FOLLOW KOBIE O'BRIEN'S KO THOROUGHBRED RACING
By Graham Potter | Saturday, August 3, 2024
KO RACING. FOLLOWING AN UNFORTUNATE RECENT TURN OF EVENTS, KO RACING WILL NOT BE CONTINUING (MORE TO FOLLOW)
FROM THE ARCHIVES
THE STORY SO FAR ...
Managing business growth can be a precarious pastime which is why any meaningful expansion has to be carefully planned, both in terms of how it is structured and in terms of the pace at which change is affected. As the saying goes, a big business is just a successful small business and KO Thoroughbred Racing is certainly on that path. We’ve had an innovative model from the start,” offered KO Thoroughbred Racing’s Managing Director Kobie O’ Brien. "We try to do things that no one else is doing. “The enjoyment factor for our owners has been a huge contributing factor in the growth as well. The fun vibe that we help create is infectious. It certainly is a driving factor in helping us get owners for a lot of horses. We tend to celebrate our successes well and that whets their appetite for more.” . Read more ...
KO THOROUGHBRED RACING IS ON THE MARCH (JANUARY 31, 2024)
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KO RACING - THE BACK STORY
When a crowd of young racing enthusiasts erupted in the grandstand at Eagle Farm as Nikau Spur stormed to victory on the final Saturday of last season, the scenes of joy epitomized the pleasure of racing in an ownership group with like-minded mates. The fact that Nikau Spur carried the now highly distinctive colours of KO Racing to the KO brand its fiftieth success gave the win extra meaning, but, in truth, while achieving a landmark victory was very satisfying for the KO team, it, more importantly, gave them another opportunity to demonstrate that if you bring the right attitude to the game … as KO Racing does … it can give you so much in return. HRO’s Graham Potter asked Kobie O’Brien, the principal of KO Racing, about the back-story of KO Racing and how his syndication business has evolved. Read more ...
KO RACING. THE BACK STORY - WITH KOBIE O'BRIEN (AUGUST 9, 2023)
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A SPECIAL WIN AT FLEMINGTON
First-up wins don’t come more emphatic than this.
You had to go back eight runs, two trainers and a full seventeen months to find the last win of the Maotai before the six-year-old gelding lined up in a BM84 Handicap over 1100m at Flemington on August 3 in what was not only his first start for the Moody / Coleman training partnership, but also his first run for the KO & KC Thoroughbred Racing Group.
Maotai had finished unplaced in his last five starts going into this latest assignment which he came into after an eight-month break from racing and freshened up by the change of scenery that oh so often comes with the stable change.
He did have one trial leading into the race to bring him along, and Maotai would come out firing to the degree that his connections could really enjoy what was a famous victory for them ... the result took the syndicators achievements to a new level ... as Maotai (who was easy to back at $8.50), raced down the centre of the track with meaning to get to the leader Little Miss Kubi ($7.50) approaching the 200m mark.
Giving the momentum Maotai had been resolutely building from the 400m, the race looked well in Maotai’s keeping long before he took Little Miss Kubi’s measure.
Luke Nolen then made sure Maotai sustained his run to the line and, with no real threat materialising from behind inside the final 200m itself, Maotai got home by a comfortable 1.75 length margin. Read more ...
MAOTAI RETURNS WITH AN EMPHATIC FIRST-UP WIN (AUGUST 3, 2024)
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A COUNTRY WINNER - THEY ALL COUNT
You go where your horse can win ... wherever that might be ... and if you get a decent price about its chances, so much the better.
And so it was that KO Racing’s Lady Wairua, a New Zealand bred daughter of Charm Spirit, arrived at a non-Tab meeting at Esk to tackle a BM55 Handicap over 1200m on July 13.
The five-year-old had ten runs for trainer Phillip Stokes for one win and two runner-up finishes prior to relocating to the Corey and Kylie Geran stable ... and then had a further ten runs for the Geran yard without posting another win.
That meant that relatively good odds of $4.20 were available for this Esk assignment where she effectively came into the race as second bottom weight, courtesy of the 2kg claim of Landon Sykes, which was going to be a helpful advantage in a busy contest for the first half of the home straight.
Lady Wairua raced well back, some six to seven lengths off the keenly contested chase up from in the early part, but Sykes then started to bring the Geran trained runner steadily into the race in the long sweep to the home turn. He saved ground until the point of the home turn and then switched four wide to gain some much needed, clear galloping room. Read more ...
A COUNTRY TRIP ... BUT A WIN IS A WIN IS A WIN (JULY 13, 2024)
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WITHOUT REVENGE STORMS HOME IN STYLE
Without Revenge bounced back in emphatic fashion ... second up over 1400m in a Class 6 Handicap at Eagle Farm on July 3 ... to claim his sixth career win overall and his second win in seven starts since transferring to the Corey and Kylie Geran stable.
The six-year-old son of Muhaarar had been soundly beaten when resuming from a four-and-a-half-month break at Ipswich on June 22, but he had won two out of five attempts in his second up runs before he took on this latest Eagle Farm assignment.
That statistic, coupled with the fact that Withour Revenge would strip fitter for this run were both positive factors ... and his record when he gets his preparation up to speed was another notable factor with his results since transferring to the Corey and Kylie Geran stable including a fourth place in the $750 000 The Little Dance (when less than two lengths off the winner) ... successive Listed race runner-up finishes in the Bernborough and the Tails ... and a win in the Ballina Cup.
If you wanted more reasons to expect an improved run, Withour Revenge has done some of his best work over 1600m (he does actually stay further) and the 1400m he tackled at Eagle Farm was contested on a heavy 8 track ... making it more like a 1600m contest. Read more ...
WITHOUT REVENGE BACK WITH A BANG (JULY 3, 2024)
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MUST BE THE MONEY
KO Racing played its part in an exceptional weekend for the Coray and Kylie Geran stable who saddled five winners over two days on Friday June 14 and Saturday June 15.
