of Chief In Charge (Damien Thornton) in the final race of the meeting. The stewards' report stated that Chief In Charge had to 'severely check to avoid the heels of She Ours', the $2.70 favourite which finished runner-up to Noble Decree. The Matt Hoysted -trained Chief In Charge placed 11th out of 12 runners in the $85,000 3YO Handicap (1350m). Dolan, who stunned the nation after winning last year's Melbourne Cup on $91 roughie Knight's Choice, pleaded guilty to the careless riding charge. His suspension will start next Sunday and he will be free to return to riding on Saturday, August 2. Irish jockey Dolan steered the Kris Lees -trained gelding Hawker Hall to victory in Saturday's opening race, a Class 3 over 1110m.
News.com.au
05-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Josh Parr keeps his form surge going as Cloudland storms home for another first-up win at Rosehill
Jockey Josh Parr continued his late season form surge when propelling eye-catching grey Cloudland to another first-up triumph at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday. Parr and Cloudland powered home from just worse than midfield, surging down the middle in the straight to stylishly score in the Foundation Female Member Benchmark 88 Handicap (1200m). It was in stark contrast to his earlier all the way victory on Storm The Ramparts but brought up another winning double for the in-form hoop. Parr, who had a treble seven days earlier at Rosehill Gardens, endured a somewhat lean winter in Brisbane but has been riding the crest of wave since turning his focus back to his home state and is eager to keep the hot streak going. 'When a jockey is in form and confident, things just happen and they happen without you even thinking about it,' Parr said. 'You just have ride the wave and everyone is on that rollercoaster. 'You've got to enjoy it when it's here.' Cloudland was a three-time winner fresh before Saturday but the Kris Lees -trained galloper was sent out as a $21 outsider in his return. Parr would have been smiling to himself during the run with a genuine tempo affording runners back in the pack with every chance. He hit the front on Cloudland inside the final 150m and held the Joe Pride -trained Cosmonova ($9.50) to a length margin with J ames Cummings ' Fleetwood ($11) close up in third. 'He gave me a really good effort today,' Parr said. 'The speed was on which was nice and we found that three-wide with cover line and he really appreciated it. â˜�ï¸� Away with the clouds! â˜�ï¸� Cloudland storms home first up, and that's a Rosehill double to @JoshuaParr8! @LeesKris @OTIRacing @aus_turf_club â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) July 5, 2025 • Pride's crack sprinter Storms to another victory 'He is a horse that you can't bully around too much. You have to allow him to please himself and I think in that position with room, he appreciated it. 'We saw a really good turn of foot from him, albeit maybe 50 yards too soon, but I am glad he put enough of a gap in them to hold on late.' Lees' stable representative Danny Greer said the stable were expecting another bold first-up performance from Cloudland. 'We quietly confident coming here today, we were just a little bit worried about the draw,' he said. 'We knew they would run along early and give him the chance to find the line strongly. 'It was a really nice from Josh Parr as well, it's always nice when we can connection with him.' Greer indicated the Listed $200,000 Ramornie Handicap at Grafton could come up too quick for Cloudland. Meanwhile, the Ciaron Maher -trained Hi Dubai highlighted her tenacity to hold off all challengers in the Captivant @ Kia Ora Handicap (1100m). Star apprentice Braith Nock was able to control things from out in front and Hi Dubai ($3.10 equal favourite) had enough in the tank late to edge out the flying Savagery Vibe ($3.10 equal favourite) to his inside. How about that finish?! Hi Dubai has somehow held on 🤯🤯 Braith Nock on the board for Ciaron Maher ðŸ'�ðŸ'� @NockBraith @cmaherracing @Dynamic_WONIT â€' 7HorseRacing ðŸ�Ž (@7horseracing) July 5, 2025 • Snowden youngster proves a winter Force after hat-trick 'I just wanted to make sure we got that mid-race breather,' Nock said. 'It takes quite a while to wind up so I just wanted to get going at the 500m and build momentum. 'It worked out good.' Hi Dubai had been building towards another victory this preparation following a pair of close thirds at Royal Randwick to begin her preparation. The daughter of Highland Reel has now banked more than $320,000 for connections with a record of four wins and six placings from 14 starts. 'She deserved it,' Maher's stable representative Johann Gerard-Dubord said. 'It was the right set up, third up and very fit. 'Stepping up to 1100m with some give in the track, all the boxes were ticked but she had to be tough. 'We would like a few more like her. She was beaten a few times down the straight but she kept kicking and obviously the claim helped.' Jason Deamer -trained African Daisy.
