Gary Harley – Herald – 02.08.25
The Newcastle Jockey Club will host the annual Master Builders Association Race Day on Saturday and during the race meeting will officially open the recently renovated Jockeys Rooms. The NJC will honour Australia’s winningest jockey ever by naming the rooms the Robert Thompson Jockeys Room and the former jockey will be on course for the presentation.
Thompson rode 4447 winners during close to half a century in the saddle, received an Order Of Australia Medal in the Queens Birthday Honours, is the Australian and Newcastle Racing Hall of Fame, represented Australia in a number of overseas Jockeys series and a race day in 1990 at Newcastle ‘RT’ rode six winners from six mounts.
Anthony and Sam Freedman train in Victoria and have horses based in Sydney and their four-year-old Dundeel entire Sirius Legend appears as the best wager at Newcastle on Saturday. The lightly raced Sirius Legend was formerly with Les Bridge where he had two starts earlier in the year for two close fast finishing fourths from the tail of the field. The colt stepped out for the Freedman’s with two impressive trial performances at Randwick in June. Sirius Legend was backed from $3.90 into $2.80 in his only start for the new stable on a soft 6 track on the Kensington on July 16. He was slow away, had heavy contact in the start of the 1400 metre Super Maiden before being held up from the 400 metres to the 200 metres and stormed home when clear to finish second 1.37 lengths from the winner.
All three starts have been on soft tracks and recently crowned NSW 2024/25 Jockeys Premiership winner Aaron Bullock has the mount in the 1400 metre SB Glass & Glazing Super Maiden Plate.
Kris Lees has a promising imported stayer Dalmanndi having his second Australian start in the 1850 metre NHS Class 1 and Maiden Plate. The 6-year-old French born gelding had four starts overseas for a win and two seconds, he was backed from $9.00 into $6.00 when beaten five lengths in his only Australian start on the Kensington track on March 13. His two recent trials on wet tracks at Wyong and the Beaumont track have been very impressive, and he is a dyed in the wool stayer winning over 2650 metres in France. Andrew Gibbons rides the stayer on Saturday.
Curl Curl, a short course specialist from the Paul Perry stable, will be hard to beat in the 900 metre Surescope Certifiers Benchmark 64 Handicap. Curl Curl has had twelve of his seventeen starts at Newcastle for two wins and seven placings. Both wins were on wet tracks. He resumed from a spell with a fast-finishing second on this track on July 12 after being held up at the top of the straight.
Wyong trainer Kristen Buchanan’s 4-year-old mare Oakfield Neptune will have a tongue tie for the first time when she has her third race start in the 1200 metre All Steel Sheds Provincial Class 1 Handicap. Oakfield Neptune won on debut on a heavy 8 Newcastle track on June 28. In her only other start again at Newcastle she was trapped 3 wide with no cover and was beaten 1.8 lengths after a tough run on July 15. The mare draws perfectly in barrier 3 and regular rider Aaron Bullock has the mount.
It may pay to forget How Much Betters run last start when down the course at Wyong when he steps out in the 1600 metre Buildcert Benchmark 68 Handicap. He was off heels in a slow run race 900 metres out and steadied again near the turn at Wyong. Two starts back on July 12, How Much Better was narrowly beaten at Newcastle.