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DANRDRUFF enhanced his credentials as Lake Racing&rsquo;s most-winning racehorse after his fifth success following the Adrian Ledger Memorial at Albury last Friday. In what was the well-travelled gallopers second win in his last four starts at Albury, it has been a fruitful winter campaign for the son of Written Tycoon who has banked close to $40,000 in four runs with placings also at Morphettville and Wagga. John Kissick took the ride and came with a looping run around the field to score by 2.2-lenthgs over 2000 metres on the heavy 8 surface. It was a sentimental win for owner Jacob Rule, with the race named after the late Adrian Ledger who lost his life in a race fall in 2005. &ldquo;Chuffed to win the Adrian Ledger memorial at Albury with a horse that I part own,&rdquo; Rule said. &ldquo;When I was a kid in Wangaratta learning to ride trackwork &lsquo;Adi&rsquo; was the nicest bloke to me, I rode work with him on occasions and he looked out for me and always helped me out. It&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;ve never forgotten. &ldquo;The Ledger family are the most amazing people and they have also been really good to me throughout my time growing up and also once I was race-riding. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s for you Adi.&rdquo; A stable favourite, Dandruff has now career earnings of over $117,000 in his 24 starts to date and is sure to continue to thrive throughout winter. <a href="https://racing.racingnsw.com.au/FreeFields/VideoResult.aspx?MeetDate=2025Jul18&amp;VenueCode=MjU0NTI=&amp;RaceNumber=2&amp;MeetingCategory=Professional&amp;VideoFileType=FullReplay" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: Click here to view race replay</a> Congratulations to the connections of Dandruff:&nbsp;Smart Racing Stables &amp; Jacob Rule

Special Ledger Memorial win for Dandruff

Toby Lake

Courtesy of Racenet DANDRUFF didn't win at Wagga on Sunday, but the Bendigo galloper ticked off a major milestone for a horse that wasn't expected to live long, let alone race as a six-year-old. The Toby Lake-trained Dandruff broke through the $100,000 prizemoney threshold with his third placing in a 2000m race at Wagga, something the stable never thought would happen. Luck deserted Dandruff as a young horse when multiple infections racked his facial structure, requiring surgeries just to save his life. Racing wasn't a thought as vets initially thought their efforts to keep Dandruff alive would fail. "He should be dead, this horse," Lake said. "He's had two sinus operations, and he's got a big chunk of bone missing out of his face. "It was all infected and he had a bone infection as well. "He also had a bit of bone sticking out. "After a couple of operations, the vet advised the owners to put him down." Thankfully Lake and Dandruff's owners didn't immediately take veterinary advice. Instead, they decided to let the gelding relax in a paddock while they worked out what to do with the son of Written Tycoon. However, Mother Nature had a surprise in store for Lake a few months later. "Anyway, we just went back to nature, and he went out into the paddock with some young horses for about six months and we just forgot about him," Lake said. "We went out to the farm when the six months was done, and he trotted up to us in the paddock and his face had healed. "It had all healed over. Sometimes time just heals everything. "We brought him back into work and he's been a great money-spinner ever since." Dandruff showed staying ability in his first few starts before achieving what was thought impossible a year earlier when he posted his maiden win in emphatic fashion at Swan Hill in April last year. While not being a world beater, Dandruff posted a second win at Swan Hill last year and victories at Ararat and Albury this year. "He's just been an honest old horse and a few more of them would be great for any stable," Lake said. "He's earned everything he's got. "He's tough and he's brave." Lake said Dandruff has attracted his own following as he travels from his Bendigo base to tracks in Victoria and southern New South Wales. There's a great story behind all of them, but this horse has been amazing. "He's got a little bit of a cult following on the country circuit," Lake said. "Every time we're at the races, everyone is asking about him. "He's just a ripper that old horse." Punters can expect to see Dandruff on a wet track in the coming weeks. "We've been waiting for wet ground and now the rain has come, there's plenty of options for him," Lake said. "He doesn't take much work between runs, but we're sort of weather-dependent with him."

