Latest news with #CoffsHarbour
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Coffs Harbour previews: Trainer Donna Grisedale focuses on mental mastery with Piedi Veloci for racing success
His name translates as 'fast feet' but right now it's Piedi Veloci's brain that trainer Donna Grisedale is working hardest on. A three-year-old son of Widden Stud's flying machine, Supido, Grisedale 's gelding left an immediate and lasting impression when winning a barrier trial at home at Coffs Harbour in the middle of September last year. Piedi Veloci has raced three times since, and while unplaced at each of them, there was merit in all, albeit hidden from those outside his orbit. 'He's getting there,' Grisedale said. 'He is a massive work in progress this horse. Mentally not there yet, or physically, but plenty of ability. Success at @InverellRaces1 to Four Degrees who breaks his madien at start number 3! ðŸ'� â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 23, 2025 The Form: Complete NSW Racing thoroughbred form, including video replays and all you need to know about every horse, jockey and trainer. Find a winner here! 'He's just got to put it all together still. He did a few things wrong there at Grafton but ran home nicely. 'Once he gets balanced and in a straight line, he just goes, but you can't be slow away and give them that much start like he did.' Piedi Veloci's assignment this week is the Northern Beaches Blues AFL Country Boosted Maiden Handicap over 1205m. 'Ideally, the 1400m would have been better suited to him, however, here at Coffs Harbour on the Heavy 9 or Heavy 10, I thought the 1200m would pull him up and test him out a bit so I'll stick to the 1200m,' Grisedale explained. Grisedale, meanwhile, is taking both a quantity and quality approach to the feature race, the Woolgoogla Diggers Cup Benchmark 82 Handicap (1305m) where he saddles-up lively trio Bow, Ostracised and Mallee Boy Express. 'Bow doesn't really appreciate the Heavy going, Soft is fine, Heavy is not really ideal for him but he's not a very good traveller so for me to just take him over the road here is an opportunity too good to knock back,' Grisedale said. This will be the second time in the space of eight days that sees stablemates Ostracised and Stage Hit descendant Mallee Boy Express square off on race day. Last Thursday at Ballina, Mallee Boy Express edged out his more fancied stable companion to win an uncommonly strong Benchmark 58 Handicap. 🚂 A tight finish at Ballina sees Mallee Boy Express get home! â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 12, 2025 'Mallee Boy Express is a hard one to get a gauge on,' Grisesdale said. 'His form is up and down a lot but he just relished that Heavy track. I don't normally back any of my horses up that quickly but how could I knock it back. 'They're going to get the Heavy track again. 'And especially Ostracised, he's coming right down from 62kg down to 55kg, so that will bring him right into contention. 'It is definitely a stronger grade race, that's why we've got the 55 kilos, but hometrack, Heavy track, there are a few ticks.' Ostracised has covered more ground and had more change of address than most horses. Born at Rothwell Park in Scone, Ostracised was originally housed at Team Hawkes' Victorian lodgings. After that he went to Kody Nestor at Dubbo, Cody Morgan at Tamworth, Bjorn Baker in Sydney and now north to Grisedale's headquarters at Coffs Harbour. 'When I saw Cody Morgan at Inverell, he said this horse was a Kosciuszko horse and a Championships horse on a Heavy track,' the trainer revealed. Grisedale has 'multiple runners' in the last of the eight races on her hometown card with Speedy Target and Another Balconyboy engaged. Both are owned by former trainers with Another Balconyboy racing in Jim Jarvis' hot pink colours while Speedy Target sports the colours made internationally famous by Joe Janiak's four-legged fairytale, Takeover Target. â– â– â– â– â– Blame me, not the horse. So said trainer Todd Payne in the wake of Desert Cougar 's disappointing performance at Grafton 11 days ago. The Coffs Harbour bound chestnut's fading ninth (of 12) came 20 days after she shed her maiden status in the most emphatic fashion at Tamworth with Luke Rolls in the saddle each time. 'Definitely excuses,' Payne said. 'It was trainer error. Luke came out of the jockeys room and said we might snag her back to last and get a run up the fence and I said no, no, jump her out and push her forward and try and see if you can get the one-one. 'Silly me, in hindsight it was the wrong thing to do. It was all on me. Anyway, I'll cop that on the chin. 