News.com.au
02-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Hawkesbury preview: Heavy track conditions ideal for Stephen O'Halloran's promising gelding Mal Coupe
Local trainer Stephen O'Halloran was quite happy to see the rain this week and the track enter the heavy range for his in-form gelding Mal Coupe. The three-year-old was good on the soft when a close second at Canberra first-up this preparation but excelled on the heavy ground when he won his maiden at Bathurst by four-and-a-half lengths. He then followed it up with a solid length second behind Hawker Hall on a Soft 6 at Gosford. With that big win on his resume, Mal Coupe has been a popular on TAB Fixed Odds where he firmed from $5.50 second elect into a $3.20 favourite ahead of Duke Of Bronte ($2.80 to $3.60) in the Essential Asset + Fire Conditional Benchmark 68 Handicap (1100m). 'He loved getting on the heavy track and he was impressive winning at Bathurst,' said O'Halloran. 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! 'Even when he got beat at his next start at Gosford, he was pretty good there as well where he ran into a nice horse of Kris Lees'. 'He's very honest and gives a hundred per cent every time he goes around. You can't ask for any more than that. 'I know it's in the heavy range again this week so he's going to get conditions to suit. 'Obviously this race is a benchmark 68 which is stronger than what he has been up against but I don't think he is out of place. 'He's rock hard fit and only carriers 55 and a half kilos. He has ticked the 1100 metres box and the heavy track box. 'It's his home track and hopefully he can get across the line in front. The son of Xtravagant raced well in his first campaign including a debit fifth behind Lady Zodiac and Gunroom at Hawkesbury last October but O'Halloran always knew he would be better this preparation. 'He has definitely come back more mature than he was last preparation and he hasn't put a foot wrong in his three runs so far,' he said. 'He's a home-bred for his owners, Gary and Kay Stevenson, who have been very patient with him. 'He was very immature as a young horse so we have taken our time with him. Jumps, leads, & wins eased down on the line 😮â€�ðŸ'¨ HAWKER HALL looks another progressive sort for @NewgateFarm ’s Russian Revolution & the @Leesracing stable ðŸ'ˆ Well found in The Chase’s 2023 @mmsnippets draft by @bevanbloodstock / @AWilliamsBldstk ðŸ'�ðŸ'� #CHCbred #ChaseTheDream â€' China Horse Club (@Chinahorseclub) June 12, 2025 'Last preparation was more about education but he showed us a little bit. 'We gave him a nice break and hopefully they reap the rewards with him this preparation.' O'Halloran and the Stevenson's also combine with Rule Of Faith who makes her race debut in the Davo's Dash 2YO Maiden Handicap (1000m). The daughter of Hellbent finished in the second half of the field in her two trials but O'Halloran has seen enough in her trackwork to suggests she has nice ability. 'She is only a two-year-old and was very new when she first came in so she had a couple of short preparations. This campaign is the furthest she has got but she is a nice filly,' he said. 'We gave her two trials. The first at Rosehill when there weren't any in the provincial area and she met good horses there. 'Then she had another trial here where she was caught wide. 'I worked her in blinkers last week and she went really well so she will start with them on. ' Emma Ly has been on in her two trials and knows her well so she will ride her. 'She's an emergency at the moment but I expect there to be a few more scratchings with the way the track is. 'I know she has drawn wide but you probably want to be out there when the track is in the heavy range.' â– â– â– â– â– Trainer Amanda Turner said her promising gelding Point Score had genuine excuses for the last start defeat and is ready to bounce back. The striking black colt suffered interference on the home turn which led to further complications when fourth behind Zouripper at Kembla 12 days ago. Prior to that, Point Score sat outside the leader before racing away to an impressive win by nearly two lengths from Mysterious Master and Kilbrannan when resuming on a Heavy 8 at Kembla on May 31. 'He was very good winning at Kembla. He seems to be pretty comfortable on the heavy ground,' said Turner. 'I was disappointed last start, not in his performance but rounding the turn, he was just looming in to it lovely when he was hampered and all but came down. 'He got going again and went to sprint but his race plate shifted and he got two nails stuck in his foot. POINT SCORE (2 c Blue Point - Hill of Grange) runs away from his rivals at @kemblaraces for Amanda Turner, giving @DarleyStallions BLUE POINT a 6th SH 2yo winner this season ðŸ'µ The colt was a $150k buy for his trainer from @Middlebrookstud at the @mmsnippets Gold Coast Yearling… â€' ANZ News (@anz_news) May 31, 2025 'He could have dropped right out but to run fourth was a good effort. 