Dandruff brushes off the doubters

Courtesy of Racenet MANY trainers have to wait a lot longer than two years for a horse like Fieldelo. Former picnic rider Toby Lake will get a guide on whether he has a stakes contender after Fieldelo runs in Saturday's fifth heat of the Creswick Sprint Series (1100m) at Flemington. The three-year-old will be on trial for a start in the Listed AR Creswick Stakes (1200m) at Flemington early next month should she perform up to expectations in her maiden city assignment. "Saturday just determines her next step, whether we go to the Creswick Final in two weeks or whether we wait for something else thereafter," Lake said. "We're going to learn a lot about her on Saturday but she's going to line up in really good order. "We don't know where her ceiling is." Lake has spaced Fieldelo's two runs. The Deep Field filly won on debut at Kilmore last November but blitzed her opposition when a seven-length winner when resuming at Bendigo on May 30. "It worked out there was a soft option at Bendigo for her so we went there," Lake said. "She's a young horse and as we saw at her first start, she did a lot wrong but was still able to win. "We just thought, if we took her to the softest option and she did it again, she might get away with it, but she blew them away." Lake, who received his licence to prepare his small team at his Bendigo base less than two years ago, said Fieldelo arrived at his stable needing some work before she got to the races. "She came to me a bit over 12 months ago and she was half broken in," Lake said. "The breakers had a bit of difficulty with her and through a friend and good client, Mark Schiavello, she arrived at my stables basically with the plan to just get her back on track. "She needed to have some education and get her career on the right path." Lake said Fieldelo learned quickly with the trainer having the benefit of getting to know the sprinter from riding her in daily trackwork. He said Fieldelo's long education process had started to show, with a constantly improving attitude to her racing aiding her development. "I could see very early on that she was a very sharp filly and she was a point-and-shoot type," Lake said. "I only had to show her something once and she'd pick it up so we let her come around. "She was a little bit hot and cantankerous when she first started but she's starting to really enjoy her racing as she showed at Bendigo. "We just nurtured her along and gave the best start to life we could and she's ready for the next step."

Unbeaten Fiedelo on trial for stakes target

EXCITING filly Fieldelo has made a statement at her first racetrack appearance in 2025 when the daughter of Deep Field returned with a seven-length victory at Bendigo on Friday.
Keeping intact an unbeaten record which began at Kilmore in November, her owners patience looks set to be rewarded as she clocked a blistering 57.02 for the 1000 metres under Harry Coffey.
&ldquo;I want to thank Mark Schiavello and all the owners they&rsquo;ve been unbelievable&hellip; she needed a month out and we started again and nobody had anything to say and it&rsquo;s a credit to them today,&rdquo; Toby Lake said.
&ldquo;I felt confident today &ndash; she just gives me so much confidence this filly.
&ldquo;She tried to throw the race away and talent got her there (on debut).
&ldquo;She&rsquo;s a much more furnished product this time &ndash; I am just pumped.
&ldquo;We won&rsquo;t overtax her she&rsquo;s done a great job and there is plenty of upside.&rdquo;
Fiedelo will step out in June and look to take the next step to metropolitan level ahead of stakes ambitions before the end of her three-year-old season.
The victory was also pleasingly the first with Harry Coffey for the stable who was naturally impressed with her talent.
&ldquo;She really let down nicely&hellip; I loved the way she quickened at the top of the straight and then she probably idled off and still had the ability to get away from them late,&rdquo; Coffey said.
The victory capped a good week for the stable with stalwart stayer Dandruff recording his fourth win with a last to first victory first-up at Albury on Tuesday over 2000 metres.
He looked to relish the soft conditions and sets up for a promising winter campaign. Lake Racing has now trained four winners from the past 20 runners.
<a href="https://www.racing.com/form/2025-05-30/apiam-bendigo/race/5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: Click here to view Fieldelo race replay</a>
Congratulations to the connections of Fieldelo and Dandruff:&nbsp;M A Schiavello, D M C Willis, Deg Racing, D M Schiavello, D A Smith, S Sewell, M W Zacharia, P A S Breden, D Sharp, T J Nation, C J Lester, J Williams, A Gold, D W Savage, D R Houston,&nbsp;Smart Racing Stables &amp; J Rule

Fieldelo flies at racetrack return

<div class="xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs x126k92a">
<div dir="auto">WE are heartbroken and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Fiona Ralph who was a much loved member of our tight-knit stable&nbsp;&nbsp;<img class="xz74otr x168nmei x13lgxp2 x5pf9jr xo71vjh" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/tba/1/16/1f54a.png" alt="🕊️" height="16" /> </div>
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<div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a">
<div dir="auto">Fiona arrived to work with an infectious smile each morning and loved nothing more than spending time with the horses she so dearly loved. </div>
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<div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a">
<div dir="auto">Our deepest sympathies go out to Fiona&rsquo;s family at this difficult time and we know our horses will have an angel watching them from above&nbsp;&nbsp;<img class="xz74otr x168nmei x13lgxp2 x5pf9jr xo71vjh" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t6c/1/16/1f499.png" alt="💙" height="16" />&nbsp;<img class="xz74otr x168nmei x13lgxp2 x5pf9jr xo71vjh" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/tfd/1/16/1f9e1.png" alt="🧡" height="16" /></div>
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Fiona Ralph: Forever remembered

Courtesy of Racing.com TOBY Lake battled a common conundrum faced by many young trainers when he was shopping at his first-ever yearling sale last year at Inglis Premier. The 27-year-old was taking the plunge into the lottery which is the yearling market and wondered, in his first year of training, just how many horses he could afford to 'spec' and on-sell to owners. With a dwindling shortlist and limited budget, he had to let slide a Nicconi filly out of Pinker Pinker Plate winner No Excuses Bec who he had taken a liking to, when vendors asked for a $50,000 reserve. To Lake's surprise, he received a phone call six weeks later from Ian Gilcrist at Fulmen Park, asking if he was still interested in buying the filly at a reduced price. "'Gilly' rang me to say the owner of the horse had passed away and if I was still interested in buying her, the family wanted to sell down the stock," he recalls. "She was all of a sudden affordable, but I'd purchased two yearlings at that sale already and didn't know if I could fill another but thankfully Roll the Dice (Racing) backed me in and we've got a great group of owners involved. "Gilly has stayed in as well which is fantastic - he was my first boss when I moved to Melbourne and worked for Ciaron Maher." Having finished second in the $250,000 VOBIS Gold Rush last year with $15,000 buy Linkvue, Lake soon identified that he could have another contender for his rich local juvenile race. "Pretty much since I bought her I've had this race in mind, so you could say it's been a target race and she's prepped up well," he explained. "She's been a filly we've liked the whole way through and she's showed she's an early going type and has been really straightforward. "They (Scusies and Linkvue) are similar types of horses, both forward types, I'd say this filly has a little bit more potential to train on and looks as though whatever she does now she will improve on at three." Scusies, marked an $8.50 chance with Sportsbet, has drawn barrier three and will be ridden by Jye McNeil after a series of quiet jumpouts. "She was a little bit keen going early on, so you will see in her trials we've restrained her even after beginning well and made sure she has switched off early and finishing off," Lake said. "I think 1100 metres will be perfect, she might have found the 1000 metres a little bit sharp. "We've been lucky enough to give her a few gallops on the course proper out of the chute, so that's been a big advantage for us." Lake also trains the highly promising Fieldelo, who defeated the smart Sweethearted at her only race start back in November on Kilmore Cup Day. She has resumed training and is being aimed at the Creswick Sprint Series over winter. Lake joins fellow local trainers Brent Stanley, Rod Symons and Les Robertson with runners on Golden Mile Raceday.

Sale disappointment to Golden glory?

KATHY&rsquo;S Rose deservedly dropped her maiden tag at Swan Hill on Sunday bringing up the stables 10th winner as she drew away for a comprehensive two-length win over 975-metres. A campaign which had consisted of three consecutive placings and an unlucky fourth, four-kilo claiming apprentice Sam Kennedy bought up the second winner of her short riding career after positioning the horse midfield and utilising plenty of clear galloping room on the spacious track. Swan Hill has been the stables most successful track with three winners and two placings from eight starters. The daughter of Turffontein is the third foal from the dual winner Kathy&rsquo;s Spirit and has now banked $27,895 in her eight starts to date. She continues to take good improvement with each run and with the confidence of Sunday&rsquo;s win should enhance her confidence no end. Stablemate Dandruff finished third on the day at Swan Hill. From limited runners in recent months, the last 20 runners the stable has saddled not only have resulted in three winners but had ten placegetters and a further four top five placings. While we continue to educate our young horses and aim a number of horses for softer tracks across winter, we have also been active at the recent Melbourne Premier Yearling Sales. <a href="https://www.lakeracing.com.au/ownership" target="_blank" rel="noopener">We added a standout The Autumn Sun filly and bombproof Nicconi filly and further details can be found here.</a> <a href="https://www.racing.com/form/2025-03-16/swan-hill/race/1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: Click here to view race replay</a> Congratulations to the connections of Kathy&rsquo;s Rose: M Whorlow

Rose blooms at Swan Hill

STAR Diesel has hit the winners board in just his second run for the stable after registering his first Victorian win at Kyneton on Thursday. The son of Star Turn hadn&rsquo;t saluted in almost 12 months to the day but followed up a good first run for the team at Seymour to score, aided by a first-class ride from Rhys McLeod. &ldquo;He had a rating that we thought this time of year in Victoria we could place him well to win some races,&rdquo; Toby Lake said of the new acquisition. &ldquo;I thought the blinkers had sharpened him up at home and it looked that way he was in for the fight late. &ldquo;Maybe we could sneak down to Moonee Valley one Friday night and find a suitable race for him.&rdquo; The four-year-old boasts solid provincial form in New South Wales and looks like he can be further placed to advantage throughout the Victorian summer. The stables last 10 runners have included two victories and three placings with only one horse missing the weigh in stalls. <a href="https://www.racing.com/form/2024-12-12/bet365-park-kyneton/race/6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: Click here to view the race replay</a> Congratulasitons to the connectiobs of Star Diesel: D Willis, C Guerra, J Williams, S Moore, A Lamshed, B Jennings, A Lewis, D Holland, S Sewell, G Banis, Dr M Zacharia, R Priestley, P Tonkin, T Nation, D Smith, A Hill, B Bayot, SBR No.1, A Gold, M Schiavello

Diesel shows his engine

FIELDELO appears to have a bright future after the daughter of Deep Field broke her maiden on debut at Kilmore on Cup Day last Sunday. Ridden by Jye McNeil over 1100 metres and sent off race favourite after some smart jump outs, she was in for the fight late and held off a determined challenge from Sweethearted, with the third placegetter some 4.5-lengths astern. &ldquo;She was travelling that comfortable I got to the front too soon and she had a look around and pricked the ears and once challenged she obviously had a little bit left in the locker,&rdquo; McNeil said. &ldquo;With the right education moving forward to finish off the product I think she will develop into a nice horse.&rdquo; Fieldelo has continued to improve the longer she has been in training and is a testament to her owners patience, headed by Mark Schiavello who has thankfully entrusted her with us. The filly will now enjoy a break and come back with further room to improve in 2025 with eyes on city and stakes class races. &ldquo;She has impressed me the whole way through,&rdquo; Lake said. &ldquo;She will go to the paddock, she has done a fantastic job this time in and we will give her a month out.&rdquo; Fieldelo, who was passed in at the Melbourne Premier Sale and is the first foal from a five-time Lope de Vega winning mare, is a testament to our systems educating young horses at Bendigo and we hope our first yearling crop can also follow in her footsteps. It started a good few days for the stable as stablemate Eire to the Jungle was an unlucky second at Ararat last Tuesday and is knocking on the door for a maiden win. <a href="https://www.racing.com/form/2024-11-24/bet365-park-kilmore/race/1#/results" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: Click here to view race replay</a> Congratulations to the connections of Fieldelo:&nbsp;M A Schiavello

Fieldelo off to a flyer

DANDRUFF has once again showed his liking for the Swan Hill circuit with his second dominant win at the track in as many starts on Tuesday.
Having won by 4.75-lengths back in April over the 2400 metres, ironically the margin was the same with a well rated ride from Dakotah Keane.
&ldquo;It was a good training effort, they were confident and he was fit,&rdquo; she said.
&ldquo;He maintains and doesn&rsquo;t quicken, once I kicked on the corner you&rsquo;d think I&rsquo;d gone too early&hellip; but he&rsquo;s got a lot of upside.
&ldquo;I felt like if he got challenged he would have pinned his ears back and kept kicking.&rdquo;
The six-year-old son of Written Tycoon, who had to overcome two sinus operations before he ever raced, could now be set on a path towards Jericho Cup Day on December 1.
<a href="https://www.racing.com/form/2024-10-29/swan-hill/race/6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: Click here to view the replay</a>
Congratulations to the connections of Dandruff: Smart Racing Stables &amp; Jacob Rule

Special Ledger Memorial win for Dandruff

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