Inside Racing: Worth the drive from Sydney for jumps trials at the 'Bool

The son of champion flat jockey Nash Rawiller is two wins away from losing his three-kilogram jumping claim.

He was in Warrnambool on Thursday, February 22 to ride five horses in the jumps trials.

Four of those horses were for his bosses Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.

"I drove down from Sydney to Warrnambool for the jumps trials," Rawillier said.

"It was a long drive but it's worth it. Gai and Adrian have been really supportive of me. I ride trackwork for them at Randwick, as well as putting a few horses over the logs which keeps the horses and me sharp.

"I really love living in Sydney. I've got family and friends up there but I know for the next six months I'm going to be really busy doing a lot of travelling to Victoria to ride in the jumps races.

"Gai and Adrian are really keen about their jumpers. The majority of them are at Flemington and I'll be heading down to school them there when the time arises."

The former talented junior footballer, who rode his first jumps winner Teofilo Star at last year's Warrnambool May Racing Carnival for the Waterhouse-Bott stable, had two flat rides in high-weight races at Terang on Friday before heading to Nowra on Monday for one ride for his bosses.

"I just took my time to get back to Sydney," he said. "It was great to get back to Warrnambool on Thursday and Terang on Friday to renew acquaintances with trainers and owners.

"Gai and Adrian offered me the ride on Absolute Power in a maiden at Nowra on Monday and I jumped at the chance. I've had a few weight issues over the last couple of years but since I've been based in Sydney working for the Waterhouse-Bott stable, my weight has stabilised around the 57.5-kilogram mark.

"I'm hoping to be riding at most of the jumps trials and in jumps races this year. There seems to be a lot of horses trialling and schooling over the jumps which all goes well for this season."

The opening jumps meeting for 2024 is at Warrnambool on March 12, with the running of a maiden hurdle, open hurdle and an open steeplechase.

WARRNAMBOOL-based apprentice jockey Jordyn Weatherley will spend eight meetings on the sidelines after pleading guilty to a careless riding charge at Terang on Friday, February 23.

Weatherley pleaded guilty to the charge following her ride on Maatsuyker. Her suspension starts at midnight on March 4 and ends midnight March 10. Stewards deemed the incident to be in the low range.

Former Koroit hoop Declan Bates copped a seven-meeting suspension for a whip infringement following his ride on Galilaeus at Moonee Valley on Friday night.

Bates, who now lives in Ballarat, is out from midnight March 3 and returns to riding on March 9.

TRAINER Peter Chow was delighted with Rapinoe's effort to run fourth in the Group Three Lord Reims Stakes at Morphettville on Saturday, February 24.

Rapinoe had won her previous run in restricted company before Saturday's run.

Chow said he was undecided where or when Rapinoe would have her next start.

"It was a super run by Rapinoe," he said. "It could have been better if she had run a place as that would have helped her breeding page but she just struggled a bit late.

"She's had two hard runs at her past two outings and had a long trip to Morphettville on the back of her Moonee Valley run. We'll just give her a few days off and wait and see how she pulls up before planning other runs."

Rapinoe took her stake-earning to more than $116,000 including Saturday's $7500 for running third.

WARRNAMBOOL galloper Kaliuwaa Falls notched up his third consecutive Tasmanian victory on Sunday, February 25.

The five-year-old, trained by Lindsey Smith, won a benchmark race over 1400 metres at Launceston.

Kaliuwaa Falls won his two previous starts in Hobart. Smith said the three Tassie wins had netted Kaliuwaa Falls' connections more than $46,500 in stakes which takes his prize-money to more than $150,000.

SISTERS to Group One winners and the stallion Winning Rupert are among the entries in the Inglis Digital February (late) on-line auction which is open for bidding.

I'm Pretty Strong is a beautifully-bred broodmare with significant domestic and international appeal. A two-time winner in the US, she is a half-sister to Group One-winning two-year-old sharing and the daughter of Group One-winning star Shared Account.

Shared Account was covered by champion US skde Into Mischief in 2023, while siblings to I'm Pretty Strong have offspring by the likes of Into Mischief and Nyquist coming through.

I'm Pretty Strong is from the last crop of elite broodmare sire Street Cry, daughters of whom are responsible for 156 stakes winners worldwide, including 24 Group One winners like Farnan, Romantic Warrior and Tom Kitten. She is carrying a pregnancy to leading stallion Dundeel.

Winning Rupert presents a rare opportunity for breeders to acquire a proven commercial stallion. He's part of a 490-strong February (late) catalogue which includes 254 racehorses (111 race fillies), 108 broodmares, 64 racehorse shares, 57 yearlings, three wean-lings and three unbroken stock.

TRAFFIC WARDEN: Caught the eye with a nice effort on Saturday. He's from the strong Cumming stable and will be improved with that performance under his belt.

BRAVE MEAD: Looked to have no luck in the Zedative Stakes. He missed the start before running home strongly and had the words "back me" next time on his head.

LES BRIDGE: Veteran Sydney trainer who showed he can still match it with the best on Saturday. Bridge produced Celestial Legend to win a Group Two at Rosehill. Bridge has a small team in work but that doesn't stop him from training winners.

OL'MATE ALTONY: Improved run to finish second at his second start. He derive plenty of benefit from the run.