Sir Tristram (IRE) gave them the break every stud hopes for but Patrick’s competitiveness, horsemanship and unerring marketing instinct has made Cambridge Stud a trademark of excellence that is recognised all around the world. Patrick, the master of sale-ring drama, can be credited with lifting New Zealand’s standards of yearling presentation; he and Justine are also generous benefactors of equine industry research and education. It has been said that the Hogans are either exceptionally lucky or exceptionally good at their business. Twenty-five Group One winners from the New Zealand Premier Yearling Sale over the past two decades, three NZ Breeder of the Year titles, a succession of New Zealand yearling sale-toppers and the rise of two-time champion Australian and four-time New Zealand sire Zabeel confirm that the second explanation applies.

Currie dominated New Zealand breeding in the 1920s and 1930s with two champion sires Absurd and Limond, and legendary broodmare Eulogy, whose influence can still be discerned in top-class New Zealand pedigrees today. Established as a sheep farm in 1863 by James Currie and James Moore, Koatanui was taken up by Currie’s son George who began racing and breeding horses in the early years of the 20^th century. With a strong preference for imported horses, George’s first broodmare purchases included Holyrood (ancestress of fine performers Barwon, Tauto and Brookby Hill), Our Lady (whose descendants included Redcraze, Balmerino, Surround and Beau Zam) and Roscommon (the Volifox family of Ascending, Cariere, Swell Time, Ben Lomond and Cronus). Clever management and shrewd selection ensured Currie’s success as a breeder, owner and punter while his support for the concept of a national yearling sale was influential in its establishment.

Founded in 1930, Trelawney was the first major stud in the Cambridge district, now the heart of New Zealand’s thoroughbred breeding industry. The stud has a special place in Melbourne Cup history as the source of seven Cup winners: Hiraji (1947), Foxzami (1949), Hi-Jinx (1960) and Polo Prince (1964) by Trelawney stallions, Macdougal (1959) bred by Mr Otway, and Galilee (1966) and Silver Knight (1971) bred by Trelawney Stud. Five of these were from daughters of the stud’s 11-time champion New Zealand sire Foxbridge, whose own progeny won a total of almost £11 million. Other successful Trelawney stallions were Nizami, Marco Polo II, Khorassan (sire of champion Tulloch), Pride Of Kildare and 1969-70 Dewar Stallion Trophy winner Alcimedes.

After a brief period in the ownership of Australian businessman Robert Holmes A'Court and his Heytesbury Stud, Trelawney is now owned and operated by Brent Taylor and his family. They are continuing the Trelawney tradition of excellence with 2001 VRC Derby winner Amalfi, outstanding G1 winner Hill Of Grace and Singapore champion Ouzo. 

The first Tom (T.H.) Lowry began racing horses at the end of the 19^th century but enjoyed his greatest success as an owner and breeder in the first 20 years of last century, most notably with his homebred champion Desert Gold. He also imported the stallion Psychology, a successful broodmare sire.

The second Tom (T.C.) took over Okawa Stud after his father’s death in 1944 and achieved notable racing success with horses bearing short, single word names that immediately identified them as Okawa homebreds. The best of them were the brilliant Mop, champion filly Key, and the horse whose name was a perfect match for his character, Game, winner of 26 races. A leading New Zealand cricketer in his youth, the second Tom Lowry was also the second President of the NZTBA, serving in that role for 14 years. Champion sire Faux Tirage was the best of the stallions who stood at Okawa during this period.

T.C. Lowry died in 1976 and his son, the third Tom (T.R.) became the master of Okawa which gained new fame as the home of three-time New Zealand champion sire Three Legs, sire of Japan Cup winner Horlicks. The stud reduced its operation dramatically in the early 1990s – but Okawa stallions and female families continue to be found in the pedigrees of leading performers.

Born in 1847, Sir George inherited both a baronetcy and a Canterbury station from his father, the first Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives. He named the station and his first racehorse Stonyhurst and proceeeded to win 116 major races and almost £182,000 during almost fifty years as an owner, until his death in 1930. Almost all of his racetrack victories were achieved by horses bred at Stonyhurst, using home-bred sires such as Clanranald and Treadmill, and the outstanding broodmares Catherine Wheel, Madowla and the sisters Elusive and Delusive. Ted Cutts trained the Clifford horses from Chokebore Lodge near Riccarton Racecourse and his sons trained for Sir George‘s son and grandson until the 1960s.