Team Geran was on fire saddling a long-priced quinella at the Sunshine Coast on Friday, before landing a double at both Warwick and Toowoomba on Saturday.
Must Be The Money, racing in the distinctive pink and white checks and navy blue silks with the KO Racing logos ... was one of Team Geran’s two winners at Warwick, where the daughter of No Nay Never started as a $2 favourite and duly shed her Maiden ticket at the eighth time of asking when stepping out to the 1350m trip for the first time. Read more ...
KO RACING ON THE MARK WITH MUST BE THE MONEY (JUNE 15, 2024)
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SIRI SAY RUBICK SOLVES THE PUZZLE
The Corey and Kylie Geran trained Siri Say Rubick upstaged her more fancied rivals in a Maiden Handicap over 1200m at Toowoomba on May 25, winning for the first time in only her second career start.
Siri Say Rubick had been unwanted in the betting on debut back on May 4 when she drifted from $10 to $20 before finishing sixth out of eight runners, a touch under four lengths off the winner ... and the preliminaries to her second outing followed a very similar route with Siri Say Rubick once again drifting out from $10 ... this time stopping at the $18 call.
That’s where any similarities between the two runs ended.
With the benefit of having that first run under her belt, and with a deft rise in distance from 1000m to 1200m, this was going to be a different ballgame.
Not that those who had backed against Siri Say Rubick had any cause for concern early on as Karl Zechner took the Geran trained runner all the way back to second last, dropping out from her extreme wide draw (barrier twelve out of twelve) to ultimately settle a full nine lengths off the speed for the whole of the first half of the race. Read more ...
SIRI SAY RUBICK FINDS A ROUTE TO VICTORY (MAY 25, 2024)
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'TOO EASY' FOR MEDICAL AUTOCRAT
The theme continues ... find a reasonably well-bred, often lightly raced horse being released by a reputable stable, purchase it, often for a very acceptable price ... and kick on from there, many times to an early success.
Ok ... things are never that simple in racing. It is anything but an exact science, but when you work to a plan ... and refine it as you learn along the way ... you can tip the odds in your favour, as evidenced by the fact that you can now add the name of Medical Autocrat to that list of KO Racing’s successful purchases and the Corey and Kylie Geran’s stable honour roll of results with tried horses after the three-year-old son of Dundeel won on debut for the stable, taking out a Maiden Handicap over 1625m at Toowoomba on May 18.
Medical Autocrat raced four times for Anthony and Sam Freedman starting out at 1415m and going all the way up to 2100m, and, with his stout staying pedigree, the Geran stable set the gelding this 1625m target for starters.
Medical Autocrat, who started favourite at $2, only had one rival on the betting boards here ... the $3.60 chance Go Girl Go from the Tony Gollan yard. Only one other runner in the ten-strong field was priced under $14. Read more ...
MEDICAL AUTOCRAT CALLS THE SHOTS (MAY 18, 2024)
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WHAT A WIN! WHAT A PRICE!
Up until now, it would be fair to say that the Corey and Kylie Geran training partnership have largely built its evolving reputation on the good results they have achieved over a fair period of time with runners that have been purchased as tried horses.
The KO Racing ownership group have been very much part of that journey.
At Eagle Farm on May 8, this enthusiastic group broke new ground when sending out Spirit Fox, a two-year-old on debut, to claim victory in a QTIS Two-Year-Old Maiden Plate over 1000m.
And, if a stable, generally always talked about in terms of their success with tired horses, wanted to make a statement and attract some attention about what they can do with two-year-olds, what better way to prepare it to win in its first start ... and, wait for it, for it to win at a starting price of $91 ... and then not just win, but win like a good thing!
Chances are the Geran stable won’t be underestimated again in this regard.
Spirit Fox had two trials leading into this race, the second one coming a month before this debut run. There was nothing wrong with either of those efforts, but also nothing of real note about them in a positive sense, so he came to Eagle Farm as something of an unknown under race conditions. Read more ...
SPIRIT FOX HUNTS THEM DOWN AND SALUTES IN A $91 BOILOVER FOR A BIG WIN ON DEBUT (MAY 8, 2024)
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TOUCH OF GRACIE TAKES THE NEXT STEP
Touch Of Gracie made it back-to-back wins when she landed a BM58 Handicap over 1300m at Rockhampton on The Archer Raceday, April 28.
While the big prize for the Corey and Kylie Geran stable went missing one race earlier ... the Geran and KO & KC Thoroughbred Racing Group team had Nikau Spur in the $775 000 feature ... Touch Of Gracie’s powerhouse performance in the last race on the card meant to day would have a happy ending.
A winner over the same distance at Toowoomba in her last start in a result which underlined the solid progress she was making, Touch Of Gracie topped the betting boards at $3, and justified that status when, for the second time in a row, she produced a sustained run in the long home straight to carry the day by a 0.88 length margin.
Andrew Mallyon was in the saddle this time. The inside draw and Touch Of Gracie’s willingness at the start allowed Mallyon to navigate a favourable early path which saw Touch Of Gracie take up a comfortable position on the rail, trailing the lead by some four lengths in the first half of the race.
Early in the straight, when in sixth place, Mallyon made the decision to get Touch Of Gracie off the rail, angling out four wide looking for clear galloping room.
At the 450m mark Touch Of Grace was carried out marginally when another runner shifted ground but, from that moment, she had her desired clear run to the line.
Touch Of Gracie took a few strides to gather momentum but, when she did, she quickly ranged up into contention, to the degree that she was already in front inside the final 200m. Read more ...
TOUCH OF GRACIE ROCKS THEM AT ROCKHAMPTON (APRIL 28, 2024)
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ROCKY HERE WE COME!
