News

Apr 2025

MARE SHOWS SHE’S READY TO WIN

MORE FOR READY scored a well-deserved maiden victory in the midweek metro meeting at Ipswich to extend the stable’s strong recent record. We have now saddled up two winners from our last three runners after the mare led all the way in Wednesday’s Maiden Plate. Having opened her prep with back-to-back runner-up finishes over 1100m, the daughter of Better Than Ready stepped up to 1200m third-up and never sighted another rival under a terrific front-running ride by Georgie Cartwright. Given the manner of her win the 4YO, who races in Lynn Tipper’s emerald and green white colours, has the scope to step out in distance in the near future. “Lynn’s a great owner so I’m really pleased to get the win for her,” said Michael. “She was obviously a trainer herself so it’s great to have the support of someone who knows the game inside out. She lets me do what I want to do, and she might have a nice mare on her hands here. “I wouldn’t say she’s been unlucky not to have broken her maiden, but she has been unfortunate in some of her runs and the last start was a bit of a disaster. Today we had the right set-up, and I said to Georgie pre-race that there were no excuses if we couldn’t win here. “They made her work a little bit early but she was able to absorb the pressure, and I think she should be able to step up in trip next time. She’s a lovely mare with the best temperament, but she does know when it’s game time which is even better.” Victory carried MORE FOR READY’s career earnings to $47,000 in earnings, many congratulations to Lynn.

Apr 2025

STUNNAH LIVES UP TO HER NAME

A suitably stylish performance saw DOWN UNDER STUNNAH romp to her maiden victory at the Sunshine Coast on Sunday. The mare by 2016 Stradbroke Handicap winner Under The Louvre relished the step up to 2200m at career start number three to justify her $2.50 starting price. DOWN UNDER STUNNAH was ridden a treat by Brandon Lerena, who hugged the rail before peeling her out in the home straight. When she let down, the race was put to bed in a matter of strides as the 4YO sprinted clear in the closing stages to triumph by three lengths eased down. The manner of the victory on a heavy track would suggest she may even get over further in time for the team at Dovedeen, who bred her out of their mare Stryking Stunnah. Many congratulations to Evan and Joan Hartley, who have shown patience to allow the mare to mature and are now reaping the rewards.

Mar 2025

CRIMSON SPIRIT SHOWS PLENTY OF HEART

Bargain buy CRIMSON SPIRIT broke through at start number three when she finished with a flourish at the Gold Coast on Saturday. The filly made light of the heavy rain to recoup the $6,500 we paid for her through the Inglis online sale in one hit, collecting a cheque for $16,800 courtesy of her determined victory in the Maiden Plate (1540m) on the Polytrack. Despite showing signs of immaturity when she hit the front, the daughter of The Autumn Sun knuckled down to her task late in the piece and pulled away to score by two lengths under Olivia Kendal. “We needed to get some racing into her, and she’ll take a heap of confidence from the win,” said Michael. “She still wobbled about a bit when she hit the front, so she’s still fairly green but she pulled away late which was great to see. We’ll give her an easy few days then see where we head next, but there doesn’t look to be too many options coming up for her. There’s a Class 1 over 1990 metres at Ballina next Tuesday, or a Benchmark 58 over 1800 metres at the Gold Coast in a fortnight. “We might then give her a freshen-up before looking at some of the three year old fillies races coming up over the winter, or we might give her a longer break to give her more time to mature. She’s still quite an immature filly and she’s still got some strengthening to do, but hopefully she can progress through her grades now.” Many congratulations to her owners: Rablanning, Mr D M Beavis, Mr J J Bullock, Mr B Byrne, Mr M Doyle, Mr J K Goodwin, Mr T Harries, Mr S Russell, Mrs A J Summers, Mr R Woods, Mrs J M WHITELEY, Dr L K Loh, Mr P Beddoe, Mr G J Small, Mr N Pender, Deep Pockets Racing, Mr E Drew and Mr B Haynes

