Category Archive

LAZARUS GETS FIRST INVITE TO MIRACLE MILE Champion pacer Lazarus is the first horse into the Ainsworth Miracle Mile following a devastating win in the $200,000 Cordina Chicken Farms Chariots Of Fire at Menangle on Saturday night, February 11. The New Zealand four-year-old, trained by Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen, led for the last 800m and held off stablemate Our Waikiki Beach in a career-best 1:49 for the mobile mile. The win earned him an automatic invite to the $750,000 Miracle Mile at Menangle on February 25, which Purdon wasted no time in accepting. That means Lazarus will not have …

OVERPORT LODGE NSW SATELLITE STABLE ON HORIZON Mark Jones is in the final stages of making a change that could take his training career to a whole new level. The Burnham horseman is going through the process of setting up a stable in Sydney in an effort to maximise returns for his owners and ensure longer, more fruitful, racing careers for their horses. After a lot of testing the water and planning Jones will look to, in the next few weeks, confirm that he will establish a stable at the same property as leading trainers, Shane and Lauren Tritton at …

GRANT HATTON BUYS FILLY FROM SAVEPATROL FAMILY Overport Lodge trainer Mark Jones secured a close relative of star pacer Saveapatrol and promising 2YO The Bus for owner Grant Hatton at the Australia Pacing Gold Melbourne sale on Sunday, February 5. The filly, by recently deceased sire Mach Three from Rigaleto Franco, was a $16,000 buy. “We have left her in Melbourne be broken in by Dave Karr and then we will bring her to New Zealand,” Mark said. She is eligible to return to Australia for the Australasian Breeders Crown, Vicbred and Vicbred Platinum series. Her dam Rigaleto Franco is …

ROCKER BAND RATES 1:52.1 IN GROUP ONE LADYSHIP CUP In a virtual action replay of the previous weekend, the smart Greg Brodie-owned mare Rocker Band lowered her fastest mile rate again, this time to 1:52.1, with her first Australian Group One win. The 5YO Rocknroll Hanover-Mainland Banner mare, transferred from the Mark Jones stable to the care of Barry Purdon for logistical reasons for her Australian racing, led from the seven gate for Zac Butcher in the 1720m Alabar Ladyship Cup at Melton, on Saturday, February 4. She held the All Stars mare A Piccadilly Princess by half a neck …

ARIADNE LAVRA SHOWS FITNESS FOR NEVELE R FILLIES SERIES Promising Overport Lodge filly Ariadne Lavra is Ashburton-bound on Saturday for the first $14,999 Nevele R Fillies Heat after a sharp C1-2 win at Invercargill on Saturday, January 28. Ariadne Lavra, the only horse to defeat promising colt Raukapuka Ruler under race conditions, showed her fitness for this week with a classy south display. The daughter of Art Major and Hilarious Lavra settled sixth off the 20m line but some distance from the leader Highland Girl, who had them running from the outset. Driver Sam Ottley found a one-one sit on …

TRANS-TASMAN SATURDAY DOUBLE FOR QUEENSLAND OWNER Overport Lodge pacer Whittaker landed the first leg of a notable Australasian double for Southport (Queensland) owner Greg Brodie at Invercargill on Saturday. Mr Brodie’s colours were also to the fore with top mare Rocker Band at Melton, Victoria, on Saturday night, when she lowered her career best mile rate to 1:52.3 when winning a $18,000 M1-2 pace over 1720m. Rocker Band, taken across the Tasman for a crack at some feature mares races by Clevedon trainer Barry Purdon in February, will return to Mark Jones for breeding at the end of her race …

GLENFERRIE CLASSIC TO TARGET WAIKOUAITI CUP Cromwell Cup winner Glenferrie Classic is to be freshened for another grass track country cup target, the $14,000 Waikouaiti Cup (2600m) at Courage Under Fire Raceway on Sunday, February 12. “She will wait for the Waikouaiti Cup as its hard to place a now four-win mare,” said Overport Lodge trainer Mark Jones. The Mornington Tavern-sponsored cup at Waikouaiti is suitable, as like at Cromwell, is over 2600m from a stand start. Despite scrambling away at the start, Glenferrie Classic soon hit her straps with driver Sam Ottley finding a perfect one-out and one-back trail …

ARANNALEA CLEARS OUT AT TIMARU Timaru co-owned squaregaiter Arannalea made a stunning return to racing in the hands of trainer Mark Jones at the Phar Lap Raceway on Friday, January 6, 2016. The former promising 2YO trot filly made a mess of her maiden rivals in the Equine Veterinary Services Trot. First-up for 11 months and without the benefit of a lead-up trial, she put in one nervous step at the start but soon had the front for Mark. She was revelling in her work for much of the stand start 2600m trot. Arannalea spreadeagled the field early in the …

MASTER LAVROS SOUND AFTER BEING NOSED OUT AT OMAKAU Overport Lodge trainer Mark Jones says top trotter Master Lavros has pulled up well from his surprise defeat by Monty Python in the free-for-all trot at Omakau on Monday. “He’s pulled up good and sound,” Mark said. “We will look at the local free-for-all races with him. We are just happy to have him back racing,” he said. Given veterinary opinion was that Master Lavros was unlikely to race again after suffering a bad suspensory injury at Auckland just over 12 months ago, the former two-time Dominion Handicap winner has defied …

GLENFERRIE CLASSIC TAKES 1:55.9 MILE RECORD AT WINTON Glenferrie Classic, who earned a nice mile mark of 1:55.9 at Winton on December 29 to compliment her classic pedigree, could join stablemate Perissa in a tilt for Cromwell Cup grass track honours on Saturday, January 6. Perissa is also Central Otago-bound after her bold grass track third behind Johnny Eyre and Take After Me in last Friday’s Reefton Cup. Glenferrie Classic opened her 4YO racing with first-up grass track win at Methven last month. The impeccably-bred daughter of champion sire Bettor’s Delight and 2005 New Zealand Cup winner Mainland Banner (Christian …