Back to Blog

gavelhouse.com set to launch enhanced site

In conjunction with parent company New Zealand Bloodstock, industry leader in online thoroughbred and standardbred sales, gavelhouse.com, will launch an enhanced platform in May named Gavelhouse Plus. With a focus on innovation and servicing clients in the best possible way, General Manager Haylie Martin has been keen to take the platform to another level. “Gavelhouse Plus is an idea that has been bubbling away for a while and the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic gave us the impet...

Breeder reaches Group One goal

Matamata horseman Mark Lupton has been associated with a few good horses in his time, some of them even Group One performers, but nothing compares to winning the Gr.1 Sydney Cup (3200m) with Etah James (Raise The Flag [GB]-Etah). “I am trying to come to grips with it all, it’s amazing really,” Lupton said a couple of days after the win. “Now that I have watched the replay so many times it is beginning to feel real. You wish for all these things and now I am really starting to believe tha...

Champion galloper Might And Power passes away

Champion galloper Might And Power has died aged 26 after a bout with colic. The New Zealand born and bred thoroughbred superstar, who took out the Gr.1 Caufield Cup (2400m) and Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) double in in 1997, was a resident of the Living Legends retirement home near Melbourne and was rushed to Werribee Equine Centre on Saturday night but could not be saved. Bred by Windsor Park Stud in Cambridge the son of champion sire Zabeel was owned by Sydney businessman Nick Moraitis, trained ...

Two times the celebrations for White Robe Lodge

By Lloyd JacksonWhite Robe Lodge and the Anderton family had much to celebrate on Easter Saturday when their resident stallion, Raise the Flag (Sadler’s Wells), sired his first Group One winner after Etah James took out the Sydney Cup (3200m). Etah James’ stamina was two fold at Randwick. The 3200m is a test in itself but combined with the gluey track she had to be extra tough. The way she stuck to her task was typical of what New Zealand-bred stayers are renowned for. Raise The Flag, a beau...

Toffee Tongue adds to family legacy

Regally bred filly Toffee Tongue added to her family’s rich legacy when finishing runner-up behind Colette in the Gr.1 Australian Oaks (2400m) at Randwick on Saturday. The Chris Waller-trained daughter of Tavistock is a full-sister to former Hong Kong Horse of the Year Werther, Group One performer Milseain, and Gr.3 New Zealand Cup (3200m) winner Gobstopper. She earnt black-type when second behind Colette in the Gr.2 Adrian Knox Stakes (2000m) a week prior and is now on the way towards paying ...

Kiwi mare lands Sydney Cup

Jockey Glen Boss considered her his best long-shot ride in a Group One race and Kiwi mare Etah James (NZ) (Raise The Flag) has proven him right, upsetting her more fancied rivals to win the Gr.1 Sydney Cup (3200m) at Randwick. Making her debut for co-trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, the well-travelled mare has spent most of her career in Victoria with Matt Cumani before a brief stint with part-owner and New Zealand trainer Mark Lupton. Transferred for a Sydney Cup campaign, Etah James ha...

Return to Racing - further clarity

A Tuesday morning conference call involving NZ Thoroughbred Racing personnel and some 50 club representatives provided further clarity of the path towards the resumption of racing. NZTR CEO Bernard Saundry (pictured) chaired the conference call, repeating earlier indications of the intense work taking place between the codes, RITA and Government in finding a way for racing through the current Covid-19 lockdown. “We need to ascertain what will get us through to the end of the year and what 202...

Shout The Bar and the Foxbridge Connection

by Lloyd JacksonAt just her fourth raceday appearance Shout The Bar (Not A Single Doubt) certainly had her work cut out against rival star fillies Probabeel (Savabeel) and Funstar (Adelaide) when taking out the Vinery Stud Stakes (Gr.1, 2000m) at Rosehill on Saturday, March 28th. Her performance was aided by a clever ride from Adam Hyeronimus, leading somewhat comfortably from the jump then applying the pressure from the 600m. Having saved some of her energy earlier in the race she therefore had...

Zebrowski brightens Windsor Park bubble

A stirring performance from promising three-year-old Zebrowksi in Saturday’s Gr.1 Australian Derby (2400m), at just his sixth career start, has lifted the spirits of the team currently in lockdown at Windsor Park Stud in Cambridge. Bred and co-owned by the Stud, the Michael, Wayne and John Hawkes-trained Savabeel gelding fought for all he was worth before going under by just a neck to the Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained Quick Thinker in a thrilling finish to one of the feature events o...

Dunstan Feeds- Tips for feeding during Lockdown

The past week has turned many of our lives upside down in one way or another.  The same thing has occurred for many horses around the Country that were in full work, preparing to race, or racing and now find themselves out for a spell. For horses that have had an abrupt end to training it is important to reduce their feed intake in response to their reduction in calorie expenditure.  In most racehorse diets this will involve moving them to a lower energy feed. However, if there is plen...

Update from the New Zealand Farriers Association

The New Zealand Farriers Association have posted the below letter to to their members via their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/NzfaNzFarriersAssociation/ They will only attend cases that are extreme or critical and deemed a welfare issue, under the New Zealand Government Alert level four . If you need to contact a farrier you will in the first instance contact your veterinarian  who will advise your farrier. It is imperative that you remember to follow all the advised self dist...

End of the Road for Wellfield sire

Road To Rock, the sire of dual Hong Kong Horse Of The Year Beauty Generation, passed away last week. The Wellfield Lodge stallion had been battling laminitis issues in recent years and the tough decision was made to euthanise the dual Group One winner. “He has had laminitis issues, which we have been managing for some time,” Wellfield Lodge director Bill Gleeson said. “It got to the stage last week where we had to make a welfare decision on him, which was unfortunate.” Road To Rock recor...