Feb 2025

SMART ACTION IS A CITY SLICKER

SMART ACTION relished the step up to the mile as the 5YO scored his first metropolitan win since arriving in Queensland. The son of Smart Missile got off the mark for Michael Morrison Racing over 1400m at Beaudesert in mid-January, and he promptly saluted again at Doomben on Saturday. Tahlia Fenlon is building a fabulous association with SMART ACTION, and the gelding looked the winner a long way from home after working through his gears very nicely under the talented apprentice. Once the pair had hit the front there was no stopping them, as SMART ACTION prevailed by almost two lengths to take his earnings close to $100,000. “It was great to see him win like that,” said Michael. “Good barriers and good rides win races, and he dropped considerably in weight from his last win at Beaudesert. We thought he was going to get the right run in behind them, Tahlia just had to be patient and she executed the plan to perfection. “It was a great way to get his confidence up in city class, and it definitely gives us something to build on in the future. I was really keen to get him in the stable when he was put up for sale online, it’s taken us a little while to work him out because he can be quite quirky. But now that we’re starting to figure him out, I think we’ll have a nice horse on our hands moving forward.” Congrats to the team at For Real Racing, who purchased him for a mere $14,000, and to their fellow owners at The Ten Percenters.

Jan 2025

SMART ACTION BREAKS HOME TRACK HOODOO

It was a day of firsts for SMART ACTION on Thursday as the 5YO ended our home track hoodoo with a powerful performance. SMART ACTION relished the step up to 1400m in the Benchmark 58 Handicap to claim his first victory since joining the stable late last year. It was a relief to get the home track monkey off our collective backs and credit has to go to jockey Tahlia Fenlon, who gave the son of Smart Missile a super steer. The pair were positioned prominently throughout, and when it was time to launch SMART ACTION really knuckled down to score by a length. “He just missed the kick last time but it was a great run so we came here with some confidence today,” said Fenlon. “I knew if he began well he would be hard to beat, and that’s how it worked out. I wasn’t sure if the two runners ahead of us were going to kick away, but he let down really well. In the end it was quite an easy win and he’s definitely switching on now.” SMART ACTION’s second career win took his earnings past $50,000 congrats to the team at For Real Racing and The Ten Percenters.

Jan 2025

KING’S WARRIOR IS IN SEVENTH HEAVEN

A suitably regal performance saw KING’S WARRIOR break his maiden in emphatic fashion at Bowraville on Saturday. The son of Saxon Warrior showed he was a class above his rivals with a seven length demolition in the Maiden Plate (1370m). Sent off the $1.55 favourite under Danny Peisley, KING’S WARRIOR more than justified his cramped quote with a dominant display of front-running. The performance saw the colt break through at career start number four and vindicated the stable’s high opinion of him. “It’s taken a while to get him to the level we had hoped for but today he showed a real glimpse of the talent we know he has,” said Michael. “Once he’s been gelded, he’ll be a lovely horse and I’m sure he’ll get over further ground. I’m really pleased for his owners, because they’ve had to show plenty of patience with him which will pay off in the long run. “Everything went to plan out there today, once he hit the top of the hill he just kept going and nothing could get anywhere near him.” Many congratulations to Mr A Krayem and Mr M A Wallace.