'She's drawn a bit wide there again but Luke will know exactly what to do and I won't give him instructions like I did last week, because they just did not work. 'It is the right sort of race for her.' Desert Cougar is the third foal of her six-time winning dam, Kalahari Princess. A granddaughter of Lion Hunter, Kalahari Princess's second foal is Payne's stable captain, Lisztomania whose second-place in this year's Country Championships Final all but guarantees him a spot in the Kosciuszko at Randwick this October. Payne, meanwhile, will make the 600km round trip from Inverell to Coffs Harbour with the former Newcastle housed gelding, Soobooco, as a partner for Desert Cougar. First sold for $100,000 at the Magic Millions Yearling Sale in 2021, the grandson of Snitzel next appeared at the Inglis April Online Sale in 2024 when knocked down for $9,000. The son of the now Indonesian-based stallion Sooboog, Soobooco's Payne stable debut was underwhelming to say the least, clocking in last at Tamworth on May 20. Soobooco improved dramatically when he resurfaced at Grafton 18 days later when runner-up in a Class 3 over 1120m. 'He's just an older type of horse with a few little issues,' Payne explained. 'I think he likes the wet. 'I thought he went a lot better the other day at Grafton. He just didn't show that zip that I thought he would so we have gone back to a 1000m which is his preferred distance and Luke suggested to put shades on too so we put a set of visors on him this week. 'I'm happy with him going into this, that's for sure.'
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Coffs Harbour best bets, inside mail for Friday, June 20, 2025
Racenet and The Daily Telegraph form analyst Shayne O'Cass provides his best bets and race-by-race analysis For Coffs Harbour on Friday. The Form: Complete NSW Racing thoroughbred form, including video replays and all you need to know about every horse, jockey and trainer. â– â– â– â– â– COFFS HARBOUR TIPS BEST BET Race 3 No. 3: PIEDI VELOCI At home, third-up, every added inch from the last run makes him more likeable. NEXT BEST Sent out some positive indicators that a debut win was doable. VALUE BET Race 5 No. 7: DESERT COUGAR Back to 1000m here, handles the wet, had excuses last time. QUADDIE Race 5: 1, 7 Race 6: 1, 2, 7, 10 Race 7: 1, 2 Race 8: 1, 3, 9 JOCKEY TO FOLLOW Country Championship winning jockey BEN LOOKER will take beating on the TAB Jockeys Challenge. SASKATOON BERRY (9) is a valuable mare for later on by virtue of the fact that her third dam is Regimental Gal. This daughter of Impending remains winless after 27 starts but has placed eight times and 'goes' on any ground. Will get there one day and this could be it. DARK STRATUM (2) is a city placed mare from her Richard Litt era. First run up this way had merit. CLEVER ILLUSION (1) is highly consistent. Bet: Saskatoon Berry to win, quinella 2, 9 â– â– â– â– â– RACE 2: Jesse Riley Hcp 1205m COOL MOON (1), like Cool Archie, is by Cool Aza Beel and was born at Newhaven Park. This Gold Coast-housed filly has finished runner-up at two of her three starts (one to Sunrays) and resumed with a solid fourth at Doomben. ISSY'S STAR (8) is a Kris Lees filly who was runner-up in the Red Crown on debut to a classy Sydney two-year-old, Raging Force. TOI TOI (12) and ARCHIE MAXIMUS (3) have claims in a quality line-up. Bet: Cool Moon to win, quinella 1, 8 â– â– â– â– â– PIEDI VELOCI (3) is a really likeable mid to long term prospect for local trainer Donna Grisedale. The son of Supido is yet to place in his three starts but all were good to varying degrees. Once he wins one, he could really get on a roll. OL' MATE COOP (5) has drawn wide here but it might not matter as much, depending on any early pattern. Whatever the case, he's the one with the best form in the race. HEZANUFF (2) wouldn't have to improve a lot on his 'norm' to win. Bet: Piedi Veloci to win â– â– â– â– â– DIVA ROUGE (3) will be the third of her father, Red Henno's, offspring to race. One has won (and like a good horse), the other was placed. Jake Hull trains those two and he's got this one too. Trialled really well and gets Ben Looker from a good alley. DIZZY DEE (4) has run more good races than bad. She resumes here off two trials, winning the June 9 one with Jett Newman. I'M GUESSING (6) won a trial that same day herself. In good hands. Bet: Diva Rouge to win â– â– â– â– â– DESERT COUGAR (7) is a stablemate and half-sister to Lisztomania. This daughter of Capitalist was building up to that first win at Tamworth on May 20 and was most emphatic. Had plenty of reasonable excuses for the ninth of 12 