Double strike for pins

4 July 2016

WS stalwart Pins produced a winning double in Melbourne yesterday with Pin Your Hopes and Makatiti successful at Caulfield. The former is in career best form for trainers Matthew Ellerton and Simon Zahra with three wins and a second from his last four starts.

Pin Your Hopes ended a two year drought when he won at Cranbourne in May and then scored at Flemington after finishing runner-up at Sandown. “I think the soft tracks have really helped him,” Zahra said. “I think the firmer tracks stopped him and he lost his confidence, but now he’s letting go.”

The John Sadler-trained Makatiti has also been in great touch this preparation with two wins and three placings from five appearances. The three-year-old was purchased out of WS’s 2014 Premier Sale line-up at Karaka for $80,000.

He is a son of the unraced O’Reilly mare Enjoy who is a daughter of the dual stakes winner Playful Fingers. She is a half-sister to the Group One performers Hancock Park ad Clever Zoe.

Pure Alpha delivers again as Ardrossan continues to rise

Ardrossan gelding Pure Alpha led throughout to win by 1.29 lengths at Eagle Farm for owner Ozzie Kheir, taking his earnings past $300,000. The result caps a stellar run for sire Ardrossan, whose yearlings fetched up to $450,000 this year on strong Hong Kong form.

28 August 2026

The Corner with Garry Chittick

It is difficult to maintain momentum when sitting in judgment of racing’s governance. After all, I get no pleasure in searching for non-credible decisions, but one is perpetually bewildered by the rationale behind many of the positions that make little sense.