Ciaron Maher thanks Brendan McCarthy for Gold Trip work, Peter Balderstone proud of Nature Strip's run

Maher, who trains in partnership with David Eustace, said it was neglectful not acknowledging McCarthy for all his work with Gold Trip.

"Apart from being a trainer in his own right Brendan is also a chiropractor on horses and is excellent at his job," Maher said. "I've had Brendan working on horses since I first arrived in Melbourne back in 2009.

"Gold Trip suffers with muscle soreness and Brendan has the knack of getting the horse right. He worked on Gold Trip before the Melbourne Cup and I believe it was that work that assisted the horse to win last Tuesday."

Tuesday's Melbourne Cup victory was the first Australian win for Gold Trip.

RACING Victoria chief executive officer Andrew Jones is looking forward to a successful jumps season in 2023.

Jones, who took up the key job with RV in mid-July hopes to be trackside for his first Warrnambool May Racing Carnival next year.

"I've heard a lot about the Warrnambool May Racing Carnival and in particular the Grand Annual Steeplechase," he said. "I can't wait to get down to the carnival. Horse and jockey safety are key components to jumps racing. The safety levels for the sport have improved greatly over the last few years and we're always mindful of improving them."

Warrnambool's 2023 May Carnival is from May 2 to 5.

PASSIONATE racing fan and part-owner of sprinting star Nature Strip Peter Balderstone was happy with the effort of the eight-year-old to run second in the $3 million Champions Sprint at Flemington on Saturday.

Roch 'N' Horse won the speed test down the famous Flemington straight but Balderstone said his champ was honest in defeat.

"How could I complain about what Nature Strip has achieved on the racetrack," the Port Fairy resident said. "He's been a true champion. He can't win every time he races. He's had a big campaign with the trip over to England to run at Ascot and line up in three races since he's been back home.

"Trainer Chris Waller has done a sensational job managing the horse. I suppose Nature Strip will have a short break now and get set for races over the autumn."

Nature Strip took his stake earnings to just short of $21 million.

DUNKELD'S popular annual race day has been replaced by a meeting at Terang on Saturday.

Racing Victoria stewards were forced to abandon the iconic Dunkeld race meeting after 190mls of rain fell on the course in October. The feature race at Terang on Saturday is a $50,000 open handicap over 1800 metres.

Stewards also inspected the Hamilton track before its proposed meeting on Tuesday but they found the surface unsafe for racing and transferred that meeting to Casterton. Jump-outs scheduled for Hamilton on Wednesday, November 9 has also been transferred to Casterton.

WARRNAMBOOL Racing Club will announce a new sponsor for the Grand Annual Steeplechase on Thursday. The new sponsor will replace Lyndoch Living who had sponsored the feature race at Warrnambool's May Racing Carnival for six years.

POPULAR Warrnambool trainer Simon Ryan was excited with the second placing of Morrissy in Sunday's Ararat China Bowl.

The former jumps jockey said Morrissy had thrived with the change in environment and heaped praise on apprentice jockey Laura Lafferty following the ride.

"Morrissy can be a difficult horse to ride but Laura had it all under control," Ryan said. "She's a very competent jockey and probably doesn't get the rides she deserves. We'll look at taking Morrissy to Ballarat for his next run in a 1400-metre race in a fortnight."

From his 38 starts Morrissy has won five races and collected more then $600,000 in stakemoney.

JOCKEY Damien Thornton was suspended on a whip infringement following his ride on Never Again at Ararat on Sunday.

Thornton pleaded guilty to the charge which saw him use his whip 10 times prior to the 100-metre mark - five more than permitted. His suspension commences at midnight on November 16 and ends midnight November 25. Thornton was also fined $400 for the indiscretion.

Never Again ran second in the Ararat Cup.

APPRENTICE jockey Alana Kelly received plenty of accolades from Ballarat trainer Declan Maher after she guided Winsome Voyage to victory in a restricted 1600 metres race at Ararat on Sunday.

Maher said the young apprentice is underrated in the jockey ranks.

"Alana is doing a great job," he said. "He's (Winsome Voyage) been unlucky at a few of his recent runs but Alana took luck out of the equation. Alana is hard working and deserves her opportunities."

Maher said he would see if there was a suitable race on the program at Warrnambool on November 27 for Winsome Voyage's next start.

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