SPRING CONTENDERS TRIAL AT RANDWICK

Friday’s Randwick barrier trials will feature several big name Group One stars making early starts to their spring preparations.

Chris Waller’s Doncaster Mile winner Kermadec is entered for a 3YO heat over 740m while Doomben Cup winner Pornichet heads a big list of Gai Waterhouse entries for the open company heats including the classy Excess Knowledge, Greatwood and Woodbine.

The keen trial watchers will be focused on several new imports from the Waterhouse, Godolphin and John Thompson stables.

Waterhouse rolls out Zee Zeely, a Newmarket 2000m winner who has not raced since last July, and King Kinshasa, the winner of two races in the UK up to 2400m from seven starts.

Havana Cooler, a new Godolphin import with two wins and five placings including a third at Royal Ascot last year, will be among the small team John O'Shea is sending to the trials from his Warwick Farm stables.

O’Shea’s other entries include It’s Somewhat, the import who won the G3 Liverpool City Cup at Warwick Farm in February at his first Australian start, and classy two-year-old stakes winner Haptic.

John Thompson also has an interesting imported entry in Orbec, the winner of three races in France and last seen in the G1 Singapore Cup in February when trained by Jean-Claude Rouget. Orbec is owned by the China Horse Club.

MONGOLIAN KHAN FOCUSES ON MELBOURNE

The Memsie Stakes at Caulfield on August 29 has been pencilled in as the spring starting point for dual Derby winner Mongolian Khan.

Co-trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman have circled the G1 Memsie (1400m) after deciding to give the rising four-year-old all his spring racing in Melbourne leading up to the Cups double.

As the winner of the NZ and Australian Derbys Mongolian Khan is one of the few Australasian horses with the right credentials to provide the overwhelming forces from overseas with some serious opposition in the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups.

“He’ll target the typical weight-for-age lead-ups,” said Forsman, revealing that Mongolian Khan already had six weeks of work under his belt since he returned from the spell that followed his win in the ATC Derby (2400m) at Randwick in April.

“He’s coming up really well and we are waiting to get a trial into him in early August. He’s thickened up and looks the full package now.”

FONTEIN RUBY RETIRED

High class filly Fontein Ruby has been retired due to a fractured sesamoid.

The Robert Smerdon-trained filly can be saved for breeding and will undergo rehabilitation before she is sent to a leading sire in the spring.

Her owners plans to offer for her for sale in foal next year.

The daughter of Turffontein won six of her 19 starts including the G2 Edward Manifold Stakes and $1,052,330 prize money.

LEES STARS LOOKING GOOD

Melbourne Cup winner Protectionist and Turnbull Stakes winner Lucia Valentina have returned to the Kris Lees stable at Broadmeadow in good order after spells and pre-training.

Lees will take Protectionist along steadily to ensure he stands up to training after being injured in the Sydney Cup at Randwick in April.

Lucia Valentina, who didn’t manage the 3200m of last year’s Melbourne Cup, won’t line up again this year.

Her mission is the WS Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on October 24, although she will also be entered for the Caulfield Cup (2400m) a week earlier.

Lucia Valentina ran a cracking third in last year’s Caulfield Cup after winning the G1 Turnbull Stakes at Flemington but failed to rise to the same heights in the autumn when her only placing in five starts was a third in the G1 Ranvet Stakes at Rosehill.

SPRING PLANS FOR SMOKIN’ JOEY

Last start Eye Liner Stakes winner Smokin’ Joey has returned to Victoria after a brief Queensland spell and will be set for a first-up tilt at the G1 Memsie Stakes at Caulfield on August 29 by Mornington trainer Wez Hunter.

"He's been back in work a week,” Hunter reported. “He's got residual fitness and fresh legs so we'll start him off in the Memsie and then reassess things.”

Hunter suggested Smokin’ Joey, a G1 winner of the, Goodwood at Morphettville and G1 placed at Flemington and Caulfield, will be tested over longer trips this spring.

INSTRUMENTALIST RESUMES

Trainer Chris Waller has a choice of venues and four races for the return to racing of Mornington Cup winner Instrumentalist this weekend.

Instrumentalist has been nominated for two races at Rosehill and also two races at Flemington with weather, track conditions and barriers al factors the trainer will consider after the final fields are declared on Wednesday.

Instrumentalist won the 2014 Mornington Cup and a guaranteed start in the Caulfield Cup last spring but was ruled out of a spring campaign due to injury.

WATERHOUSE MASTERS THE IMPORTS

Chris Waller is widely recognised for his big race success with imported stayers but there is no doubt Gai Waterhouse has also mastered the knack of getting the best out of the many overseas horses coming under her care.

When Bonfire, a G2 winner in the UK as a 3YO, won last Thursday’s Grafton Cup he added to the great success Waterhouse has enjoyed with her imports.

They include Melbourne Cup winner Fiorente, Sydney Cup winner The Offer, Glencadam Gold (Metropolitan), Julienas (Wyong Cup) and Greatwood (Premier's Cup).

TRAINING GREATS HONOURED AT GRAFTON

Still, on the Grafton carnival and one of the most touching moments of the big week was the presentation of life memberships to veteran trainers Bede Murray and Darryl Taylor by the Clarence River Jockey Club.

Murray, a great stalwart of country racing, has been taking horses to the Grafton carnival for more than 30 years and won the Grafton Cup with Count Scenario in 1999.

Taylor, a great mate of Murray, was a leading Grafton trainer for many year. He won the 1984 Grafton Cup with Riverdale before the outstanding galloper went on to win Group One races in Sydney and Melbourne for Gosford trainer Neil Ward.

Murray, battling with health issues, and Taylor were both overcome when presented with their life memberships by CRJC chairman Graeme Green.

“It knocked me up," Murray said. "It's the biggest honour I've had in racing. It broke my heart.”

More than 220 years of racing and training experience came together at the carnival when Murray and Taylor caught up with two old training mates, the Tamworth great Merv Corliss and former Hawkesbury trainer Tommy Sewell.

The 93-year-old Corliss won the 1997 Grafton Cup with country iron horse Akwazoff while 80-year-old Sewell has won numerous races as a trainer and owner in more than 40 years of attending Grafton carnivals.

"We've all been great mates since the late 70s," Taylor said.

RISING STARS AT FLEMINGTON

Crack apprentice Jye McNeil heads into Saturday’s Rising Stars Final at Flemington as the joint leader and with a second chance to claim an outright victory.

McNeil was set to win the series last year until Regan Bayliss won last year's Rising Stars Final at his first Flemington ride to get up and tie the pointscore.

This year McNeil goes into the final day as joint leader with Jackie Beriman after he won the final heat at Echuca on Monday.

The pair cannot be overhauled by any other apprentice in the series point score.

McNeil is booked to ride Every Faith and only needs a top five finish to secure points and win the series outright because Beriman is overseas for an international apprentices' race in the United States.