Inglis Millennium winner Fully Lit headlines Sunday’s Black Opal at Canberra.
Gai Waterhouse and Adrain Bott will be well represented in the nations capital’s biggest day of racing, headlined by unbeaten two-year-old colt Fully Litin the Group 3 Black Opal Stakes (1200m).
The stable are enjoying an unprecedented two-year-old season with 19 total wins, including Fully Lit, with the Hellbent colt set to star a short-priced favourite for Sunday’s Black Opal, which the stable hope see him present as yet another Golden Slipper chance.
“He’s come through his last win in the Millennium beautifully and he’s trialled nicely since,” Bott said.
“He’s in great order, and obviously has plenty of upside. He’s improving every start.”
Gai Waterhouse holds the record with seven Golden Slipper winners, one of those in partnership with Bott, who says Sunday’s race will be another piece in the puzzle as to Fully Lit’s standing in the Sipper pecking order.
“I’d like to see him perform well in the Black Opal to see where he is at. It’s always a competitive contest so this will give us a great guide.”
Fully Lit is the $1.50 favourite for the Black Opal after drawing barrier three with Regan Baylissto maintain his association with the colt. Peter and Paul Snowden have the only other two horses in single figures with Holmes A Court at $6 and King Of Roseau at $9. Meanwhile, in a far more open affair, Waterhouse & Bott will saddle up recent Magic Millions winner So United in the Listed Canberra Cup (2000m), who has drawn barrier seven in a field of 11 with Tim Clark onboard.
“We thought So United was great last start…before that he was really impressive when he won at the Gold Coast. He’s progressive and continues to improve,” Bott said.
So United is a $5 second elect behind the Kris Lees trained Almaniaat $4.20, who will jump from barrier 10.
Gold Coast Titans co-owner Darryl Kelly explains why he went hard for Des Hasler as head coach and why he has been a game-changer for the entire organisation.
Gold Coast Titans co-owner Darryl Kelly went out on a limb when he chased Des Hasler as head coach, but he says it has already lifted the entire organisation ahead of a pivotal NRL season
For more than a decade, Kelly has invested millions of dollars of his own funds and plenty of hard work besides to turn the Titans into a premiership force.
The club has not won a finals match since 2010.
The recruitment of Hasler on a three-year deal from 2024, which followed the sacking of former coach Justin Holbrook last season, was a bold move no-one in the game saw coming.
From the outside, it appeared brutal but Kelly said the Titans had to make changes after failing to make a genuine impact on the NRL since their introduction in 2007.
This season is the first time in Titans history they have had a premiership-winning coach. Hasler won titles at Manly in 2008 and 2011 and has been one of the NRL’s leading mentors for 20 years.
Apart from veteran No.6 Kieran Foran, many of the key Titans players are young.
Inspirational skipper Tino Fa’asuamaleaui is 24. Gun centre AJ Brimson is 25. Queensland second-rower David Fifita is 24 and the list goes on. Kelly said they were now ready for the Hasler polish.
“The option was to stay where we were and keep doing what we were doing … or go hard,” Kelly told AAP.
“We made a conscious decision that we needed to move to a more proven coach in Des to see what we could do.
“Especially with the young age demographic of the squad we’ve got. The next couple of years will determine how far this squad goes, so it was important to have an experienced coach we believe can get the best out of them.”
Titans players have waxed lyrical about how Hasler has lifted intensity at training already, but Kelly said his influence went beyond that.
“I have been impressed with Des with his work commitment and the level of expectation he brings to the whole organisation. It has already lifted us all to a higher level than ever before,” Kelly said.
“If work produces results, and I believe it does, then it will produce results this year.
“All of his coaching staff and support staff are working at a completely different level than ever before, and I have been at it for just over 10 years now.”
The Titans kick off their season on Saturday at home against St George Illawarra.
Not many pundits have the Titans in the top eight but that doesn’t worry Kelly. That will just feed into the siege mentality that Hasler and his teams tend to thrive on.
“We want to be the dark horse and one of the unexpected surprises the opposition get when they walk on the paddock,” Kelly said.
James McDonald has bestowed high praise on unbeaten colt Storm Boy saying, “he’s as good as you get”.
Gai Waterhouse and Adrain Bottdon’t just have their sights set on the Golden Slipper with Storm Boy, they are also eyeing off a clean sweep of the juvenile triple crown.
As the raging Slipper favourite made light work of his Skyline Stakes (1200m) rivals at Randwick on Saturday, Bott was already thinking of the bigger autumn picture and the heights the $60 million colt might reach.
He revealed that he and Waterhouse were keen to target the youngster, not just at the Golden Slipper (1200m), but at the ATC Sires’ Produce (1400m) and Champagne Stakes (1600m) as well.
“We’ve had to prepare for the Golden Slipper, but we’ve got big targets for the triple crown as well,” Bott said.
“I’d like to think he is only going to be better suited getting over the 1400, 1600 metres in time.
“It’s very exciting for everyone involved.”
Having his first start since demolishing his Magic Millions rivals, Storm Boy wasn’t the best to begin but quickly mustered speed to take up the running under new jockey James Mcdonald.