Dec 2024

DOOMBEN DELIGHT FOR DAUGHTER OF DUNDEEL

A fabulous first-up performance saw PLEADEEL score her second straight win at Doomben on Friday. Having registered her second career victory at Grafton at the start of October, the mare returned to the races in some style in the Benchmark 65 Handicap (1600m) to get her summer campaign off to the best possible start. PLEADEEL was ridden a treat by Tahlia Fenlon, whose only previous steer on the daughter of Dundeel had produced a very narrow second at the same venue back in August. The slender defeat had stung at the time but the pair more than made amends when an equally tight decision went PLEADEEL’s way on this occasion. “We’ve come to the decision that we need to keep this mare comfortable and ride her for luck,” said Michael. “We might lose some races riding her that way, but we’ll also win some so I’m glad things went our way today. We thought we’d won the race last time at Doomben, so I’m pleased we got that one back today. “We’re still learning about her, we’ve tried riding her different ways but I think today showed that having patience is the key to her. Her trial the other day was easily the best she’s ever trialled in her career, and she was still carrying plenty of condition so there should be improvement to come. We’d love to get her into the Magic Millions Subzero race, which would be a big thrill for her owners.” Victory moved the mare’s career earnings to $87,435, many congratulations to her owners: Mr T Chudziak, Mr A R Thompson, Mr D P Hansen, Mr T A J de Carteret, Saniuqa7 Racing, Mr B M Drinkwater, Mr S R Imlach, Mr A S Morrison, Mrs L G Morrison, DNT, 4Kings Racing and Mr S J McMahon.

Oct 2024

TOUGH PLEADEEL OUTSTAYS HER RIVALS

PLEADEEL launched a successful interstate raid with a tough staying performance on Lismore Cup Day. The original meeting had been washed out and transferred to Grafton, but PLEADEEL was kept up to the mark at home and she promptly scored her second win in the Benchmark 58 Handicap (2350m). The mare settled in midfield and was always travelling sweetly under Courtney Bellamy, who was in the saddle for the first time. After switching her to the inside, Bellamy gave PLEADEEL a shake of the reins and the 5YO responded with a gutsy finish to hold off her nearest rivals by a slender margin. “It looked like the right race for her today, and in the end she was just too good for them,” said Michael. “I really liked the way Courtney rode her today, she had to change course because she got onto the back of another one that didn’t really take her into the race. I’m not sure the horse loved the heavy track, but she had just enough left in the tank late so it was a good performance.” Victory took her earnings to $66,000, many congratulations to all her owners: Mr T Chudziak, Mr A R Thompson, Mr D P Hansen, Mr T A J de Carteret, Saniuqa7 Racing, Mr B M Drinkwater, Mr S R Imlach, Mr A S Morrison, Mrs L G Morrison, DNT, 4Kings Racing, Mr S J McMahon.

Sep 2024

WONFORWAZZA AT THE DOUBLE

In-form galloper WONFORWAZZA proved his liking for the Gold Coast polytrack with a second successive win in Saturday’s Benchmark 65 Handicap (1540m). The victory extended his strong recent record, which now reads three wins and a second from his last five starts. Despite having won over the track and trip three weeks previously, the 5YO was again underestimated in the market and was sent off a $9 chance in the six runner field. Ridden a treat by Micheal Hellyer, who has now been in the saddle for his last three wins, WONFORWAZZA took the race by the scruff of the neck at the 400-metre mark and never looked like being caught. The two-length triumph was the fourth of his career and carried his overall earnings past $85,000. Many congratulations to the team at Kerlin Farm Trust, who bred and own him.

Aug 2024

WONFORWAZZA FEELS AT HOME ON THE COAST

WONFORWAZZA scored his first win in Queensland and his third overall when he powered home at the Gold Coast on Saturday. After his successful raids across the border at Ballina and Murwillumbah, the 5YO scored in his home state with a determined display in the Benchmark 62 Handicap (1580m). WONFORWAZZA had shown his liking for the Polytrack surface at the Gold Coast with an impressive trial win 10 days prior, and he promptly took that form to the races. Micheal Hellyer has built a strong association with the son of Domesday, having guided him to his win at Murwillumbah and a runner-up finish on his home track, and the pair clicked again to take the homebred gelding’s career earnings to $70,000. Victory made amends for PLEADEEL’s defeat by the narrowest of margins earlier in the day at Doomben. Many congratulations to the team at Kerlin Farm Trust, who own and bred WONFORWAZZA.

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