'I really looked after him to make sure nothing came from that. His foot is as good as gold so he is right to go now.' The two-year-old son of Blue Point will again get a heavy track when he lines up against older horses in the Brad Widdup Racing Class 1 Handicap (1000m) with Mollie Fitzgerald to continue her association with him. 'Mollie galloped him last Saturday morning and we were very happy with him,' Turner said. Turner will head to Hawkesbury with another youngster in Over The Limit who makes his debut in the Davo's Dash 2YO Maiden Handicap (1000m). The first crop son of Anders trialled nicely when a length third to Warson in his first heat at Warwick Farm on May 26 and followed up with a win from War King in his second heat there on June 10. 'He is doing well (to get to this point) because this is his first serious preparation,' said Turner. 'His nickname is Tiny because he was so small and last time in, we didn't get to do much at all. 'We gelded him and tipped him out for a good break and he is now almost 16 hands so he has really grown. 'I just want him to have a very good race day experience this week.
The Australian
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Australian
Kyle Wilson-Taylor wins raced named in honour of late mate
It was a country race worth $13,950 to the winner but for emotional jockey Kyle Wilson-Taylor, it was priceless and just as special as claiming one of Australia's premier Group 1s. The Jesse Riley 2YO Handicap was named in honour of Wilson-Taylor's late best mate and it was raced at Coffs Harbour last Friday, exactly four years to the day since Riley's unexpected passing. It was the race the Queensland jockey wanted to win more than any other and it was months in the planning that saw him partner Kris Lees' young filly Issy's Star, who started the $2.10 favourite. • 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! When the filly bolted in to win by almost six lengths, emotions overflowed. 'I did it for Jesse, not for myself, I just know he would have been looking down from above and got a big thrill out of it,' Wilson-Taylor told Racenet. 'It was probably equally as special as winning a Group 1. 'He was a great mate, everyone at Coffs Harbour loved him. 'I can still hear his laugh, he had a big, obnoxious laugh on him and he was just a great human. Kyle Wilson-Taylor (left) riding at the beach with his late mate Jesse Riley. Picture: Supplied. • 12, 13, 12, 13, 15, 10, 16 … surely this barrier bad luck can't continue? 'When he was younger he was an apprentice jockey but he struggled with his weight. 'He sort of lived his dream through me a bit, but tragically he passed away, it was really unexpected. 'The day that he passed away, I was driving to the Kilcoy races and I was just shattered, it's the only day of my adult life that I can't even remember really. 'In recent times I had gotten in touch with Jesse's old man and he hasn't been too well, I lined it up so he could get there for the race. 'I was very emotional when I won the race, I tried not to cry but I came back in and saw his Dad crying and it was intense.' Sometimes a race is much more than a race and that was the case last Friday. Two years ago, Wilson-Taylor soared into the Group 1 club when he won the Tatt's Tiara on Palaisipan. Sadly, his great mate never got to see it. Wilson-Taylor was determined to honour him at Coffs Harbour last week. Jockey Kyle Wilson-Taylor celebrates with connections of Issy's Star after his emotional victory in the Coffs Harbour race named in honour of his late mate Jesse Riley. Picture: Trackside Photography • Dream come true, literally, for longshot Cup winner's owner 'I spoke to Kris Lees months out and I asked him to do me a solid, if he could send something that would win the race for me,' Wilson-Taylor said. 'Jesse was a major influence in my life and, without him, I might not be riding today. 'I had my troubles when I left Victoria and I moved to Coffs Harbour and he was the first friend I made there, we just clicked. 'I would finish track work and have nothing to do and so I would go around to his place and punch bungers (cigarettes) and drink coffees and just talk all day. 'He had been young and wild but once his daughter was born, he completely turned his life around and was such a devoted father. 'There were times after I had moved to Brisbane when I would call him and say I wanted to go back to Coffs Harbour. 'He would just give me a verbal spray on the other end of the phone. 'He always had a lot of faith in me which was a big thing, because there were a lot of times when people didn't. 'He is the closest person to me that I've had pass away and they still don't really know what happened to him.' Jockey Kyle Wilson-Taylor and Issy's Star at Coffs Harbour last Friday. Picture: Trackside Photography. Wilson-Taylor has copped a riding suspension and will miss Group 1 Tatt's Tiara day but will be back for the final day of the Queensland winter carnival on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday week.
