News has been plentiful in horse racing this week

There are a couple of new bonuses on offer, one of which starts this week as well as a jumps bonus. So Suave is no Verry Elleegant and the new owners of Katsumi Orochi make a decision to miss the Blue Diamond.

It is the Blue Diamond on Saturday at Caulfield. One of the more interesting each way angles with the horse racing bookmakers was sold this week and will no longer be running. This is one of four news stories to get stuck into.

Owners bonus racing in Victoria start this week

Friday at Moonee Valley will be the first in a series of races sponsored by Ladbrokes. Owners of the winner in a string of nominated maiden races across six of the tracks in Victoria will gain themselves a bonus of $5,000.

Cranbourne, Geelong, Moe, Sale and Stony Creek are the other five tracks where bonus races will be run. For owners, having a horse win the first race of their career is already a great thing so an extra $5,000 to sweeten the pot is the cherry on top of the cake.

Warrnambool is offering a winners bonus

There is a bonus of $50,000 on offer to any horse who can win the Brierly and Grand Annual chase double. These races will now take on a lot more meaning than they already do with Tabcorp stepping up to sponsor the bonus.

It was announced last month that the jump program in general would have fewer races and prize money. That pair of races have a combined prize pool of $500,000 so a $50,000 is a strong bonus that should be tempting for connections.

Verry Elleegant’s brother’s heavy debut defeat

Sent off at odds of $81 there was not a lot expected of So Suave when he made his racing debut on Wednesday. Warwick Farm was the destination of choice for the Chris Waller-trained runner for his first action, finishing 9th over 1400m.

He never looked like he was going to get involved, always finding things happening a little too quickly. He ended up eight and a half lengths off the winner but there was a small positive that he was doing some good work when hitting the line.

Stretching him out over a longer distance is going to see him in a better light down the line. His 11-time Group 1 winning full-sister was also beaten on debut, though not anything like as badly. All is not lost after a single run and if he takes after her then 2000m+ and softer ground is going to help him.

Katsumi Orochi set to miss the Blue Diamond

The Blue Diamond Prelude was the race debut for Katsumi Orochi, finishing just under two and a half lengths behind the winner Field Of Play. The Prelude winner is the favourite on the betting sites to claim the Group 1 this weekend.

That makes it a big decision for the new owners of the runner (MyRacehorse primarily) to miss this weekend and give him a little more time. He is a horse who looks like he will be far better as a three-year-old so patience could be rewarded next season.

New connections have ringed the ATC Sires and Champagne Stakes instead as targets over longer distances for their new purchase. That will mean the horse is shipping to Sydney from Melbourne but the long-term aim is a return to Caulfield for the Guineas next season. His breeding suggests that he is going to be a much better runner when he is up in distance.

Past the halfway mark in February and the autumn is really starting to heat up. The new bonuses on offer should make for some competitive action while there are a couple of horses that might be worth keeping an eye on.