Friday Flash – 21st August 2026

Greetings John and Friday Flash readers 

While the  curtain has yet to come down on the jumps season – we still have the Great NZ Hurdles and Great NZ Steeples  to come at Te Aroha on September 18 and September 20 – you get the feeling that spring is in the air despite the inclement weather and that’s clearly through the reappearance of some quality gallopers like Well  Written and company who trialled at Taupo last Sunday.

All we are hoping for now is track improvements. Top gallopers may indeed handle all types of track conditions probably set for the next few weeks with the quality black type racing but no trainer wants to see their horses run first up on a heavy track – I’m sure this won’t be the case at Te Rapa on Saturday for the 76th running of the Foxbridge Plate over 1200m. The weather forecast looks quite favourable.

Interestingly this wonderful stepping stone to the group one spring spoils like the Prosir Plate has had a topsy turvey life span with varying distances and seasonal timing. The Foxbridge Plate used to be run in November over 2000m. In 1977 it moved to August and shortened to 1400m. In 2009 it was set at 1200m and has since remained at that distance.

It’ll be an eagerly anticipated race on Saturday.

MY PERSONAL FOXBRIDGE FAVOURITE
We all have our favourites for this iconic group two. No doubt for the Fortuna team it comes with your pride and joy Hall of Fame inductee Melody Belle. She won the race in 2018 when she edged out Julius – click HERE to see what was a magnificent tussle between these two quality gallopers. What a super star she was as her 14 group ones would testify.

For me I go way back to 1970 when the Bill Winder trained Skint Dip, in the hands of Bob Skelton, narrowly beat General Command and Grenville Hughes when it was 2000m. Back in third place was my dad’s horse, Castle Dee, ridden by David Blake. Castle Dee was in fact a 9yo getting ready for the jumps season and was first up. With my brother Paul, I was hacking the horse around the back hills of Manurewa for dad, who was the registered owner trainer. I knew he was fit but for sure it was a big surprise to see him charge past top horses including Panzer Chief to run third at odds of 16 to one for a place.

David Blake, who married my sister Lynda, was a promising rider in the late 60’s and early 70’s for the wonderful Colin Jillings. It was a top, rails hugging ride. Sadly David is one of the 83,000 people in Nz suffering from dementia or alzheimers but being cared for in his Hamilton home. According to my sister  he taps his feet to the tune of his favourite music and ears prick when race calls are on in the background.

On Saturday, who knows, his attention might go up a notch when the gates open in the Foxbridge Plate, the race that he nearly won all those years ago.

In modern times the super mare, Imperatriz, who like Melody Belle is a Hall of Fame inductee,  won the race in 2022 and the Te Akau banner also shone bright like a diamond in 2020 with Avantage.

The inaugural Foxbridge in 1950 belonged to another HOF inductee, Mainbrace, while trans Tasman heroes like Prince Majestic and Poetic Prince are also on the honours board.

50 YEARS OF RUAKAKA LOOMS LARGE

NEXT May the Ruakaka venue will celebrate its 50th anniversary. The old Kensington track where the Whangārei Racing Club used to hold its meetings is but a distant memory. Ruakaka has become a go to track for horses looking for the better ground and so many quality two year olds have  won last Saturday’s Northland Breeders Stakes, the pin up race on the Ruakaka  season’s programme. Of course the most famous of all, Sunline, won it in 1998.
I dare say the innovative club are already planning a big party for its Golden Anniversary

OAMARU DESERVES ANOTHER CHANCE

IF the Oamaru gallops are gone for good after last week’s meeting at the track it might be worth noting that the venue gave a 7stone4 pound 16-y-o WD (Bill) Skelton his first Cup win in the Oamaru Cup in 1948. “Bustling Billy“ was the first NZ jockey to eclipse 2000 wins and when he retired in 1985 the tally reached 2156.

I hope, like the majority I’d humbly suggest, that it’s not all over for Oamaru. This club has always delivered with its tough scheduling in the winter with its 3 dates. It most certainly deserves better.

ANOTHER GOOD MAN FROM MATAMATA BOWS OUT

YET another great man of Matamata has gone. Ross (“Butch”) Fisher was an accomplished jockey who won the 1962 Auckland Cup with Ruato. His longevity in the saddle wasn’t to be when he had a life threatening injury in the late 60’s. He was never lost to the industryhowever, and became well known as the “Matamata maestro “ with his astute tipping in the early days of Trackside, a racing manager to former top rider Michael Coleman and trackwork clocker. In recent months the Matamata centre has had to farewell Buzz Leggett, Bob Autridge and former Matamata jumps jockey, Harry Green.

RIP “Butch.”

D-DAY TUESDAY FOR FIRST TUESDAY IN NOVEMBER

JUST 10 more Tuesdays to go before the most important Tuesday on the global racing calendar arrives. Yes the countdown is truly on for the great race and next Tuesday is the close off date for you to potentially join Lisa Allpress and myself for another exciting Sporting Tours highlight. I’ve been fortunate to meet some terrific kiwis on the Melbourne Cup tour which first started for me with Think Big’s second Cup in 1975.

Holy heck, that’s 50 years ago! I thought that was a “one off” until travel broker Kel Munro invited me to join his fledgling travel company with the First Lady of racing, Linda Jones when Kensei won in 1987. Outside of the Pandemic in 2020 and 2021 I’ve been fortunate to meet a great number of like minded people on this well organised tour in every year since.

Currently we have over 70 people  booked and the tour operator mentioned the bookings surged over the last fortnight. It has to close next week as any unsold reserved Hill Stand seats need to go back to the VRC. At last count there’s about 6 tickets to sell of the 80 the VRC alotted Sporting Tours.

I guess if you’ve been humming and harring whether to go to the Melbourne Cup for the first or umpteenth time this year the friendly advice is to do  your best to make it happen if you can this time around. Lisa Allpress, who has made an amazing recovery to return to riding in her quest to reach 2000 wins, will leave her saddles behind as a co host for the second time. “I really enjoyed meeting a great group of people last year. It was certainly well organised. I’m happy to park my saddles for 8 days to return to Flemington for this amazing carnival,” she said. Click HERE to read all details of the tour options

IMPROVERS FROM TAUPO

I had a good look at the two open trials and here are three horses that look definite contenders for early spring racing.

AFTERNOON SIESTA: she’s a late developing type who only had her first race 17 months ago when second at Trentham. In just 2 preparations and 7 starts she’s had 4 wins, two seconds and a third including a Cuddle Stakes win and a group one third placing in the NZ Thoroughbred Breeders. She cruised to the line when trialling into second.

L’AIGE NOIR: she’s a solitary winner in 6 starts but after winning at her second start and in her first run last season all her other starts were in black type company. She ran 3rd in the Bonecrusher Stakes and 4th in the Uncle Remus. She held her ground well in the trial and is ready to resume.

CHECKMATE: he was doing some solid work to the line behind Well Written into 4th. He looked the part. He’s good quality and I’m sure he will acquit himself first up over maybe a 1400m  sprint and late