News.com.au
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
‘As good as winning a Group 1': Kyle Wilson-Taylor's emotional tribute to his late mate
It was a country race worth $13,950 to the winner but for emotional jockey Kyle Wilson-Taylor, it was priceless and just as special as claiming one of Australia's premier Group 1 s. The Jesse Riley 2YO Handicap was named in honour of Wilson-Taylor's late best mate and it was raced at Coffs Harbour last Friday, exactly four years to the day since Riley's unexpected passing. It was the race the Queensland jockey wanted to win more than any other and it was months in the planning that saw him partner Kris Lees ' young filly Issy's Star, who started the $2.10 favourite. When the filly bolted in to win by almost six lengths, emotions overflowed. 'I did it for Jesse, not for myself, I just know he would have been looking down from above and got a big thrill out of it,' Wilson-Taylor told Racenet. 'It was probably equally as special as winning a Group 1. 'He was a great mate, everyone at Coffs Harbour loved him. 'I can still hear his laugh, he had a big, obnoxious laugh on him and he was just a great human. • 12, 13, 12, 13, 15, 10, 16 … surely this barrier bad luck can't continue? 'When he was younger he was an apprentice jockey but he struggled with his weight. 'He sort of lived his dream through me a bit, but tragically he passed away, it was really unexpected. 'The day that he passed away, I was driving to the Kilcoy races and I was just shattered, it's the only day of my adult life that I can't even remember really. 'In recent times I had gotten in touch with Jesse's old man and he hasn't been too well, I lined it up so he could get there for the race. 'I was very emotional when I won the race, I tried not to cry but I came back in and saw his Dad crying and it was intense.' Sometimes a race is much more than a race and that was the case last Friday. Two years ago, Wilson-Taylor soared into the Group 1 club when he won the Tatt's Tiara on Palaisipan. Sadly, his great mate never got to see it. Wilson-Taylor was determined to honour him at Coffs Harbour last week. 'I spoke to Kris Lees months out and I asked him to do me a solid, if he could send something that would win the race for me,' Wilson-Taylor said. 'Jesse was a major influence in my life and, without him, I might not be riding today. 'I had my troubles when I left Victoria and I moved to Coffs Harbour and he was the first friend I made there, we just clicked. 'I would finish track work and have nothing to do and so I would go around to his place and punch bungers (cigarettes) and drink coffees and just talk all day. 'He had been young and wild but once his daughter was born, he completely turned his life around and was such a devoted father. 'There were times after I had moved to Brisbane when I would call him and say I wanted to go back to Coffs Harbour. 'He would just give me a verbal spray on the other end of the phone. 'He always had a lot of faith in me which was a big thing, because there were a lot of times when people didn't. 'He is the closest person to me that I've had pass away and they still don't really know what happened to him.' Wilson-Taylor has copped a riding suspension and will miss Group 1 Tatt's Tiara day but will be back for the final day of the Queensland winter carnival on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday week.
