Sombre launch to the jumps season

THERE are still no horses qualified to compete at the start of the 2010 jumps season in just 10 days, so it was fitting that yesterday's launch of the resurrected sport at Warrnambool was a low-key affair.

ON THE PUNT

TAB JACKPOTS

Trader sharp enough to make the cut, says Cummings

ANTHONY CUMMINGS is leaning towards promising four-year-old Trader stepping up in grade to tackle the Razor Sharp Handicap at Randwick on Saturday.

Moses defends lad for sailing too close to the wind

How can you compare Jamie Quinnell with Wendell Sailor? The question was asked by Randwick trainer Kevin Moses in relation to his apprentice jockey, whose appeal against a drug-related suspension was dismissed by the Racing NSW appeals panel on Friday.

'Johnny' helps turn it around

FRIDAY was a day Nikki Burke would rather forget but yesterday the Cranbourne trainer was back on one of racing's highs with an early winner at Stony Creek followed by the victory of Johnny Fiasco in the main race of the day at Caulfield, the 65 Roses Victoria Cup (1100 metres).

BEATING THE ODDS

THE BARRIER

And the moral is . . . don't give up your day job

IT WAS during the summer of 1987 when on holiday at Phillip Island that two professional types in their early 30s had an epiphany that the best way to provide a year-round holiday lifestyle for their young families was to punt themselves to a fortune.

Creek Boys Stepping Up For Saints

IF A TASTE of country air can prove just the tonic in difficult, stressful times, then St Kilda is on a bush track to rejuvenation.

Taggart Breaks Both Legs In Fall At Stony Creek

THE fluctuating career of former leading apprentice David Taggart took another downward turn when he was seriously injured in a fall at Stony Creek yesterday.

Stony Reception To Move That Leaves Boat Owners Up A Creek

ROBERT Baxter has been launching his boat into Stony Creek, Blackalls Park, for 20 years.

Creek Project Blows Competition Out Of Water

THREE Toronto High School pupils are headed to Sweden, because their Stony Creek restoration project has won the Australian section of a global environmental competition.

Sickly, Slimy Stony Creek To Be Revived

Perhaps, long ago, Stony Creek was once stony. These days, there are more apt descriptions. Words such as slimy, smelly and sickly fit better.

Chemical Spill Kills Creek Wildlife

Fish, eels and frogs have been killed in a chemical spill at Stony Creek, in Melbourne's inner west.

Septic Tanks `factor' In Creek's Problems

A NEW investigation appears to confirm suspicions that septic tanks in the Toronto West Industrial Estate have contributed to declining water quality in Stony Creek. The Office of the Lake Macquarie and Catchment Coordinator engaged temporary environmental officers to do the review late last yea