As the pressure came on at the top of the straight, the $1.18 favourite found another gear, extending his advantage and cruising to the line 1-1/2 lengths clear of stablemate Prost($12) with Duvana($18) another 1-1/4 lengths away third.
Bott said it was a relief to see Storm Boy return so well from his Magic Millions foray and tick the final box in what will be his last start before the Golden Slipper in three weeks.
“It’s always a little bit nerve wracking seeing these profile horses come back off that turnaround,” Bott said.
“He’s a lovely style of horse, he’s got plenty of gears.
“It’s his first run (back) and at 1200 metres off a while between races and a freshen up – he’s only had the one trial and he’s a lovely, big colt – so I think condition-wise, that will tighten him up nicely.”
McDonald was having his first race day feel of Storm Boy and came away brimming with praise for the Coolmore colt.
He believes there is still more under the bonnet and expects the youngster to thrive in a high-pressure race like the Slipper.
“He’s as good as you get,” McDonald said.
“He’s strong, he knows he’s really good and the more you ask him the more he keeps giving.
“Until he gets into a high-pressure race, I think that is when you’ll see a fair dinkum horse.”
Connections are yet to decide if McDonald will keep the Slipper ride, or if it will go to English jockey Ryan Moore, who jetted in to claim last year’s two-year-old centrepiece for Coolmore on Shinzo.
However, McDonald made it clear he is keen to stick with the Skyline Stakes winner.
“Ryan (Moore) is obviously their number one and we’ll see what happens, but if I get the opportunity, I’d love to ride him,” McDonald said.
The Michael Freedman-trained Manaaltook out the Group 2 Sweet Embrace Stakes (1200m) for the fillies to remain the only non-Tulloch Lodge two-year-old to claim a black-type race in Sydney this season.
Manaal also denied Waterhouse and Bott when capturing the Gimcrack Stakes in September and while Freedman said she would most likely press on to the Slipper, he admitted the males looked hard to beat this year.
“She is one of the better fillies around, whether they can stack up against the colts remains to be seen,” Freedman said.
“We thought we could come here and get the job done, we’ll have a think about the Slipper.”
The Golden Slipper picture took further shape last week when Storm Boy had his first start since the Magic Millions carnival and while he did not elevate his peak rating, he tightened his grip on Slipper favouritism.
While he will still be favourite after Saturday night, the Slipper market is set to be reshaped and a main danger defined this weekend with the Todman Stakes and Reisling Stakes to be run at Randwick.
Rugby Australia have officially accepted the resignation of embattled coach Eddie Jones, who quit following the Wallabies’ disappointing World Cup showing.
Rugby Australia have officially confirmed the resignation of coach Eddie Jones, who will depart next month.
RA chief executive Phil Waugh will hold a press conference in Sydney on Tuesday afternoon as the search for a new coach begins.
After signing a five-year deal Jones quit the post after less than 10 months on the back of a shambolic Rugby World Cup campaign in France, where the Wallabies failed to get out of the pool stage for the first time.
They also endured record losses to Fiji and Wales, with Jones only managing two wins from his nine Tests in charge.
The 63-year-old had been heralded as the Wallabies’ saviour when he was appointed as a ‘captain’s pick’ by chairman Hamish McLennan after the axing of previous incumbent Dave Rennie.
Jones coached Australia to the World Cup final in 2003, and took England to the 2019 showpiece before being sacked late last year after a run of poor results.
But he made a series of confounding decisions on his return to the Wallabies hot-seat, including naming a young, inexperienced squad for the World Cup and leaving out long-serving skipper Michael Hooper and playmaker Quade Cooper.
Australia’s players were also rocked when Jones was linked with the Japan coaching vacancy. He was forced to deny he’d interviewed for the role just days out from the tournament opener in Paris.
Two weeks ago, Jones insisted he was “absolutely committed” to overseeing the Wallabies through to the next World Cup, on home soil in 2027.
But by last weekend he had offered his resignation to the RA hierarchy.
It’s believed Jones will walk away from his hefty contract without a pay-out.
He insisted he had no other international role to go to, including the Japan position which has yet to be filled.
World Cup-winner Stephen Larkham and fellow former Wallabies assistant Dan McKellar are expected to be RA’s top targets to replace Jones.
Larkham is currently coaching the ACT Brumbies after taking over from McKellar, who is head coach at Leicester Tigers in the UK.
McKellar was Rennie’s forwards coach, and believed to be viewed as next in line to succeed the Kiwi, but resigned earlier this year when Jones was appointed to the top job.
It’s not going to be easy for the country trainers to knock over the city slickers in Friday’s $200,000 Port Macquarie Cup at Taree, but Tony Ball is enthusiastic about the chances of his horse Ljungberg running a big race at good odds ($21 on TAB).
The cup is one of the last remaining chances for trainers to qualify their horses for the $3 million Big Dance over 1600m at Royal Randwick on November 7 and as such has attracted runners from leading Sydney stables as well as provincial and country stables.
The Michael, Wayne and John Hawkes stable at Rosehill will start favourite Superium – they also accepted with Mount Popa but it was scratched on Thursday.