Nikau Spur’s slashing first-up run at Eagle Farm on Saturday might not have produced a win, but it helped open the door to a great new opportunity for the chestnut son of Proisir, his co-trainers Corey and Kylie Geran and his enthusiastic, large group of owners who rally around wherever the relatively new but already distinctive KO Racing colours are in action.
The ownership group loves racing, and they will thrilled just at the prospect of Nikau Spur taking his place in the $775 000 The Archer at Rockhampton on April 27 ... his entry being confirmed by John Kele from KGB Racing, one of the slot holders with the right to select their runners for the Archer Showdown. Read more ...
NIKAU SPUR SECURES A START IN THE ARCHER (APRIL 9, 2024)
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TOUCH OF GRACIE ON THE MARK
The Corey and Kylie Geran trained Touch Of Gracie ticked several new boxes when she got the better of Purezza in a straight two-way fight to the line in a Class 2 Handicap over 1300m at Toowoomba on April 6.
The four-year-old daughter of Toronado came into the race off the back of a highly creditable third placing in town at Eagle Farm, while also boosting a consistent form-line which saw her claim a win, a second, third and fourth placing in her four starts since transferring to the Geran stable.
It looked like she had plenty to offer in this field and she was duly installed as the $2.45 favourite.
Two new factors were in play here though ... a heavy 9 track and the 1300m trip.
With still under the care of the Ciaron Maher / David Eustice stable, Touch Of Gracie had raced poorly in her two starts on heavy going. Couple that concern with the 1300m distance, the longest distance she had been asked to tackle in her career, and it was clear that Touch Of Gracie did have work to do, but she passed both of those tests with flying colours by turning in a near faultless performance from start to finish. Read more ...
TOUCH OF GRACIE PASSES THE TEST (APRIL 6, 2024)
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ON A ROLL AGAIN. THAT'S THREE WINNERS IN TWO DAYS!
Fresh from their triumph with Celestial Harbour at Rockhampton on Friday, the Saturday set of results on April 6 put the icing on the cake for the weekend for the Corey and Kylie Geran training partnership and the KO and KC Thoroughbred Racing Group.
Connecticut’s win in town at Eagle Farm was a big win in many respects.
Firstly, the son of Written Tycoon, who had previously been with trainer Michael Moroney, had shown to good advantage in both of his first two starts for the Geran stable and this win cemented the fact that his form trajectory was on the right path, not just because of the win, but because of the manner in which it was achieved.
And what about the price! Connecticut started at $21.
Trapped four wide early, but racing in fourth place, Connecticut pressed forward into third place as the field went down the back straight and Kyle Wilson-Taylor kept the Geran trained runner holding that position all the way through the sweep to the home turn.
Approaching the home turn Wilson-Taylor slipped Connecticut up to join the leaders, racing two wide, and he quickly slipped into a close-up second place and then just as quickly took over the lead early in the straight ... but it was going to be a long run home. Read more ...
CONNECTICUT TOUGHS IT OUR TO WIN AT LONG ODDS (APRIL 6, 2024)
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BACK AT ROCKY - WITH A WINNER
Toowoomba to Rockhampton is, on average, a touch over seven hours drive. If you travel there to compete as a racehorse trainer, a good result can seem to make the drive back home shorter.
Celestial Harbour got that result for the Corey and Kylie Geran stable at Rocky in a Class 1 Handicap over 1100m on April 5.
The former Mick Price and Michael Kent (Junior) trained runner had raced first-up for the Geran stable on March 23, where he was caught wide throughout and lost ground when squeezed in-between runners halfway up the straight, yet still managed to finish within 1.80 lengths of the winner.
While he would obviously have been fitter for that run, he had not raced on a heavy surface before ... the Rockhampton meeting was run on a Heavy 9 ... but there was still a fair measure of support for the visitor who started on the second line of betting at $5.
In dismal conditions, Celestial Harbour was taken back in the field from a wide gate by Karl Zechner to race, two wide, all of seven lengths off the early lead.
Celestial Harbour was still well out his ground when the field straightened for the long 600m straight run home with Zechner weighing up his options on where to try and make his run. Read more ...
CELESTIAL HARBOUR MAKES THE TRIP WORTHWHILE (APRIL 5, 2024)
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UNLEASH PUTS HER NAME ON THE SCOREBOARD
The four-year-old Capitalist mare Unleash gave the KO Thoroughbred Racing team another winner when she claimed her first career success in a Maiden Handicap over 1300m at Toowoomba on February 17.
It was a welcome change of fortune for Unleash who had raced seven times for trainer Michael Moroney (with two second places being her best results there) before transferring to the Corey and Kylie Geran stable, where she has remained a work in progress.
She was winning here in her fifth start for the stable and came home by a one length margin under Karl Zechner after following a totally different racing pattern to that undertaken by Skater, Geran’s earlier winner on the card. Read more ...
UNLEASH OVERPOWERS THEM (FEBRUARY 17, 2024)
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PREPOTENT STRIKES AGAIN
Buoyed by a confidence boosting win at Warwick on January 29, Prepotent made it back-to-back wins when landing a hard-fought win in a BM65 Handicap over 1300m at his home base of Toowoomba on February 10.
Karl Zechner, who rode Prepotent so confidently at Warwick, was again in the saddle here as the chestnut son of More Than Ready jumped as the joint second favourite (with another last start Warwick winner, Dazzling Flash) at $4.40. Bean Rocking was the $3.30 race favourite.
Dazzling Flash immediately went out to make every post a winning one while Bean Rocking settled in third place two-and-a-half lengths off the lead in the early part, while Zechner had Prepotent back in fifth place a little under five lengths off the leader ... with the runners basically holding their positions in the sweep to the home turn.
Dazzling Flash was still a free-running leader along the inside on straightening. Bean Rocking had angled wider to get a clear crack at them ... and Prepotent was now right on the back of Bean Rocking, also poised to strike. Read more ...