Vale Fiona Bassett

Michelle Saba pays tribute to Fiona Bassett who died last month Loyal, dedicated, capable and a very good horsewoman are just some of the words used to describe and remember Fiona Bassett by her friends. Fiona Rachel Bassett died last month in Hawkes Bay, the area she grew up in.  Raised on a sheep and beef farm with two brothers Andrew and Greg, she always loved animals and rode from a very early age. At 17 she ventured down the road – Valley Road to be precise, to Byerley Thoroughbreds ...

UPDATE FROM NZTR

1 April 2020Dear Racing Participants and Owners,On behalf of NZTR, we want to provide you an update on the work we are doing in these unprecedented times.The New Zealand racing industry, like many businesses, faces critical challenges as a consequence of COVID-19.The NZTR Board has met regularly over the past two weeks discussing the lockdown, the economic and social impacts, what cuts we can make, and how do we return to racing. There has been significant work undertaken by an industry working ...

Verry Elleegant continues to fly the flag for sire

Verry Elleegant has been the flagbearer for her sire Zed in recent times and she further enhanced his profile on Saturday when winning the Gr.1 Tancred Stakes (2400m) at Rosehill. A son of legenday sire Zabeel, Zed has sired two individual Group One winners, with 2013 Gr.1 Makfi Challenge Stakes (1400m) winner Survived and now the triple Group One winning mare. Verry Elleegant had been in good form heading into Saturday, finishing fourth in the Gr.2 Apollo Stakes (1400m) before runner-up perfor...

Elleegant victory in unusual circumstances for Goodwin

Thoroughbred breeder Don Goodwin admits he is doing it tough at the moment but not in a way that most would think. Goodwin and his wife Christina are currently in lockdown along with the rest of the country, which means that they can’t travel to support their pride and joy Verry Elleegant when she competes. The Goodwins were on hand to witness the first two runs of this campaign for the Zed mare they bred and still own a share in, which yielded a fourth in the Gr.2 Apollo Stakes (1400m) and th...

Pearl Series Early Bird Entry Extended until 31 May 2020

In light of these unprecedented times the NZTBA has made the decision to extend the early bird registration for the NZB Insurance Pearl Series until May 31. “People have more important things to worry about at the moment, than registering their fillies for the Pearl Series,” stated NZTBA CEO Justine Sclater, “so we have decided not to close early bird registrations on March 31 as usual. “This will enable the yearlings catalogued at the now cancelled South Island Sale, and National Bloods...

Coping with Covid-19: Haunui Farm’s take on an unprecedented situation

The thoroughbred industry has been deemed an essential service due to horse welfare and is able to operate under restrictions during Covid-19 response Alert Level 4. There is no map for navigating the uncharted waters of dealing with the impact of Covid-19 with industry participants using government guidelines and common sense to ensure staff and horse welfare is maintained. Karaka-based Haunui Farm have been proactive in developing and implementing a response plan to ensure staff are safe and h...

Downey appointed Valachi Downs General Manager

Valachi Downs principals Kevin and Joanna Hickman have announced the appointment of Gareth Downey to the role of General Manager. Gareth joined the stud in mid-2018 as their breeding consultant, principally a role focussed on the management of the stud’s standing stallions, US Navy Flag, Zacinto and Savile Row, as well as pedigree analysis and matings advice for the stud’s broodmare band and clients. “We have been impressed with Gareth’s in-depth knowledge of our business and the natural...

Not Business as Usual

New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing chief executive Bernard Saundry has cautioned all participants in racing to adhere to stringent government protocols in response to the spread of Covid-19 for both the good of the industry and the health and well-being of the nation. “For just the second time in history New Zealand is in a State of Emergency,” Saundry said. “This should be a clear indication that the government’s messages regarding the four-week lockdown need to be taken seriously. This is...

Karaka May Sale Cancelled

New Zealand Bloodstock has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Karaka May Sale. Given the Government’s announcement on Monday that the country is to go into lock-down due to the COVID-19 virus, New Zealand Bloodstock has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Karaka May Sale, due to be held on Friday 15 May. After consulting with a number of vendors and buyers, the overwhelming feedback from them was to cancel the sale and investigate alternative options. “Even though the ...

March 25- Urgent Covid-19 update

Read the mailchimp sent out by the NZTBA on March 25 2020 regarding operating in Covid-19 response alert level 4.CLICK HERE TO READ...

Sydney off the agenda for Trelawney

Sydney was set to be a major focus point in the coming months for Trelawney Stud’s Brent and Cherry Taylor, however, their attention has swiftly changed with measures implemented as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Cambridge couple had yearlings set to fly over to go through the sales ring in Sydney, while exciting filly Two Illicit was earmarked for Group One assignments during Sydney’s autumn carnival. While disappointed Two Illicit will no longer get her chance to be tested in Sydne...

NZ trainers can continue to operate

New Zealand trainers can continue to work their horses while racing is shut down under government guidelines. From midnight Wednesday, New Zealand will move to COVID-19 alert level 4 with only essential services permitted to operate. NZ Thoroughbred Racing has issued a statement outlining conditions. "Our advice from the Ministry for Primary Industries confirms that training centres, training stables, agistment properties and stud farms where horses are in containment are considered essential se...

Exercise imperative to welfare claims Pike

Cambridge trainer Tony Pike is adamant that training tracks need to remain open throughout the Covid-19 alert level 4 lockdown on animal welfare grounds. The respected horseman, who is also the President of the New Zealand Trainers’ Association, usually has around 80 horses in work and is keen to see tracks remain open to keep horses ticking over, albeit on a reduced scale. “I have been working really closely with New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing and also have a couple of vets on board as we...