Chris Waller is sending Special Sweyto the race from his Rosehill stable.
But the presence of those Sydney horses doesn’t bother Taree trainer Ball, who was delighted with eight-year-old gelding Ljungberg’s last-start win over 1609m at Taree on September 24 and is looking forward to stepping him up to the 2000m of the cup.
“If he can win and get a start in the Big Dance that would be a dream come true,” Ball said.
“I reckon he’ll get the distance of the cup. He just needs there to be a bit of pace so they run along well and he doesn’t start pulling.
“If he can settle down over the longer distance he’ll get a good cart into the race.
“He’s been working really well since he won at Taree and (apprentice) Mollie Fitzgerald is riding him again after she rode him there.
“She’s got a good understanding with the horse. I think he’ll run a good race.”
Seven-year-old gelding Superium is an interesting runner because his five career wins have been over distances ranging from 1100m to 1400m and he has never raced over further than 1600m.
But obviously the stable believes that at this stage of his career he can extend to the 2000m and be successful and bookmakers are certainly wary because TAB has installed him as $3 favourite.
The big plus for Superium, which will carry 55kg, is that the minimum weight for the cup is 54kg and he will carry just one kilogram more than each of the other nine runners.
Superium has had three runs back from a spell and at his most recent start finished off well for third in a Group 3 race over 1500m at Sandown just last Sunday.
Holstein, trained by Matt Dunn at Murwillumbah, is second favourite at $4.20 and Special Swey is next in the betting at $5.
Special Swey is a lightly-raced four-year-old gelding that has not performed well at either of its two runs back from a spell, but which did win a Group 3 race over 2000m in Brisbane during the winter carnival.
*Gates open at 11.30am and the first race is at 1.05pm. Admission is $10 and $5 concession. Full bar, bistro, TAB and bookmaker facilities.
Nathan Cleary’s name has been etched among the greats with a man-of-the-match performance in Penrith’s 26-24 grand final defeat of Brisbane.
Nathan Cleary has etched his name in the pantheon of great NRL halfbacks, winning a second Clive Churchill Medal and third premiership – all before the age of 26.
In Penrith’s defeat of Brisbane at Accor Stadium on Sunday, the halfback masterminded the biggest comeback in grand final history.
He set two tries up and scored one to help Penrith claw back from 24-8 down after 62 minutes, to 26-24 up at the final whistle.
The performance cemented Cleary’s status as one of the great modern playmakers, and dispelled the narrative that he goes missing in games.
Cleary has now won more grand finals than either Andrew Johns or Jonathan Thurston and is the first halfback since Peter Sterling to win three premierships before the age of 26.
Having won the Clive Churchill Medal after the first of Penrith’s three consecutive title wins, Cleary is only the third man to have won the Clive Churchill Medal more than once.
He joins Bradley Clyde and Billy Slater in an elite club.
“I just feel like what he’s done in this space of time, there’s been no other halfback that has done it,” said Penrith co-captain Isaah Yeo.
“I reckon if you put his statistics up against any other halfback at this point, he’s 25, no-one’s done what he’s done.
“That 20-minute period he put the team on his back and he won us our third grand final in a row. I’m very happy he’s our leader and he’s our seven. It’s a privilege to play with him.”
Cleary described Sunday’s game as the most difficult of his career.
“It honestly doesn’t feel real right now,” Cleary said.
“To the Broncos boys, absolute beast team, very young.
“Thanks for that game, it’s the hardest game I’ve ever played. To our boys, it’s nothing but love. We’ve worked so hard for this and we’re still just getting started.”
For his first assist, Cleary dummied past Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam and burst away down the right edge before finding prop Moses Leota on the inside.
He kicked a 40/20 in the set after points to keep the pressure on, and then threw the last pass to Stephen Crichton to bring the margin to only four points.
Cleary capped his night off by stepping inside a hole in the final four minutes and sealing victory with a try of his own.
He kicked a perfect five from five goals and ran for 162 metres, the third-most of any Panther.
Amelia’s Jewel, trained by Simon Miller and holding an impressive record of 11: 9-2-0, is poised to compete in the Group 1 Toorak Handicap at Caulfield.
Owner Peter Walsh confirmed, “We’re definitely going to the Toorak, I spoke to Simon a few minutes ago, so that’s locked in.”
This comes after her successful debut in Melbourne and a comfortable win in the Group 2 Stocks Stakes at The Valley, enhancing her reputation.
“Damian Lane gave me his opinion yesterday, so we’re definitely going to Caulfield as long as we don’t get too much weight,” Walsh added.
She is priced at $4 in this year’s Cox Plate odds, only shorter than Hong Kong’s champion Romantic Warrior ($3.60).
Decisions regarding her racing in the Cox Plate (2040m) or the $10 million Golden Eagle (1500m) in Sydney will be determined post-Toorak.
“Simon said ‘why do we have to make a decision now? Let’s just wait and see how she goes in The Toorak, see how the internationals go,’” shared Walsh, leaning toward the Golden Eagle but mentioning, “there’s no need to rush into a decision.”