PREPOTENT MAKES IT BACK-TO-BACK WINS WITH A LAST STRIDE VICTORY (FEBRUARY 10, 2024)
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A NEAT TWO VENUE DOUBLE
KO Racing enjoyed a two venue double on February 3, with Waterworld saluting at Ipswich and Touch Of Gracie winning at Toowoomba ... with Geran stable on fire with a total of three winners on the day.
In an absolutely rousing finish, Waterworld got the ball rolling for the stable in a Class 2 Plate over 1100m.
The gelding certainly had the credentials to be able to claim the result here having a win and a close-up fourth place (in town) to his name in his two results leading into this race. Those were his first two runs for the Geran stable after relocating from trainer Nathan Doyle.
The win was solid enough, albeit on the Gold Coast Poly Track, where the field standards are not necessarily that high ... but all you can do is beat the opposition on offer ... so arguable the fourth place finish behind Tikka Ready at Doomben was a better pointer as to Waterworld’s current level of progress. Read more ...
A TWO VENUE DOUBLE FOR KO THOROUGHBRED RACING (FEBRUARY 3, 2024)
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BACK TO WINNING FORM
The More Than Ready gelding Prepotent was back in the winner’s enclosure landing a Class 3 Plate over 1350m at Warwick on January 29.
Prepotent had six unplaced runs before transferring to the Corey and Kylie Geran stable in early 2023, and the chestnut’s career immediately blossomed following the move with Prepotent winning three of his first four starts for the Geran stable.
The win has been harder to find in his second preparation with the Warwick success coming in his sixth start this time in, but it should be noted that the two previous runs leading into the Warwick assignment were in town ... in the highly competitive Summer Provincial Series Final and in a BM65 Handicap, both at Eagle Farm.
With that background, Prepotent ... racing in the new KO Racing silks ... appeared to be well placed by the Geran team here, although he was still easy to back at $5 being on the third line of betting in only a five horse field where Wowit’s Willywonka topped the boards at $2.20 with Breaking Ground at $2.25.
PREPOTENT FINDS HIS WINNING TOUCH AT WARWICK (JANUARY 29, 2024)
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TOO GOOD. TOO STRONG. TOO EASY
Talk about taking no prisoners!
When you have the best horse in the race there is no point in employing tentative tactics. You can afford to take the race by the scruff of the neck right from the start and shake it until you have sapped all of the strength and enthusiasm out of the opposition and left them well behind, chasing for only a minor share of the prize-money.
That is exactly what Kyle Wilson-Taylor did aboard the Corey and Kylie Geran trained Without Revenge, with the duo completing a commanding display by passing the post a full 3.80 lengths clear of the $2.05 race favourite Eaglemont in the Ballina Cup on January 25.
Without Revenge started second favourite at $3.10.
The win came with the added bonus of earning a Big Dance eligibility ... the Big Dance being a $3 million race which is restricted to horses contesting one of selected NSW Country Cups throughout the year. The Big Dance 2024 will be run on November 5, 2024 ... Melbourne Cup Day ... at Randwick Racecourse ... so it was huge result.
The Ballina Cup meeting was originally due to be run on January 19, but was postponed due to the significant amount of rain the track had received that week. Any delay is not necessarily ideal, but the fact that the track came back to a Soft 7 by the rescheduled race day importantly put it in a range which Without Revenge could cope with ... and the rest, as they say, is history. Read more ...
WITHOUT REVENGE CANES THEM IN THE BALLINA CUP (JANUARY 25, 2024)
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WATERWORLD WINS ON DEBUT FOR TEAM GERAN AND KO RACING (DECEMBER 23)
Waterworld won at the first time of asking for the Corey and Kylie Geran stable winning at the Gold Coast on December 23, taking out a Class 1 Handicap over 1050m after the Geran’s became the third stable to have Waterworld in their care.
The four-year-old had previously had nine runs for Peter Moody for one win (over 1100m) and five runs for Nathan Doyle (where his best results were two runner-up finishes) and he was six weeks between runs when he making his debut for Corey and Kylie Geran.
Waterworld did appear to face a task on two fronts.
Firstly, carrying the steadying burden of 60kg, Waterworld did have to give weight to all of his rivals (between 1kg and 7.5kg) and, secondly, he seemed very much up against the weight of popular opinion which had the Kris Lees trained Yamabushi starting at the restrictive odds of $1.95, suggesting he was a good thing.
Waterworld would start third favourite at $4.40.
It wasn’t the best of starts for Waterworld who, according to the steward’s report, ‘began awkwardly ... then bumped ... raced keenly in the early stages,’ but having an old pro like Michael Cahill in the saddle is worth its weight in gold in those situations, and the veteran rider soon had Waterworld back settled into a comfortable gallop going down the back stretch where the main fancy Yamabushi had taken up the running, intent on making every post a winning one.
It was a measured gallop by Yamabushi under Jasper Franklin though, and there were only four lengths covering the field as Yamabushi led the field to the home turn.
Cahill had to angle Waterworld out across several sets of heels on straightening, swinging all of five wide ... and, with Yamabushi putting in his kick at the same time on the inside, Waterworld suddenly had five lengths to make up once he had found clear running.
With 200m left to run, Yamabushi seem to have them all beaten, but Waterworld was only just warming up. He was still four-and-a-half lengths back at that stage, but was now really revving up his challenge, to the extent that he had cut the deficit to Yamabushi to just two lengths at the 100m, and was closing so fast that it became clear that Yamabushi would not be able to contain Waterworld’s strong finishing effort, even though he was carrying 4kg less than the Geran trained runner.
At the line, Waterworld had sealed victory by a 0,80 length margin.
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VINASTA RETIRES WITH A PROUD RECORD (DECEMBER 2)
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The day was already made for the Corey and Kylie Geran training partnership after Mahbaby’s win in the Country Stampede Final ... and although the old warrior Vinasta tried to add to the stable’s success in the Country Cup’s final, it was not to be with the eight-year-old hardly firing a shot when finishing 11.50 lengths behind the Country Cups final winner Fire King.
