Racing world

CHRIS JOHNSON will resume his association with Delbrae in the $100,000 Merial Mile at Awapuni on Saturday. Bruce Herd has been associated with the horse in his two biggest wins, the Couplands Mile and the Canterbury Gold Cup, although Johnson has ridden the gelding on several occasions.

SAM SMOLENSKI and David McCormick were each fined $200 for excessive use of the whip at Methven and Nigel McGrath $100 for presenting Camsplace Wasza without a removable hood.

RED RIVER HANOVER, a shuttle stallion which stands at Nevele R Stud in Prebbleton, became the first standardbred stallion in history to leave two two-year-old fillies to break 1min 52sec when Red In The Face clocked 1:51.6 in the United States at the weekend.

XCELLENT may be set for the $250,000 Couplands Mile at Riccarton in November after being given an all-clear to resume full work. He had been sidelined by a shoulder complaint.

LONDON LEGEND and Classic Cullen, which will clash in the Avon New Brighton Cup at Addington on Thursday, won their heats at the Motukarara workouts at the weekend. London Legend ran 2200m in 2:56 (56.3; 27.4) and Classic Cullen 2600m in 3:30.5 (56.7; 27.7). Likemesiah and Cup Day followed Classic Cullen home in a tight finish.

ROGER HOYSTED, a member of a famous training family in Victoria, died after a long illness at the weekend, aged 61. He prepared Lad of the Manor and was one of 29 members of his family who have held training licences. Hoysted had battled cancer for a decade.

LEICA FALCON, which remains stranded over the New South Wales border and unable to shift to Victoria, had an appeal to the Department of Primary Industries heard yesterday in a last-gasp attempt to save his spring campaign.

PETER KEATING and Barry Morrison, Perth trainers who took their horses over the road to work on a sand track they consider a private training area, were each fined $2000 last week for disobeying the equine influenza (EI) lockdown rules applying on August 25.

LUKE NOLEN has been engaged for El Segundo in the Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes (formerly Feehan Stakes) at Moonee Valley on Saturday. Darren Beadman has switched from Marasco to Haradasun, and the former's trainer, Fred Kersley, is still debating whether Marasco will back up in the race.

AIDAN O'BRIEN, the leading Irish trainer, has placed Yeats and Scorpion in the "doubtful" category for the Melbourne Cup, describing the visit as only a possibility after the issue of weights. Both will run in the Irish St Leger in two weeks, the first race for Yeats since he won the Ascot Gold Cup in June.

BLACKS A FAKE will probably miss the Victoria Cup in December as a result of contracting EI, but trainer Natalie Rasmussen is fully confident he will be ready for the $1million Interdominion Final in Melbourne on March 1.

LISA YOUNG, facing her third charge this year for being overweight, was suspended for three riding days at Riccarton last Friday. She will miss the Geraldine dual-code meeting on Sunday, Winton and the Riccarton meeting on September 22.

KENTUCKY yearling sale observers are wary of predicting an outcome of the September sale in which 5553 lots have been entered. A notable reluctance this year for arch rivals Coolmore Stud and the Godolphin operation to bid against each other on high-priced lots has caused market averages to ease. Last year, Coolmore paid $21.5m and Godolphin $16.5m for single lots in bitter bidding duels. The first crop of foals by former track star Smarty Jones are expected to be an attraction.

DYLAN THOMAS was rated by rider Kieran Fallon as "the best horse I have ridden" after he won the Irish Champion Stakes for the second time at the weekend. His sire, Danehill, also left the other Group 1 winner on the day, Echelon in the Matron Stakes.

GARY VILE was fined $200 on Saturday over an earlier offence of presenting Not Telling in a race in blinkers that were not authorised.

AUCKLAND REACTOR, Schulz, Ohoka Utah and Texas Hold Em were winners for the Mark Purdon-Grant Payne stable at the Motukarara workouts on Saturday. Auckland Reactor won by three lengths in 2:52.8 (58.2; 28.9). He will make his debut on Thursday.

BRITISH RACING is poised to introduce the winning margin of a nose in the next 12 months. At present, as in Australia, half a head is the shortest margin. The nose margin has been in use in the United States and New Zealand for decades.

SPECIAL MISSION, which won the Carter Stakes at Wanganui at the weekend, may have her spring campaign altered from the Soliloquoy Stakes at Ellerslie to the Group 3 Highview Stakes at Hastings in two weeks as a result of her impressive win. Trainer Mark Walker will decide after seeing how she comes through the Wanganui race.

OPIE BOSSON was quickly on the winner's board at Kranji, Singapore, last Friday winning his first race for former Kiwi trainer Bruce Marsh. Bosson fell later in the evening but was not injured.

- © Fairfax NZ News