Well this sucks.



Unbeaten mare and early Cox Plate favourite Atlantic Jewel has been ruled out of the spring with a tendon issue.

Trainer Mark Kavanagh said his star four-year-old was found to be lame following a gallop on Tuesday morning with subsequent scans revealing she had injured a tendon.

"We will continue to assess the injury and it would be my opinion at this stage that she will be unable to resume full training for eight weeks," Kavanagh told Racing Victoria.

"It may be the end of the spring, but it's not the end of the horse."

The winner of all of her seven starts, Atlantic Jewel had been favourite for the Cox Plate with TAB Sportsbet which has now taken her out of its market.

More Joyous is the new top pick for Australasia's weight-for-age championship at $6 ahead of her Gai Waterhouse-trained stablemate Pierro at $7.

Atlantic Jewel is widely considered racing's next superstar and her loss comes on the back of the recent announcement that champion Black Caviar will be rested this spring.

Early Cups fancy Lucas Cranach was also ruled out of the upcoming carnival to undergo surgery for a bone chip.

I reckon it must be something to do with Kav. Too many of his top horses get injured.

A cracking early season race today, The San Domenico, will see All Too Hard take on Golden Slipper runner up Snitzerland and Magic Millions winner Driefontein. Should be a ripper.

WOW All Too Hard has beaten Pierro in the Caufield Guineas Gr1 8f (the Sire maker)

Incredibly All Too Hard now worth more than Pierro.

All Too Hard $21 in $8 for the Cox Plate, what is going on in the world

Yeah talk about a pi$$er. Lux were matching stake with a bonus bet if your horse won......

Needless to say I took short odds on Pierro just for the bonus.......Backed More Joyous also

Today..Boredom runs in the last undere a real light weight. Went to Seymour the day it won their and wow, brained them. Expect it to run a real nice race today.

(Bookie on rails opened @ $5.00 and out to $11.00, I loaded up and up and up)

Mosheen retired


Four-time group one winning mare Mosheen has been retired after fracturing a hind leg in the Tristarc Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday.

Trainer Robert Smerdon says the injury should have no impact on Mosheen's stud career which will begin in the new year when she goes to Japan's leading stallion Deep Impact.

Mosheen fractured the tibia of her near-side hind leg which helps explain a run that by her high standards was slightly disappointing behind Streama.

A group one winner in both Melbourne and Sydney, Mosheen scored her most impressive win the Randwick Guineas last autumn, a race in which she beat the males with authority and class.

Mosheen was purchased at the 2009 Inglis Easter Yearling sale for $250,000 by her first trainer Leon Corstens.

She was later transferred to Smerdon and in January this year a 50 percent share in her was sold to leading Japanese racing identity Katsumi Yoshida who raced the 2006 Melbourne Cup winner Delta Blues.

Along with his brothers, Yoshida operates Japan's biggest thoroughbred stud, Shadai Stallion Station.

It is to Shadai on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido that Mosheen will be sent in January to be served by Deep Impact to northern hemisphere time.

Doubt BCs sister will be anywhere near as good- look at noble mission.

Champion gelding Tie The Knot has passed away in the past 24 hours at the age of 18. Winner of 21 races including 13 Group 1's (The Chipping Norton Stakes Gr1 x 4 in a row) and amassed total prize money of A$6.2m. He was an extremely versatile horse winning Group races from 1200m (Expressway Stakes Gr2) all the way up to 3200m (Sydney Cup Gr1 x 2)

I see your cox plate winner could come over here for a few races

Ocean Park - it's a good horse but as we know with middle distance horses you do it better over there. That's why we do our 'shopping' in europe

Very odd article I just came across

Group I winner back in work after failed stud career
One of Australia's best performed sprinters in recent years has returned to work after his stud career ended due to unusual circumstances.

The former Chris Waller-trained Shellscrape won six races including the Group I Galaxy in 2010. The son of Dane Shadow was retired after the autumn in 2011 and stood last year's breeding season at Wattle Grove Thoroughbreds.

The horse covered 59 mares in his first season but when the foals started dropping in August it became apparent there was a problem.

A large percentage of his foals have been born without tails. Vets and scientists say it's an unprecedented occurrence.

Shellscrape's owner Geoff Grimish said, "We can't explain it but figure the cause of it might be genetic or toxic". The foals were being born with a deformity at the dock, at the base of their spines, where several vertebrae were missing.

With the problem putting an end to the horse's viability in the tough world of commercial thoroughbreds, Grimish put the now six-year-old back into work and he's found his way into the Cranbourne stables of Nikki Burke.

"We are very excited to have him in the stable," Burke said on her website. "He is a very well-mannered horse with a lovely nature and I am looking forward to getting him back to the track.

"Nikki Burke Racing would like to thank his owner, Mr Geoff Grimish, for the opportunity to work with such a great horse."

Group 1 mare goes to Paul Messara


Proven young international trainer Paul Messara has been handed an early Christmas present in the form of exciting four-year-old mare, Soft Sand.

Formerly trained by Colin Little at Caulfield, Soft Sand has been purchased in a joint deal by BC3 Thoroughbreds and Arrowfield Stud, headed by Messara’s father, John.

Early this year Messara headed to Europe with another promising mare, Ortensia, and was successful winning Group 1 races in Dubai and the UK with the mare.

By internationally successful sire Dansili out of a Rahy mare, Soft Sand has Group 1 form to her credit and has been purchased with an international campaign in mind in Europe next year.

BC3Thoroughbred’s Bill Vlahos confirmed Soft Sand would be campaigned in Europe next year.

Soft Sand’s last run was a half-length second to Appearance in the Group 1 $500,000 Myer Classic at Flemington on Derby Day, November 3.

Although very disappointed to be losing a mare of the calibre of Soft Sand, Little today said the owner had been talking about selling her for some time.





Interesting. Don't think she'll go to well in Europe at anything over 7f.

Saw this today Ubar


Hennessy said Ocean Park would have a couple of exhibition gallops before resuming in a weight-for-age race at Otaki on February 23.

“After that he’ll go to Dubai for the ($US5 million) Dubai Duty Free (1700m).”

Internationally successful jockey John Murtagh has been booked to ride the horse in all his track-work and in the Duty Free in Dubai, and he will ‘follow’ the horse to Europe.

“We’ll go on to Europe after Dubai. We have been invited to Royal Ascot where we have a few options, but probably the Queen Anne Stakes (1600m) is the right race.

"I’ve spoken to Johnnie Murtagh and he will stick with us right through,” Hennessy said.

He also revealed Ocean Park had been invited to Ireland in September for the Irish Champions day at The Curragh and he was keen to go there as well.