Beyond his success as an owner-breeder, Sir George’s most important contributions to the New Zealand breeding industry were his 35-year reign as head of the New Zealand Racing Conference and the support he gave W.H.E. Wanklyn, compiler of the first official New Zealand Stud Book.

Founded in the early 1960s by Ian and Jesse Duncan, Windsor Park was taken over by Nelson and Sue Schick in 1971 and re-located eight years later to its current address near Cambridge. The purchase of additional farms has expanded its size to 1200 acres; the regular production of Group One winners has earned Windsor Park widespread respect and the 1998 and 2001 New Zealand Breeder of the Year titles. Those winners include two-time Australian Horse of the Year Might And Power, Catalan Opening, Sky Chase, Showella, Dantelah, Clifton King, Nimue, Sirstaci, Ray’s Hope, Just A Dancer and Golden Sword. Silver Dream was the first notable Windsor Park sire and the current line-up includes championship winners Star Way and Volksraad, leading sire Kaapstad and European champion Montjeu.

With a strong emphasis on creating the ideal environment for rearing young horses, smart promotion and a highly skilled team of professionals including the Schicks’ son, Rodney, Windsor Park is set to cap its stunning late 20^th century rise to prosperity with lasting fame in the early years of this century.

Te Parae was founded in 1941 by Alister and Nancy Williams and was made famous by the great broodmare Sunbride, stallions Sabaean and Agricola (1967-68 Dewar Stallion Trophy) and champion sire Oncidium whose dominance of New Zealand’s yearling sales and Australia’s racetracks was a powerful theme of the 1970s. The stud’s conspicuous success in Australia contributed significantly to New Zealand’s reputation as a thoroughbred nursery and the consolidation of the National Yearling Sale during the 1960s and 1970s. The list of Te Parae graduates includes Straight Draw, Ilumquh, General Command, Sanderae, Laelia, Lowland, Dayana and Grand Cidium.

After Alister’s death in 1971 his sons Tom and "Buzz" continued to operate Te Parae together until 1996 when Buzz and his son Sam took over the associate farm Little Avondale (established in 1964), which is now the home of young sire Towkay. The Te Parae Trust is the breeder of 2002 Group One winner Sixty Seconds.  

Established in 1956 at Wingatui and transferred to North Taieri in 1981, White Robe (owned and operated by Brian and Lorraine Anderton), and the highly successful stables of brothers Hec and Brian have been the lynchpin of South Island breeding and racing for more than three decades.

Good luck may explain why a stud strikes one extraordinary stallion; two in quick succession is rather more difficult to ascribe wholly to fortune. The impact of Mellay and Noble Bijou on New Zealand thoroughbred breeding would have been significant even if they had stood at opposite ends of the country. Standing one after the other at the same stud, they forged a genetic combination that produced several of the best New Zealand-bred horses to race during the 1970s and 1980s: Prince Majestic, Alibhai, Powley, Allez Bijou, Be Noble and Our Sophia, all bred by the Andertons. Noble Bijou eventually sired a total of 68 stakeswinners, among them many that were not out of Mellay mares, most notably The Phantom, The Phantom Chance and Lomondy. Seven sires’ championships and eleven New Zealand broodmare sires’ titles measure the worth of two marvellous stallions – and of the unassuming, extraordinary people of White Robe Lodge.

The NZTBA’s Stead Memorial Library, collected over almost 100 years by three generations of Steads, is a tangible reminder of the family’s devotion to thoroughbred racing and breeding in this country. George Stead of Christchurch enjoyed a successful racing partnership with the "Father of the New Zealand Turf", Henry Redwood from 1875 until the 1890s. Best-known as the country’s leading owner between 1880 and his death in 1908, Stead also made a significant contribution to New Zealand bloodlines by importing stallions such as Leolinus, Cadogan and Apremont; and the influential broodmares Pulchra, Nelly Moore, Steppe and Otterden, the dam of outstanding sire Martian.

Although George’s sons W.G. (William Gattenby) Stead and Gerald (G.L.) Stead never dominated New Zealand racing as their father did, they nevertheless enjoyed their share of success. In 1905 W.G. Stead moved to the North Island, settling in Hastings where Bob Stead was born. There he developed the Flaxmere Stud and topped the owner’s premiership in 1916, the year Sasanof won the Melbourne Cup and Kilboy the AJC Derby.

Bob Stead continued the fine family tradition, standing stallions which included Alonzo, who left Rising Fast; Red Mars and Targui (sire of Cadiz). Bob was a foundation member and committeeman of the NZTBA and held the office of treasurer from its inception until 1970. He was awarded Life Membership in 1971.