There was no real sadness with Vinasta’s result itself, but a touch of sadness certainly did set in not long after the race when the stable took the decision to retire Vinasta who left the racing scene with a very proud overall record of eleven wins and twenty-five placings from fifty-six starts.
Related to the Vinasta retirement, part-owner Brett Moody posted the following on social media:
‘farewell Queen V (Vinasta) thanks for the memories??. you brought me back into racing as a owner after decade or more out. yesterday wasn’t farewell u deserved but we set you too big a task from outside alley. but your record as cups queen will stand test of time.
'a $10k purchase your record for us: 40 starts over 3 years. 8wins ... 10x2nds ... 8x3rds pmoney $220820
'you won dalby picnic cup, warwick picnic cup, gympie muster cup, eidsvold cup, wondai cup, you were 2nd in country cups final, magic millions country cup, placed on a dalby newmarket and dalby cup plus multiple cup placings.
'you bought joy to your owners but also to your stable and carers
'special thanks to KO Racing Geran Racing for all your efforts’
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BACK-TO-BACK WINS FOR VONZITHER
The five-year-old chestnut mare Vonzither made it back-to-back wins when she took out a BM65 Handicap over 1100m at Toowoomba on November 11.
The daughter of Toronado had saluted by the narrowest of margins in her pervious start (in a Ratings Band 0-58 Handicap over 1200m) while still under the care of trainer Wayne Nugent, and she continued her good work here when scoring in her first start for the Corey and Kylie Geran training partnership.
Coming into the race on the back of that win, Vonzither jumped at a generous starting price of $5, while another last start winner, the Steve Tregea trained Quackery and the Robert Lyford trained Rose By Design (who had run third at Doomben in her last start) topped the betting boards at $2.30 and $2.80 respectively in the six horse field.
Jockey Gary Geran arguably made the race winning move on Vonzither a couple of strides after the start when he speared his mount into an immediate lead after which he controlled the race, holding a two to one-and-a-half lead all the way to the approach to the home turn. Read more ...
VONZITHER CARRIES ON HER GOOD WORK (NOVEMBER 11, 2023)
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LITTLE DANCE. BIG PARTY
The Little Dance, a race worth $750 000 over 1500m at Randwick on November 7 was always going to be a mouth-watering prospect for trainers Corey and Kylie Geran and the host of connections of the six-year-old gelding Without Revenge who was a recent addition to the team having been purchased by Kobie O’Brien.
The team arrived with little fanfare at Randwick. In fact, you could say they were hardly noticed and certainly not respected in the preamble, to the degree that Without Revenge was roundly neglected in the betting (he would jump at a starting price of $201) but everyone soon found out that Without Revenge was not there to merely make up the numbers and just go around.
He was there to shake up the pre-race thinking and … win, lose or draw … he was intent on laying down the law to his opposition, which included the $3.50 race favourite Cotehele (John O’Shea / Nash Rawiller) and runners from the yards of Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, Bjorn Baker and Kris Lees … amongst other.
Without Revenge, the only Queensland representative in the race, had to jump from the visitor’s draw (barrier draw fifteen out of twenty), but jockey Tom Sherry and the Geran team had only one thing in mind for Without Revenge on leaving the gates. Read more ...
WITHOUT REVENGE (A $201 CHANCE) GIVES THE LITTLE DANCE A REAL, SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL (NOVEMBER 6, 2023)
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THIS IS GOING TO BE EXCITING
The Corey and Kylie Geran stable have been very busy … and tomorrow at Randwick they will step up to feature race action at Randwick for the first time when the six-year-old import Without Revenge, who will be having the first start for the Geran yard, steps out in the $750 000 Little Dance over 1600m.
Busy in that in the last couple of weeks the Geran Team have qualified two runners, Jack Be Luck and Vinasta for the $200 000 Country Cups final and the $105 000 Country Stampede Final respectively.
Both of those races will take place on December 2 at Doomben, evidence that the stable continues to target the best options available for their team.
But, for now, that big day out at Doomben will be pushed aside for the moment as an even bigger adventure beckons.
The surrounds of Royal Randwick will be the focus of attention when Corey and Kylie Geran saddle up a newcomer to their stable in the form of the former David Vandyke trained Without Revenge, who was purchased by KO Racing’s Kobie O’Brien after the son of Muhaarar had finished second in the Lismore Cup, a result which galned him entry into the Little Dance. Read more ...
WARMING UP FOR THE LITTLE DANCE (NOVEMBER 6, 2023)
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SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
Talk about taking no prisoners!
The Corey and Kylie Geran trained Vinasta might have missed out (when finishing third) in the Country Cups Challenge Qualifier / Tara Cup Open Handicap over 1400m (held at Dalby) last time out, but the ever-game, now eight-year-old mare is something of a gift that keeps on giving for the Geran stable and her ownership group who race in the Kobie O’Brien’s KO Racing colours.
It didn’t take long for Vinasta to set the record straight and she did so in the most emphatic terms when she tackled the Country Cups Challenge Qualifier / Wondai Cup Open contest on October 21.
Stepping up in distance to the 1577m, Vinasta, under Gary Geran, could not have been more clinical in the way he went about his business … from start to finish.
Pushed out by Geran from the worst of the draw (barrier ten out of ten), Vinasta, the $5.50 third favourite, was quickly right up with the speed, crossing under a great ride to fill second place briefly before settling into third spot as the $3.30 favourite Portnoy led the field past winning post for the first time.
When the field emerged out of the dust cloud going down the back straight, Portnoy still held the lead with Vinasta holding the inside run in the trio of horses racing a couple of lengths in behind the leader. Read more ...
