Proxima Dea kept her perfect record intact with a commanding success in the Group 1 VRC Oaks at Flemington on Thursday, extending her unbeaten run to six races and adding a second top-level prize in the space of a fortnight. Trained by veteran David Payne and ridden by 23-year-old Zac Lloyd, the Sydney-based filly overcame the second-widest draw in a field of 16 to stretch clear over the 2,500-metre trip. She crossed the line a length and three-quarters ahead of the Rob Black

Conditional jockey Dylan O'Connor has been suspended for 14 race days and must forfeit his riding fee after Fairyhouse stewards found him in breach of Rule 212 over his ride on Sam's Favourite on Tuesday. The Adam Leahy-trained five-year-old, sent off at 20-1, came home tenth of the 15 runners in the second division of the William Hill Challenge Series Handicap Hurdle over two and a half miles. Following a running and riding inquiry, the stewards also banned the horse from ra

Champion jockey Billy Loughnane has been signed as a retained rider for Godolphin, the operation announced on Wednesday, 4 November. The 20-year-old will formally take up the role at the Dubai Carnival in December, and he joins rather than replaces William Buick, who stays on as the second of Godolphin's two retained jockeys. It is a landmark move for a rider whose rise has been remarkable even by the standards of a sport that loves a prodigy. Loughnane was crowned Britain's