Racing shorts: Melham cops a fine for whip offences at Sandown

Ben Melham has racked up $800 in fines for breaking the whip rules three times in one afternoon.

The jockey was fined $200 for using the whip seven times before the 100m in the opening race on Wednesday aboard the winner Big Knight.

He copped another $300 for being two over aboard Zapurbly and a further $300 on Magicus for again being two over the limit of five before the 100 metre mark.

Damien Oliver was fined $300 for his winning ride on Fast Cash for being one over the limit while fellow riders Kevin Forrester, Darren Gauci and Brooke Sweeney were all fined $200 for whip breaches.

California Chrome to make return to track after lengthy layoff

California Chrome, runner-up in the Dubai World Cup last year, makes his eagerly-awaited reappearance in a dirt race a Meydan.

Unusually for a horse of his class he is running in a handicap, giving upwards of 10kg to his seven rivals in the dirt event on Thursday (Friday AEDT).

The 2014 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner missed Royal Ascot in June when he picked up a foot abscess before the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.

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His future had been in some doubt but he returned to win at Santa Anita in January.

“He is a bigger and stronger horse this year,” assistant trainer Alan Sherman said.

“He has done everything we have asked of him and we are very pleased with his preparations.

“We decided to run this week rather than on Super Saturday (March 5) to give him a month between races before the World Cup.

“We could not be happier with him and are really excited about having another crack at the Dubai World Cup.”

Jetsetting Berry off to Sha Tin to ride an old favourite

Sydney jockey Tommy Berry will be reunited with the horse which gave him his first Hong Kong Group One victory when he rides Designs On Rome in the Gold Cup at Sha Tin.

The Sydney jockey will fly to Hong Kong to ride the John Moore-trained Designs On Rome on Sunday.

In 2014, Berry claimed a memorable hat-trick of Group One wins on Designs On rome in the Hong Kong Classic Cup, Hong Kong Derby and QEII Cup (2000m).

Melbourne’s Craig Williams will also be at the meeting to ride the Tony Cruz-trained Multivictory in the other Group One race on the program, the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup.

James McDonald: Winx still the one to beat in Chipping Norton

James McDonald
James McDonald is the no.1 hoop in Australia in recent years.
James McDonald doesn’t expect Hartnell to topple hot favourite Winx in the Chipping Norton Stakes but he is hoping the Group One winner can make a Sydney autumn carnival impact.

As Godolphin’s No.1 stable jockey, McDonald chose to ride the BMW winner in preference to stablemates Magic Hurricane and Hauraki who will both have a fitness edge at Randwick on Saturday.

McDonald has shown loyalty to the five-year-old who he partnered in all four starts during the spring, including a fifth to Winx in the Cox Plate.

Hartnell hasn’t won since his BMW triumph in March last year and has been placed once in four first-up runs.

Despite that statistic, he is the horse rated the best chance to defeat Winx who dominates betting as the $1.40 favourite.

At $8, Hartnell is the only other one of the 12 Chipping Norton runners at single-figure odds.

Caulfield Cup winner Mongolian Khan, racing for the first time since a bout of colic cruelled his Melbourne Cup aspirations, shares the third line of betting with Dibayani at $12.

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