‘‘She was over the moon when her horse won, and she has now got a real cheap purchase on her hands.’’

Ockham’s Razor is an entry for the Golden Slipper.

Australian Bloodstock’s Lucas Cranach, which finished third in last year’s Melbourne Cup, is back in work.

‘‘He is being aimed at the St George Stakes and the Australian Cup in Melbourne,’’ Lovett said.

‘‘He will then be coming to NSW for races like the Ranvet and BMW.

‘‘Anthony Freedman is incredibly happy with him. We went close in the Melbourne Cup, and maybe he can go a bit better this year.’’

■ Champion Hunter jockey Robert Thompson is on the verge of dominating feature races in the Tasmanian carnivals.

Thompson produced a race to race feature double at Launceston on Wednesday night.

He won the $90,000 listed weight-for-age event over 1200metres on $3.50 chance Youthful Jack then the Aceland Stud Thousand Guineas on Gee Gee’s La Quita in the 1600m event.

‘‘Youthful went real well at weight-for-age down here. This was right up his alley,’’ Thompson said from the airport on the way home yesterday morning.

‘‘It was funny, as one of the horses he beat was Kris Lees’s old horse Motspur, which finished third.

‘‘Youthful Jack will now run in another weight-for-age event over 1400m on Hobart Cup day, which is Sunday week.

‘‘The filly I won on will also run that day. She is an impressive type and should be hard to beat in the Strutt Stakes.

‘‘I have also picked up the Hobart Cup ride on Gee Gee’s Blackflash.

‘‘He has won his past four, so that seems a great ride.’’

One important observation that Thompson made of the meeting was on the crowd size.

‘‘I reckon there were just 50 people there on Wednesday night,’’ he said. ‘‘There was a big soccer game with Harry Kewell and the cricket was also going on, so it was pretty vacant at the races.’’

Thompson returns to Hunter racing at Cessnock on Monday.

■ Trainer Phil Anderson has been a success in Newcastle racing for many decades.

So his assessment of his mare Winning Review is of note.

‘‘I have been in racing in Newcastle for 40 years, so I have seen plenty of horses,’’ Anderson said yesterday.

‘‘I have no hesitation in stating this mare is the most improved restricted horse in Newcastle.

‘‘She is getting better day by day and run by run.’’

Under Anderson’s expertise, the mare, which did not start racing until she was older than four years, has won three and been placed in three from 13 starts.

She had a runaway win at Scone on Monday.

After being three wide early she pressed on to be second at the turn.

Jockey Christian Reith let her stride in the straight and she raced away to win the the class-two race over 1300m.

Winning Review was lot 48 at the 2008 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale in Sydney offered by Toolooganvale Farm, at Scone.

She was bought for $10,000.

‘‘She was sold on but never tried. Ross Joice formed a syndicate to lease her and got me to give her a go,’’ Anderson said. ‘‘I am glad he did. She is a little beauty – so consistent and gives her all every time she runs.’’

Anderson will run Winning Revue at Newcastle on February 15.

■ Paul Perry will not decide until later today whether flyer Social Rank will run at Warwick Farm tomorrow.

Social Rank is chasing three straight wins in the 1000m Flying Handicap.

‘‘He is going well but he is a duffer in the wet,’’ Perry said yesterday.

‘‘I will decide tomorrow afternoon or early Saturday morning, but really I am just hoping the weather might clear a bit.

‘‘It is a lovely race for him and he goes well at Warwick Farm, so all we need is a bit of luck with the track.’’

Perry will give Southern Skye his chance over 1600m tomorrow before stepping up the stayer in distance.

‘‘He is going great but needs this mile race before I can get him over more ground,’’ he said.

Perry said he would aim Timely Kiss, which has won two country races in a row, at a Sydney event.

Timely Kiss won the class-one Authorized Handicap over 1100m at Scone on Monday.

Perry paid $230,00 for Timely Kiss as a yearling at the Gold Coast 2010 sales.

■ Astute Newcastle trainer Alan Scorse hopes Azzalin, which won a barrier trial by nine lengths, is up to city company.

Azzalin has been entered for the 1000m ATC Plate at Warwick Farm tomorrow.

‘‘He did bolt in at Wyong but there were only two other runners in the trial, so it is hard to assess how good the effort really was,’’ Scorse said.

‘‘It will be a lot harder against city opposition but it is hard to find a two-year-old event to kick him off in.

‘‘He also trialled well at Newcastle and his work shows he will make a horse. So if the track is not a bog, he will start in Sydney, but if by Saturday morning the rain has continued down there then I would keep him back.’’

Scorse said Azzalin was a brother to Azzaland, which won six straight races in Queensland.

If anyone thinks that the economic slump makes it easy to buy a nice horse at the yearling sales then think again.

Scorse returned empty-handed from the Gold Coast Magic Millions sales.

‘‘I liked four and was under bidder on two, and all four went to Gai Waterhouse,’’ he said.

‘‘She is just too hard to beat.’’

■ Wyong will have a tribute to Sincero at their meeting on February 19.

The dual group1 winner will have an exhibition gallop. The first 500 people through the gates will receive a Sincero flag.

Trainer Steve Farley reports that Melbourne, rather than Hong Kong will be one of the main goals for Sincero this year.

Farley said Sincero would be ready to trial in early March.

When Stable Talk contacted Farley, the clang of the farrier was heard clearly in the background.

‘‘The farrier is working on Sincero now and he is just getting new Reeboks [horse shoes] put on,’’ Farley said with a laugh.

‘‘He is starting to get a move on now and will trial early in March.

‘‘I am looking at the Canterbury Stakes at Rosehill and then the George Ryder with him on Golden Slipper day.

‘‘Then we have to decide to stay in Sydney or keep him for Brisbane.’’

Farley has been handed the exciting temptation of going to Hong Kong with Sincero.

‘‘To tell you the truth, I would rather keep him here for another go at Melbourne and the Cox Plate in the spring,’’ Farley said.

‘‘If he is going to Melbourne then he will have his whole preparation down there.’’

■ French Gift won at Newcastle last Saturday, making it three victories in a row on his home track.

However, the win was much better than it may have appeared when he got home in a photo in the 1850m race.

Stewards reported that the gelding lost both front plates during the run.

French Gift will try for four straight Newcastle wins on February 15.

■ Gosford Race Club chief executive James Heddo will be on John Tapp’s Inside Racing program tomorrow morning on SkyChannel.

Heddo’s opinions on where provincial racing is heading make interesting viewing.

■ Promising Newcastle apprentices Alex Stokes and Alison Threadwell were late scratchings from a flight on Sunday.

The pair had checked in to Newcastle Airport when they got a phone call to say the Ballina meeting they were going to was called off because of the big wet.

The pair had to retrieve their gear from the aircraft.

■ Cessnock has been rated a heavy 9 for Monday’s meeting.

At least 54millimetres of rain has been recorded since Monday and the rail will be true.