at Grafton after that. Long story short, back to 1006m, is a big plus. Expect better this time. DIAMONDSAREMIO (1) has run maybe one 'bad' race in her eight starts this far. She deserves a lot of praise for her third at Moree behind Starry Jack. Bet: Desert Cougar to win â– â– â– â– â– OSTRACISED (7) has been around. He started off with Team Hawkes in Victoria then went to Kody Nestor, Cody Morgan, Bjorn Baker and now Donna Grisedale. There was a time when he was being looked upon as a Country Championships and even Kosciuszko contender. Fast forward to the present and he's had his hoof on the till for a little while now. Ostracised was runner-up to his stablemate Mallee Boy Express last start and you'd have to say he won on his merits. Bet: Ostracised to win, Daily Double 1st leg 7, 2nd leg 9 â– â– â– â– â– GOLDEN HONOUR (2) was a $220,000 Easter Yearling in 2021. Skip ahead to September 2023 and Glen Milligan bought the horse online for $13,000. He's been a great investment for Milligan who has won four races (and five placings) since then. Won 15 days ago with 60.5kg on a Heavy 9. RONNY ROCK ART (1) failed in town last start but go back two before that and he was only a length and three-quarters off Piggyback at Warwick Farm. Bet: Golden Honour to win, box trifecta 1, 2, 4, 16 â– â– â– â– â– EXOREALM (9) has raced seven times on Good and Soft tracks for no wins, no placings. However, the son of Exosphere has raced on Heavy twice for easy Taree Maiden win and a Taree Maiden third. This will be his second run for Sally Taylor who must have been thrilled with the first one; that fourth back on Jan 31. Trialled well on June 9. TELEGRAPH (1) won a very strong Benchmark 66 on June 5 at Taree. On top of that, the Tony Ball-trained gelding won his maiden at this same track and trip.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
NSW Nationals vote to dump net zero by 2050, increasing pressure on Littleproud to follow suit
The New South Wales Nationals have voted to abandon Australia's commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 at the party's weekend state conference in Coffs Harbour, increasing pressure on the federal Nationals leader, David Littleproud, to follow suit. Attendees at the conference said the motion, moved by the Tweed state electorate council, passed easily with 60 to 65% support, after vigorous debate for nearly an hour among the 300-odd delegates. Young Nationals chair, Jayden Whaites, drew applause for his passionate speech in support of dropping the target. Whaites told the conference there was no point in having a target without a clear pathway to achieve it. He said real farms were being replaced with solar farms and causing angst among farming communities. The chairman of the NSW Nationals, Rick Colless, said others in favour of abandoning the target pointed out that Australia's major trading partners, notably the US, were walking away from net zero by 2050. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email He said those who were in favour of maintaining the target expressed concern about what it would mean for Australia's trade relations, as countries who do not commit to the Paris agreement and its targets could face tariffs in the future. The NSW Nationals platform does not bind the state or federal parliamentary parties in the same way as Labor's platform does, but it is a strong signal to both state and federal leaders. 'The grassroots members get the opportunity to express their concerns. The resolutions then go to the state and federal party. It doesn't commit them to the position; its more a recommendation,' Colless said. Sign up to Clear Air Australia Adam Morton brings you incisive analysis about the politics and impact of the climate crisis after newsletter promotion Littleproud is already facing pressure from his fellow Queenslanders to formally drop the net zero target. Some Queensland MPs, including Matt Canavan and the federal Nationals deputy leader, Kevin Hogan, were at the NSW conference over the weekend. After a brief split in the Coalition, the Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, has promised to discuss a new energy policy within the joint party room in Canberra. The Coalition's current policy backs a net zero target by 2050, something business groups have supported because it provides certainty. The NSW Nationals also voted on a separate resolution calling on the party to 'embrace coal' as an energy source, keep exisiting coal-fired power stations open and to build new high-efficiency, low -missions coal power stations in the future. Littleproud has been contacted for comment.
