Across The Ditch: Matariki in NZ, the stars are out to play in Australia
Across the Ditch • June 20th, 2025 8:50 AM
Harness Racing - Adam Hamilton
The stars come out to play, especially at Albion Park this weekend.
Champion pacer Leap To Fame is back to cap his preparation for next month’s Brisbane Inter Dominion when he tackles the Lucky Creed over 2680m at Albion Park.
While there are some talented rivals like Wisper The Secret (gate nine), Ripp (one) and Beach Ball (eight), Leap To Fame should be far too good, especially over a gruelling staying trip.
This Albion Park meeting sees the first real force of Luke McCarthy’s team in Brisbane.
The champion NSW trainer is holding back stable star Don Hugo, but has big guns like Eye Keep Smiling and Hesitate engaged.
Eye Keep Smiling, clearly Australia’s best mare at the moment, should make it eight wins in succession in race seven.
Her main Queensland target is a successful title defence in the $150,000 Group 1 Golden Girl at Albion Park on July 19.
Hesitate is a fascinating three-year-old, packed with so much speed but still learning.
He won well first-up at Menangle and should repeat the dose against older rivals from gate three in the eighth race on Saturday.
Victory would pave the way for Hesitate to tackle the $350,000 Group 1 Rising Sun on July 5 ahead of the $150,000 Group 1 Queensland Derby on July 19.
Down at Melton on Saturday night, Queensland contenders like Arcee Phoenix and Rakero Rebel strut their stuff.
Arcee Phoenix hasn’t raced since brilliantly winning the TAB Trot at Cambridge on April 4, but looked awesome winning a recent Melton trial.
While Jess Tubbs’ Group 1-winning former Kiwi mare Rakero Rebel looks the main danger to Eye Keep Smiling in the Golden Girl.
The Kiwi flavour is strongest at Menangle on Saturday night where Bet N Win, Pinseeker and Betterthancash also race enroute to Brisbane.
Pinseeker and Betterthancash clash in the opening race, while Bet N Win should be too classy in a 2300m trotting free-for-all.
Greyhound Racing - Jared Timms
The AU$40,0000 Thunderbolt Final will be contested at Grafton on Saturday night and two series heavyweights headline the classy field of eight.
Flash Jet qualified for the contest via and impressive all-the-way effort in last Sunday’s semifinal, overcoming Box 8 in 19.75.
His winning chances have further been enhanced with the drawing of Box 1, subsequently seeing him firm onto the top line of early betting ($1.75) and climbing above previous favourite Badger’s Beast, $2.40, who will leave from Box 3.
Badger’s Beast, prepared by leading NSW trainer Peter Lagogiane, justified odds-on quotes in both his heat and semifinal, clocking 19.73 in the latter to book his place in Saturday night’s decider.
Race caller Mark Arandale knows the Thunderbolt series and 2025 field as well as anyone and conceded that it does look to be a race in two.
“Neither has put a foot wrong so far and they’re both drawn well in the final,” he told GRNSW.
“You want to be inside if you’ve already got early speed and Flash Jet can certainly make the most of the red.
“Badger’s Beast needs a few steps to get going but he can punch through from Box 3 as well.”
With the third line of betting occupied by Maura Figgis at odds of $13, Arandale said that he was keen to stick with Badger’s Beast.
“I’m going to stick with Badger’s Beast and it’s hard to go around him or Flash Jet taking it out,” he said.
“This two deserve to be favourites and would need to really miss the kick to get beaten.”
Elsewhere, heats for the Listed Winter Sprint will be contested in Mandurah on Friday night, before heats for the Paradise Street Trophy are run and won, also in Western Australia, on Saturday.
Thoroughbred Racing - Nick Quinn
The Group 1 racing in Australia has a week off with the key action at Ipswich and Flemington
The listed Ipswich Cup over 2150 metres is wide open.
The race has produced some nice winners in recent years with Red Wave, Regal Lion, Smart Meteor and Tradesman.
This year is incredibly open with Miss Joelene a $5.50 favourite ahead of Osmose and Diablo Bolt at $6.50.
On an open day of racing Warnie looks a good play in Race 8, the Listed Eye Liner Stakes.
Warnie started his racing career in the United Kingdom and produced a stunning finish to win his Australian debut at Flemington last October as a $21 chance.
His two runs this campaign have been full of merit running fourth in the Takeover Target at Gosford and then third in the Moreton Cup. Warnie would have been a live chance in the Stradbroke handicap, but failed to gain a start.
Early bets on Warnie include $1113.89 at $2.80, $1000 at $2.90, $1000 at $3.10, $1000 at $3.05 $911.36 at $3.20 and $750 at $3.20.
Racing heads to Flemington and one punter is keen on the Payne trained Bold Soul with a bet of $4000 each-way at $6 the win and 2.15 the place in Race 6.
Bold Soul was runner up at Flemington last start and is looking to register his sixth career victory.
The main rivals appear to be Goldenstatewarrior who has not finished worse than fourth in five runs since winning at Geelong and Captain Electric who resumed from a spell with a win at Mornington.
In other Australian racing news, master trainer Ciaron Maher is about to get big and stronger.
Maher’s training presence in New South Wales has been greatly bolstered with the leading trainer to take over the famous Leilani Lodge at Royal Randwick.
Maher, who has an existing Sydney base at Warwick Farm, will move into the on-course stables previously occupied by Anthony Cummings.
Maher was not the only high profile trainer vying for Leilani Lodge with Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott also applying.
James Cummings had also been in negotiations to train from Leilani Lodge prior to his announced move to Hong Kong next year.