VINASTA - A GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING (OCTOBER 21, 2023)
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SECONDS ALL AROUND
Make no mistake, trying to land a spot in the Country Cups Challenge final is a tough task.
KO Racing and the Corey and Kylie Geran training partnership brought a three-pronged attack to that game on October 7, sending Torbreck out to the contest the Country Cups Challenge Qualifier / Eidsvold Cup Race-day and doubling up with Vinasta and Sammy in the Country Cups Challenge Qualifier / Tara Cup Raceday, which was rescheduled to take place at Dalby after, according to a Racing Queensland media release, ‘Ongoing hot and dry conditions - with no rain - have made the Tara track unsuitable for racing.’
At Dalby, the $2 favourite Office Jim was prominent from the break, settling in a clear second place behind the tearaway leader Parko ($9), while Vinasta ($6) took the trail in fourth and Sammy raced well back, some six to seven lengths off the leader in the early part. Read more ...
QUALIFYING FOR THE COUNTRY CUPS CHALLENGE FINAL IS NOT AN EASY TASK (OCTOBER 7, 2023)
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COULD BE MORE TO COME FROM THIS ONE
The lightly raced four-year-old mare Awesome Moon became the latest winner in the KO Racing colours when she claimed her first career victory in her eighth start in a Maiden Plate over 1890m at Toowoomba on September 30.
Awesome Moon could not come from a better line on the male side of her pedigree. Her sire, Satono Aladdin, was a top-class racehorse in Japan where his eight victories included a Group 1 success in the Yasuda Kinen.
That win in the Yasuda Kinen, as described in a report in the South China Morning Post, took the Yasutoshi Ikee-trained stallion from a ‘million dollar baby’ to a Group One winner, the article referencing the fact that, ‘Satono Aladdin was the first horse Ikee bought for high-profile owner Hajime Satomi, who paid ?136,500,000 (HK$9.52 million) for the well-bred foal by Deep Impact out of the stakes-winning Storm Cat mare Magic Storm at the 2011 Select Sale.
Deep Impact, who won the Japanese Triple Crown in 2005, in turn was sired by Sunday Silence who won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness in 1989. Read more ...
AWESOME MOON WINS LIKE A GOOD THING (SEPTEMBER 30 2023)
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SO NEAR AND YET SO FAR
The Corey and Kylie trained Nikau Spur had certainly earned his stripes coming into the Toowoomba Cup, his big home-town feature race which was contested over 2000m on September 23.
Carrying the distinctive KO Racing silks, the seven-year-old son of Proisir had won three of his last four starts prior to facing the starter in the Toowoomba Cup.
Those wins had come over distances ranging from 1815m to 2200m, so the Cup distance fell neatly within his comfortable stroke zone and bookmakers were not keen to chance their arm with him, sending him off as a clearcut $2.50 favourite after being punted in from $3.80 … with only two other runners in the fourteen horse field … Heleva Deel ($8 – a last start winner at Eagle Farm) and Namazi ($9.50) – the Townsville Cup winner) quoted at odds under $10.
There was a jockey change on Nikau Spur. There was nothing sinister in that as Mark Du Plessis, Nikau Spur’s regular pilot, was unavailable, so Ben Thompson, another top rider, was handed the reins.
Nikau Spur was surrounded by horses in midfield as the runners passed the winning post for the first time. Thompson then briefly settled him in seventh place as the field left the home straight with the $13 chance Military Gamber, who Damien Thornton had pushed forward from a wide draw, coming across to take up the lead.
Nikau Spur was caught three wide at that stage, and he was briefly as much as five lengths behind Military Gambler as the leader got on with it, taking the field towards the back straight. Read more ...
NO CIGAR, BUT ANOTHER STRONG SHOWING BY NIKAU SPUR FINISHING RUNNER-UP IN THE TOOWOOMBA CUP (SEPTEMBER 23 2023)
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THE EXCITEMENT OF A HOME TOWN CUP
It’s home-town Cup-time for the Corey and Kylie Geran training partnership and the betting says they are in the pound seats with the in-form Nikau Spur marked up as dominant favourite for the big race.
Early in the race-week, co-trainer Corey Geran spoke to James O’Shea on Racing Nation about Nikau Spur and his feelings going into the race. Geran’s informed comments are repeated below.
On the excitement and anticipation of the occasions:
“To come into this race is a big thrill in itself, but to come in as favourite is pretty special. The only one thing that can beat that most likely is winning it.
On the path Nikau Spur has taken to the Cup:
“If you’d asked me about it a few months ago I would have been pretty sceptical. We sort of bought this horse for the Rocky Cup. That was the original plan … a few Cup races like that.
“Kobie O’Brien picked him out. I didn’t mind him when said he had bought him. I wasn’t overly sold on him to be quite honest … and then I got him here and he is a magnificent horse. He is a beautiful looking horse. He has got a great nature on him.”
On the feedback received on Nikau Spur’s profile prior to coming into the stable … the change and how the change came about. Read more ...
TAKING AIM AT A HOME-TOWN CUP (SEPTEMBER 21 2023)
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GALLWAY HUSSLER ON A ROLL
A good break at the start and a quick forward move straight into a comfortable rails run in second place three quarters to half a length behind the early leader Approval ($5) was all the $2.50 favourite Galway Hussler needed to set up yet another victory for the KO Racing ownership and the Corey and Kylie Geran training partnership. … this time in a QTIS Three-Year-Old BM60 Handicap over 1200m at Dalby on September 16.
Gallway Hussler would not have been short of confidence coming into the race the three-year-old filly had already won two of her three starts this season, but the Geran Team was testing her rate of progress yet again, increasing the distance test from 1100m to 1200m while also asking the daughter of Husson to carry 2kg more than she powered home with in her previous, last start win at Gatton … going up to 59kg from 57kg. Read more ...
GALWAY HUSSLER CLAIMS HER THIRD WIN IN FOUR STARTS SINCE THE START OF THE NEW SEASON (16/09/23)
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GOING FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH
Three wins and one third place finish in four starts over a six-week period (from July 29 to Sep 9) … all at Saturday metropolitan level … has seen the career of the Corey and Kylie Geran trained and KO Racing owned Nikau Spur go into turbo-charge mode and take off on an exciting new trajectory.
That run of results, rubber stamped by his latest win at Doomben on Saturday, September 9, has brought just shy of a $150 000 boost to Nikau Spur’s prize-money-earnings bank balance, which means that, with a career earnings total of $321 507, he is already well on his way to doubling the money he earned in eighteen starts for the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace camp, prior to transferring the Geran stable, after only ten starts for the Geran team.
Nikau Spur won four races for Maher/Eustace up to 1600m and he was only tried beyond that 1600m trip once, at 1700m, during his time down south.
Corey and Kylie Geran followed that lead for Nikau Spur’s first six starts for the stable … not venturing beyond 1666m … until what was to become a transformative run when they asked Nikau Spur to tackle 1815m at Eagle Farm in a BM78 Handicap on July 29, which he won. Read more ...
THE NIKAU SPUR STORY JUST GETS BETTER AND BETTER (09/09/23)
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THE 'HUSSLER' AMBUSHES THEM
The Corey and Kylie Geran trained Galway Hussler overcame a bungled start and a six-length early deficit to pulverize her opposition in no uncertain terms, laying it down to them in the straight before powering away to win every bit as easily and impressively as the official three length winning margin suggests in a QTIS Three-Year-Old BM60 Handicap over 1100m at Gatton on September 7.
The three-year-old daughter of Husson took five starts to shed her Maiden ticket, but she was a model of consistency before landing that first success, featuring in the placings in all four starts leading up to that win, which came over the 1000m trip at the Sunshine Coast.
Her follow-up run, when finishing fourth behind the smart Show Me Mercy (who is unbeaten in two starts) in a QTIS Three-Year-Old BM68 Handicap over 1000m, was always going to bring her on, if nothing else giving the lightly raced filly some necessary race experience so that, when she arrived at Gatton with that extra run under her belt and facing nothing like the strength of opposition she had tackle at her previous start, it looked like she was going to be right in this race.
Some of that level of optimism would have taken a hit when Galway Hussler (a $3.60 third favourite) blundered out of the gates, with Micheal Hellyer going up in the saddle and having to take hold a few strides into the race, a combination of factors which took the Geran trained runner back to last. Read more ...
GALWAY HUSSLER LULLS HER OPPOSION INTO A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY. SMASHES THEM LATE (07/09/23)
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SECOND IS BETTER THAN THIRD
Ok … it wasn’t a case of ‘they came, they saw, the conquered’ … but it was just about as good an example you can get of someone giving the Birdsville Cup a real go to the point that, when you look back it, this is a second place of which connections can be proud.
Torbreck is the horse in question here … the Corey and Kylie Geran training partnership the trainers involved along with a large ownership group who race Torbreck under the KO Racing colours.
The trip …. as documented in a pervious article on HRO (see here) … is one steeped in optimism. Why else would you undertake a sixteen-hour journey with three horses, as the Geran team did, particularly when the answers to questions such as how the horses might be affected by the trip or how they would handle the prevailing track conditions on the day at Birdsville would only be known after the fact.
Of course, it is a great place to be with one of the biggest outback parties in the country, but you can do that without having horses in tow, so when you load them up your mindset has to include at lest a touch of optimism. Read more ...
THE ICONIC BIRDSVILLE CUP - WHEN FINISHING SECOND IS STILL A FEATHER IN YOUR CAP (02/09/23)
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REMEMBERING A GROUP 1 STAR
Remember Samantha Miss?
The Redoute’s Choice mare who raced for trainer Kris Lees in the orange colours with the black maltese cross and who won the Champagne Stakes (beating Sebring), the Flight Stakes (beating Portillo) and the Crown Oaks at Flemington (beating Miss Scarlatti) – all Group 1 wins – as well saluting in the Silver Shadow, the Furious Stakes and the Tea Rose!
Yes, that’s the one.
Samantha Miss banked 1.7 million in prize-money from her relatively brief career of only twelve starts which is a pretty useful return when you consider we are talking about races run and won in 2008.
The mare is now eighteen years old and those who have gone through Friday’s racebook for Birdsville might have spotted her name in the breeding as the dam of horse number six in race five – the Cory and Kylie Geran trained Sammy. Read more ...
SAMMY'S FAMILY BRAGGING RIGHTS (31/08/23)
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KO RACING HAVE TORBRECK AND SAMMY AT BIRDSVILLE
Birdsville bound and a chance to mix with five thousand or so of your new best friends at the country’s greatest outback horse racing party ... well, that’s a well-worn path for Gary and Kylie Geran, so much so that Kylie can’t tell you exactly how many times they have made the trip.
“Ah geez, I really don’t know how many times exactly,” said Kylie, speaking shortly after her and Gary’s arrival at Birdsville for the 2023 edition of the iconic event.
“We’ve been coming to Birdsville since about 1998. Corey was about two years old when we first came out here ... and, yeah, as an event nothing much has changed.
The Geran team has three horses involved over the two-day meeting this weekend but, even with all of their understanding of the Birdsville experience, Kylie admits that the decision-making process in deciding which of the stable runners to bring to Birdsville remains a difficult call.
“It’s really very hard trying to pick the right horse because of the possible effects of the travel might have on the horse and, at the time you are making that decision, you also don’t know what the racing conditions will be like on the day,” explained Kylie. Read more ...