The Guardian
13-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
NSW Nationals signal ‘full support' of coal power and will consider abandoning net zero target
The New South Wales Nationals have passed a motion at their state conference in Coffs Harbour that calls on the party to 'reinstate our full support of the use of coal in power generation', keep coal power stations open and explore building new high efficiency, low emissions coal fired power stations in the future. The motion was proposed by the Orange branch and the Northern Tablelands state electorate council and was carried easily on Friday. On Saturday, the NSW Nationals will consider whether to abandon Australia's commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050, when debate resumes at the party's weekend state conference. The motion has been placed on the agenda by the Tweed state electorate council, in Northern NSW and is expected to spark torrid debate. A separate motion from the Young Nationals calls for the Nationals to advocate for withdrawal from the Paris agreement. Since the federal election in May, the Nationals have continued to fight publicly and privately over whether to hold fast to the goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050, a target they agreed to in 2021, despite strong internal opposition. A decision to abandon the target by the NSW branch, which contains more moderate elements of the Nationals, would be a new headache for federal opposition leader, Sussan Ley, who managed to patch up the Coalition last month after the Nationals briefly announced they would split. It would also increase pressure on the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, who has stuck by the net zero target to date, despite deep internal dissent. The rapprochement in the Coalition was achieved by Ley agreeing to discuss the Coaltion's future position on net zero internally in coming months. 'We have to play, as a country, our part in the global response to climate change. Net zero, Paris targets, gas, all of the resources, conversations around critical minerals, they're all part of that,' Ley said recently. But she has added it cannot come at any cost, leaving open a possibility of a more nuanced position. On the other hand, Ley faces deep concern in her own Liberal party over the lack of climate policy, particularly from the moderates. The Liberals have now lost all their federal heartland city seats in Sydney to independents who campaigned on tackling climate change. The Nationals state conference also passed a motion on immigration calling for the slashing of Australia's immigration targets by 50% for four years, to below 100,000 a year. A motion from the Young NSW Nationals branch, aimed at providing incentives to boost Australia's birthrate, was defeated. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The motion called on the party to support 'a 25% income tax discount per child, up to a maximum of four children for parents … to encourage a strong and growing Australia'. A family with four children would have paid no income tax at all. Another motion from the Coffs Harbour branch, which called on the Nationals to provide subsidies to stay-at-home parents equivalent to the subsidies their taxes would have contributed towards government funded childcare, was also defeated. Both policies would have cost billions. The Howard-era baby bonus of 2004 caused only a slight uptick in the birthrate before the downward trend continued. The overall fertility rate has dropped in recent decades, falling from two babies per woman in 2008 to 1.6 in 2023. The Northern Tablelands branch is proposing tough new policies on bail. The motion calls for no bail for offenders who already have a criminal record in the last five years and for offenders who commit a crime while on bail. The Cowra branch has proposed a motion that advocates for the removal of Australian citizenship from people born overseas and deportation if they commit serious crimes or demonstrate 'toxic, antisocial behaviour or prejudice'.
Daily Telegraph
13-06-2025
- Daily Telegraph
Coffs Harbour policeman fractures leg after rider allegedly flees scene
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News. Following reports of cars being broken into, a Coffs Harbour policeman suffered injuries after a motorbike rider allegedly drove at the officer before fleeing the scene. Police were attending King St, after reports of cars being broken into around 4am on Friday when confronted by a man on a motorbike. They allege the rider then drove at a 24-year-old constable, striking his leg before escaping. A 19-year-old man, the rider of the motorbike was arrested a short time later nearby. The constable was treated by NSW Ambulance before being treated at Coffs Harbour Health Campus for a fracture to his leg. A Coffs Harbour constable has been injured after an early morning hit and run. A crime scene has been established by officers attached the Crash Investigation Unit. The public is urged to come forward with any information or contact Crime Stoppers in 1800 333 000. Got a news tip? Email:
