JMac confirmed for Rothfire's incredible Stradbroke bid

Pete Lane · June 9

From Racenet:

James McDonald is set to ride Rothfire in the Stradbroke Handicap as Rob Heathcote declared his wonder horse was "back in the game" and a strong chance of winning a race against time to line up in Queensland's most prestigious race.

Hopes had been low that the "Thriller from Chinchilla" would recover from a foot injury in time to take his place in Saturday's $3m Stradbroke at Eagle Farm.

However, after working the Group 1 winner on Monday morning, Heathcote feels the courageous seven-year-old sprinter is now a decent chance of taking his place in the Stradbroke.

And Heathcote said "James McDonald is confirmed to ride" in the latest twist in an extraordinary tale.

Champion hoop McDonald sometimes has trouble netting a Stradbroke ride given the vast array of lightweights often in the field, but he will have no issue riding Rothfire at 55.5kg.

"Rothfire will of course have to pass the scrutiny of vets, but from what we saw this morning, he will," Heathcote said.

"Rothfire was excellent this morning.

"He's done a lot of swimming and he still has to come through his Tuesday morning gallop well, but from what we saw this morning, nothing is beyond this warrior horse.

"He is one tough horse."

The foot injury to Rothfire, which flared after he turned back the clock for an amazing runner-up finish behind Sunshine In Paris in the Group 1 Doomben 10,000, was only ever minor.

But Heathcote said last week that although the foot infection had broken, he had felt Rothfire remained only a "slim" chance of lining up in his third Stradbroke.

However, there is now a growing sense of optimism.

It is still far from ideal that Rothfire would be racing in a Stradbroke after missing a run in the Kingsford Smith Cup, but Heathcote said it wasn't a major issue.

"The Doomben 10,000 run was worth a week of fitness work and the swimming he has been doing has kept him up to the mark," he said.

"His courage will fill in the cracks."

Heathcote will not make a decision as to whether he accepts with Rothfire in the Stradbroke until after a Tuesday morning track work session.

Rothfire's odds in the Stradbroke have blown out since he has been under an injury cloud and he was a $34 chance on Monday morning.

But after Racenet revealed Rothfire was a likely starter, and McDonald had been confirmed for the ride, Rothfire firmed to be a $21 chance.

Rothfire became a Group 1 champion in 2020 when he won the JJ Atkins in his two-year-old season.

He has won close to $3.5m in prizemoney, despite suffering several major injury setbacks including a sesamoid fracture several years ago which had threatened to end his career.

scooby3051 · June 9

Love this horse he has a heart as big as himself.

scooby3051 · June 10

sunlineboy · June 10

Not the hottest Stradbroke field you'll ever see, but it makes for an open contest.

jack · June 13

War Machine.

TurnyTom · June 13

Private Eye

richie · June 13

I will have to go with one of my favourite all time horses ,and Ashburton owned,not to mention it's my boss that owns it.

Desert Lightening who we know will try his guts out and might get an easy run from the draw

Blaird · June 13

Champion jockey James McDonald is battling illness but has vowed to do everything he can to ride at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

“I haven’t been feeling well since Wednesday,’’ McDonald said.

“I don’t know what it is, some sort of virus.

“But I’ll be doing my best to ride. I will be doing everything I can to be there.

“Put it this way, it would take a lot for me to miss a big day like Stradbroke day. I want to get there to ride in the first race and see how I go.’’

meomy · June 13

26 minutes ago, Blaird said:

Champion jockey James McDonald is battling illness but has vowed to do everything he can to ride at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

“I haven’t been feeling well since Wednesday,’’ McDonald said.

“I don’t know what it is, some sort of virus.

“But I’ll be doing my best to ride. I will be doing everything I can to be there.

“Put it this way, it would take a lot for me to miss a big day like Stradbroke day. I want to get there to ride in the first race and see how I go.’’

A tipple of whiskey usually help James if you are reading this, however keep it within limits.

Peter R S · June 13

Interview with Rob Heathcote on QLD TAB radio on Thursday morning - Tim Clark was booked for Rothfire but with the doubt over the foot abscess he switched to War Machine, RH said if James hadn’t been on the horse this weekend then there would have been more heard!

scooby3051 · June 14

The win can never replace losing a son but lets hope it can improve a disastourus week a little for the Wallaces...maybe had a little help from above today. Great for Mike Moroneys family too...a little Devine intervention.

scooby3051 · June 14

Poignant Stradbroke win for War Machine

By

NZ Racing Desk

-

June 14, 2025

War-Machine-Grant-Peters.jpg?resize=696% — War Machine produces a commanding performance to claim the Group One Stradbroke Handicap at Eagle Farm. Photo: Grant Peters

With a powerful and poignant performance in Saturday’s The Star Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm, budding superstar War Machine (NZ) (Harry Angel) added extra Group One sparkle to the legacies of two much-missed New Zealand industry figures.

The triumph came less than a week after the sudden passing in Kentucky of internationally renowned bloodstock agent Michael Wallace, who sourced War Machine’s dam Caserta on behalf of his brother David and late wife Maddy and parents Jim and Mary Wallace. War Machine was bred by the Wallace family’s MDJ Bloodstock and was offered by Ardsley Stud at both the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sales and the Ready To Run Sale, but failed to reach his $100,000 reserve on both occasions.

War Machine went on to make the first nine appearances of his exciting career from the stable of Mike Moroney, a decorated and widely respected trainer who passed away earlier this year. The Harry Angel gelding is now trained by Ben, Will and JD Hayes, who were aware of the multi-faceted significance of Saturday’s win.

“We’re very proud, it was an amazing result today,” Ben Hayes said. “The Wallace family bred this horse and is in the ownership group. They’ve had a really tough time lately and hopefully his win today will make them feel better.

“Also Mike Moroney, we’re fortunate to be able to be entrusted with this horse. He’s an amazing, exciting horse, and to be able to have a horse like this to train is just amazing. To be able to get a result like this for Will, JD, the whole team, Mike Moroney, his family, the Wallace family – it’s really, really exciting.”

War Machine now boasts a perfect three-from-three record for the Hayes stable. He won a Benchmark 100 handicap at Caulfield on May 10, then earned clear-cut Stradbroke favouritism with an easy victory in last month’s Gr.3 BRC Sprint (1350m) at Doomben. The form out of that race was boosted earlier on Saturday afternoon when the third placegetter, the Kiwi galloper Pier (NZ) (Proisir), took out the Listed Wayne Wilson (1600m) by three lengths.

Sent out as a $3.20 favourite, War Machine and jockey Tim Clark sat in eighth, three-wide but with cover, as Front Page (Magnus) and Punch Lane (So You Think) led the Stradbroke field up until the home turn.

Clark swooped five wide around the corner and let War Machine rip at the top of the straight. The four-year-old produced an explosive turn of foot and burst to the front 250m from the finish.

Yellow Brick (The Mission), Private Eye (Al Maher) and Desert Lightning (NZ) (Pride of Dubai) gave chase and ate into the margin, but War Machine was of reach and scored by three-quarters of a length.

“Obviously I was thrilled to get on him today,” said Clark, who had his first ride on War Machine on Saturday. “He put the writing on the wall a few weeks ago and it was a pleasant surprise on Sunday morning when I got the news.

“He got away okay. He was just laying on the side of the gates a little bit, but he got away okay and it worked out pretty well from that draw.

“Myself and Ben, we spoke before the race. We just wanted to get on a three-wide line with a bit of cover. He found Transatlantic’s (Snitzel) back, who I knew was going to take him far enough.

“He travelled so well, I probably let him loose a bit early. But this was the grand final, there’s no tomorrow, so I wasn’t going to die wondering.

“He let rip, really let rip. Maybe just wandered a little bit late. He could feel Yellow Brick coming late and sort of surged again.

“I can’t take too much credit for it. What a great job by Ben and his brothers to just have him spot on for today. I was just the lucky one to get the call-up.”

After being passed in at the Ready to Run Sale at Karaka, War Machine went into training with Jim Wallace and won his only trial at Foxton by six lengths before his private purchase by bloodstock agent Steven Pinfold.

“I spotted him at a jumpout before that Foxton trial,” Pinfold said.

“I did a lot of business with Michael Moroney over the years. I worked for Mike for a long time, including running stables in Adelaide and Melbourne for him through the halcyon days of Brew and Second Coming. He was a champion to me and a very good mate for thirty-odd years. Once I saw War Machine at the jumpouts, I told Mike about him, and then when he won the trial, we pounced.

“I put a lot of good clients into the horse and so did Mike, including Rupert Legh, so it’s nice to see the horse rewarding them.

“Mike said to me that War Machine might be one of the better horses he trained. Last year, when he ran in the Golden Eagle (1500m), he was just a kid running against men. He went a really good race, and Mike said we will give him a crack at the Rupert Clarke (Gr.1, 1400m) and then put him away for the Stradbroke. So here we are, but sadly Mike isn’t with us.

“I went to school with David Wallace. I also went to school with Andrew Williams, Adon Byron and Kieran McCaul who are all Silverstream boys that are in War Machine.

“I have been friends with the Wallace family for forty years and their Ardsley Stud has been one of the great thoroughbred nurseries in New Zealand. Jim Wallace actually gave me my first job when he ran the Magic Millions sales at Trentham way back in my schooling days.

“It’s a sad series of events. We would have loved David and Jim to be here with us this weekend, but unfortunately, they have had to go to America after the passing of Michael.”

With six victories and four placings from 13 starts, War Machine has amassed A$2.48 million in prizemoney.

War Machine’s two-year-old half-brother by Darci Brahma, named Vanvitelli (NZ) (Darci Brahma), was also the winner of a recent trial at Waipukurau and has subsequently been sold to clients of the Hayes team.

JJ Flash · June 14

In an added twist J Mac could not make Rothfires 55.5 kg and was replaced by C Williams. The latter copped a 14 day suspension for careless riding. It was all go

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JMac confirmed for Rothfire's incredible Stradbroke bid

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