BIRDSVILLE BOUND, CUP TARGETED. INSIGHT INTO WHAT THE TRIP INVOLVES FROM A STABLE WHO SHOULD KNOW (30/08/23)
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YOU CAN'T BEAT THE FEELING OF A GOOD CITY WIN
The win of the Corey and Kylie Geran trained Nikau Spur on July 29 and the horse’s subsequent close-up third place finish in his follow-up outing on August 12 had already kept the KO Racing’s colours to the fore in town giving the training/ownership team a good start to the season ... and it got even better at Doomben on August 26 when the self-same Nikau Spur made it two wins in his last three starts, taking out a BM90 contest over 2020m.
In spite of his consistency, Nikau Spur started at seemingly generous odds of $5 in a five-horse field ... with punters rather siding with the big stables of Chris Waller, who saddled the $2.70 favourite Wairere Falls with whom Nikau Spur had dead-heated for third place when they last met, and Tony Gollan, who sent out the $3.90 second favourite Fifth Position.
That would prove to be their mistake.
Nikau Spur’s pervious win had come over 1815m. Following that, his narrow defeat had come over 1835m ... and now the stable saw fit to step up the distance test to the 2020m trip with Mark Du Plessis, who had partnered Nikau Spur in all of his last three starts leading into this race, staying in the saddle, thereby giving his vote of confidence to the chestnut son of Proisir, and providing a presence, with his knowledge of the horse, which would serve Nikau Spur well.
From the break, Du Plessis settled Nikau Spur in second place on the back of Mubariz ($6) as the lesser fancied of the Chris Waller trained runner took the field along at little more than a dawdling gallop. Read more ...
NIKAU SPUR DOES IT AGAIN (26/08/23)
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ANOTHER BIG EFFORT FROM NIKAU SPUR
KO Racing’s Nikau Spur’s win on in town July 29 was a huge effort from the son of Proisir. The fact that it came off the back of an eye-catching third place finish at Ipswich ten days earlier strongly suggested that Nikau Spur was enjoying his racing and lifting his form in the right direction.
To win two-in-a-row anywhere though is no ‘gimme’ so when the Corey and Kylie Geran stable set Nikau Spur the task of chasing back-to-back wins in town on August 12, when stepping the chestnut up to a BM90 (from a BM78) and pushing the race distance out ever so slightly to 1835m (from 1815m), it was always going to be a tough assignment for the now seven-year-old, but, while the win did elude him, Nikau Spur did run out of his skin, to claim a highly creditable third place dead-heat, finishing just half-a-length behind the winner Tony Be, who carried 2kg less than the Geran Team trained runner. Read more ...
NIKAU SPUR - ANOTHER BIG EFFORT. DOING TEAM GERAN AND KO RACING PROUD (12/08/23)
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A WIN WORTH THE WAIT IS NOW ON THE SCOREBOARD
If any horse has been knocking at the door trying to open the way to his first win, it has been Galway Hussler.
in four starts as a two-year-old, the Corey and Kylie Geran trained daughter of Husson finished third, second and then third and second again … maybe not against the strongest of opposition, but nevertheless showing a level of consistency while learning her trade which suggested that a win was certainly on the cards.
The stable targeted a QTIS Three-Year-Old Handicap over 1000m at the Sunshine Coast on August 6 as Galway Hussler’s first run as a three-year-old and the run she produced here underlined the progress she has been making while getting to grips with the task of learning how to win.
Starting at double figure odds of $11 with Mark Du Plessis in the saddle, Galway Hussler began quickly before taking up a trail in third place a little over a length behind the two leaders in the early part.
Up to the bend and on straightening, Galway Hussler was back to fourth and now some two-and-a-half lengths off the lead and she lost a further length on the frontrunners in the first half of the straight as she took a while to start going through her gears.
Approaching the 200m mark, though, Galway Hussler significantly increased her tempo. Read more ...
GALWAY HUSSLER FINDS WINNING FORM (06/08/23)
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ANOTHER COUNTRY CUP GETS KO RACING'S SEASON OFF TO A WINNING START
The chestnut gelding Torbreck gave Kobie O’Brien’s KO Racing a winning start to the new racing season when he saluted in the Nanango Cup Open Handicap over 1600m on August 5.
The now six-year-old son of Sebring had won four of his fourteen starts since relocating the Corey and Kylie Geran stable (from the training partnership of Ben and JD Haye) prior to lining up for the Nanango Cup … and, in two of his last five starts coming into this assignment he was deemed by the stable to be good enough to be given his chance in town.
While he did not place in either of those outings at Eagle Farm, he also did not finish that far back so, given the overall respectability of his form-line it arguably would be fair to say he was over the odds when he jumped at a starting price of $12.
Not that that bothered the KO Racing’s connection in the least, and the fact that the bookmakers had got it wrong only added to the pleasure of the large group of owners whose celebration has become one of the trademark features of KO Racing.
Torbreck was brave because this was no ‘gimme.’ Read more ...
IT'S TORBRECK'S NANANGO CUP! (05/08/23)
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KO RACING'S FIFTIETH WINNER!
WHAT A WAY TO ROUND OFF THE SEASON.
Nikau Spur made a lot of ultra enthusiast owners very happy when he saluted in a BM78 over 1815m in town, at Eagle Farm, on July 29.
It was the KO Racing Syndicate brand’s fiftieth race winner and it came with the added bonus of a valuable city win which added a useful $42 700 to the prize-money earnings kitty.
Formerly with Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, the Corey and Kylie Geran trained New Zealand bred came into the race on the back of a close-up third placing in a Class 4 Handicap over 1666m at Ipswich just ten days earlier.
Mark Du Plessis was in the saddle that day, and he retained the ride here with Nikau Spur jumping at a starting price of an easy-to-back $17.
Nikau Spur settled just off the speed, in fifth some three lengths off the front-runner early. That became sixth place and five lengths back going down the back stretch, but Nikau Spur was always seemingly travelling well within himself with Du Plessis content to hold that position. Read more ...
NIKAU SPUR LANDS A BIG PUNCH FOR KO RACING (29/07/23)
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