Wow, Lisa Allpress. Eight days after that bad spill at Otaki, she's back and winning races again.

Sofia Rosa!

Beautiful result in the Concorde, and Julinsky Prince does it again in the Captain Cook!

Great pick with Salford Art and yes, well done covering both.

I especially loved your Julinsky Prince piece. Really fine work as usual. I did not even know / remember he had won it three years ago!

Fantastic race.What a move he made!

Authentic Paddy... what a star is right!

Oh Soriano... great run once again. Cannot be disappointed in my gutsy fav ever.

:tro:

Love her!

Stratham! Haha wasn't expecting that and VERY nice! LIked that late move by Riding Shotgun. :) I will now have to go back and watch some of his races.

Oh Durham Town.... just not his day. Well my favorite last place performance is a tie between him and Nashville and I will continue to be a huge fan of both. :)

Good luck to Amun Ra (it's been a while!) at Ellerslie on Wednesday!

Just saw your piece on Xtravagant. Very exciting!!!

Just saw the noms for the Waikato Cup (the other stakes race and the sprint as well)... cannot wait!!! :)

Yeah, that's always a great day. :)

It might be worth having a look at the Salver at Ellerslie on Sunday too. It's not a huge race, but the winner last year was some horse called Mongolian Khan.

Have much to catch up on and it will have to wait a couple more days BUT the one thing I did see when glancing at the Informant just now for all of a fraction of a second was the Natuzzi headline.

Ed... if I weren't so rushed and stressed I might be weeping right now. (A tear or two anyway... YOU Know what I mean!). How stunningly miraculous it is that he won! Some days this sport is so completely breathtaking and wonderful... these are the moments that make the sometimes horror of it all balanced out and fine!

More midweek... please let me know which was the greatest of the great race(s) of the weekend if you have time!

Yeah, it was so great to see Natuzzi do that after everything he's been through this year.

Vavasour was so brave under her big weight, and Stolen Dance is a sensation! Eight wins from 12 starts now. What a stunning horse she is.

I'm enjoying the racing at Ellerslie so far today. Hasselhoof was amazing again, Kingsman was VERY nice in the 2yo race and Gravano was really good in his race. The Salver is only an hour away now.

Thunder Down Under!

Stunning fields for Boxing Day at Ellerslie. I can't wait.

Oh wow I have only looked at Ellerslie so far and that is sensational!

(Hey it's the first time ever I have seen a horsie with my name haha). :D

Cannot quite remember... is this the swansong for Soriano?

Three more races for her - Zabeel Classic, Thorndon Mile (Jan 23), Herbie Dyke Stakes (Feb 13).

Might be a pretty good horse too - won a trial by 9 lengths!

I have no idea who's going to win the Eight Carat. For my preview in the newspaper I focused on Sofia Rosa, but I'm really not sure. Saavoya won it at 30-1 last year and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a similar longshot result here.

Oh that's awesome!

Thanks for that and for the Soriano reminder as I cannot keep such things straight.

Have not yet read the preview but am looking forward to it. Much to catch up on!

Just watched both of her trials... she looks VERY nice!

Merry Christmas, Ed. :)

Same to you. :)

I've arrived at Ellerslie and it's a beautiful day. I can't wait for this.

That was such a good win from Sacred Master.

Stunning wins by Kawi, Capella, Xtravagant, Gasoline, Seventh Up and others. But the two spills (luckily horses and riders all okay!) and the Newmarket DQ really marred the day for me and took away some of the joy.

I hope New Year's Day will be perfect.

Have only watched Kawi so far and wow... and what a ride by Leith!

Oh Soriano.... such a wonderful horse. Good Lord Authentic Paddy has such heart.

That win though... that was really spectacular.

Will watch the rest on and off throughout the day. Not looking forward to the spills but extremely happy to know all are safe.