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La Crique lands last-gasp triumph

La Crique (Vadamos) sprouted wings in the Pukekohe straight on Saturday to come from a near-hopeless position and win the Gr.2 Dunstan Horsefeeds Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1400m) in a photo finish.The Vadamos mare went into the fillies and mares’ feature as the class act of the field, having won eight races and more than $1.3 million including Group One victories in the Arrowfield Stud Plate (1600m) and the Otaki-Maori WFA Classic (1600m). In her first start since taking o...

Drama aplenty in Counties Cup

Promising stayer Nereus (Savabeel) put his current campaign back on track when he captured an action packed Gr.3 TAB Counties Cup (2100m) on Saturday.The field of fourteen runners was thrown into chaos after 500m when Arby dropped rider Matt Cartwright after making contact with the inside running rail leaving the straight for the first time.Severely checked in the incident were Cognito, Blue Moon, Sassy Lass and Ess Vee Are while the rest of the field were also subsequently hampered as the ...

Luberon all class in Counties Bowl

Quality mare Luberon (Embellish) put a classy field of sprinters to the sword at Pukekohe on Saturday when she dashed away in the closing stages to score a handsome victory in the Gr.3 Haunui Farm Counties Bowl (1100m).The Lance Noble-trained daughter of Cambridge Stud stallion Embellish was shooting for a winning treble to open her spring campaign after taking out a rating75 1200m contest at Ellerslie back in September, followed by the Gr.3 Sweynesse Stakes (1200m) at Rotorua last month.Dr...

Meet the Breeder - Fraser Auret

This week in Dunstan Horsefeeds Meet the Breeder, we catch up with Fraser Auret of Grandmoral Lodge Racing who bred and sold the latest Hong Kong sprinting sensation, Ka Ying Rising. We managed to do a couple of Q&As with Fraser's 11yo son Milton who is NZTBA's youngest member!Tell us the story of Ka Ying Rising?We trained the mother, Missy Moo, to win five races.  She was a talented racehorse, but didn’t reach her full potential due to soundness issues in the back leg.  Upon her...

Proisir gelding Hong Kong-bound

Bloodstock agent Andrew Williams won a spirited bidding battle to secure a well-related Proisir gelding for $650,000 on the opening day of the NZB Ready to Run Sale at Karaka on Wednesday.Offered by Riversley Park, the gelding was catalogued as Lot 79 and is out of the unraced Carlton House mare Miss Vegas. That makes him a full-sister to this season’s Gr.3 Northland Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) fourth placegetter Vegas Queen, while Miss Vegas is a half-sister to the dam of emerging Australian s...

Stakes victory a tonic for Hennessy

The past year has been a tough one for Matamata horseman Gary Hennessy, but he got plenty of satisfaction out of watching Mystic Park take out Saturday’s Listed Stewards’ Stakes (1200m) at Riccarton.Hennessy bred the five-year-old gelding, who is by his five-time Group One winner and Gr.1 Cox Plate (2040m) hero Ocean Park, and out of unraced Dubawi mare Spirit of Karlu.“It was terrific. I have followed him all the way through, and I have his dam set to foal any day to Ocean Emperor,” Hen...

Ka Ying Rising breaks the clock at Sha Tin

Kiwi-bred sprinter Ka Ying Rising’s (Shamexpress) irresistible surge towards Group One glory continued at Sha Tin on Sunday when David Hayes’ emerging champion sprinter powered to victory in the Gr.2 BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint (1200m), breaking Sacred Kingdom’s long-standing track record.Clocking 1m 07.43s despite being eased down over the last 100m by Zac Purton, Ka Ying Rising improved his overall record to eight wins and two seconds from 10 starts and took a stranglehold o...

Pencarrow continue strong record at Riccarton

Riccarton Park has become a happy hunting ground for graduates of Cambridge thoroughbred nursery Pencarrow Stud, which was further enhanced last week through the deeds of Mehzebeen (Almanzor).The daughter of Almanzor kicked off New Zealand Cup week with victory in the Listed Metropolitan Trophy (2600m) before backing up seven days later to take out Saturday’s Gr.3 New Zealand Cup (3200m).“It was a real thrill to win a race like the New Zealand Cup, which is still one of the iconic races...

Nikau Spur claims NZB Beauford

Former Kiwi galloper Nikau Spur (Proisir) continues to provide Toowoomba trainers Corey and Kylie Geran with huge thrills and the momentum continued when scoring a last-stride victory in the Listed New Zealand Bloodstock Beauford (2300m) at Newcastle on Saturday. The eight-year-old son of Proisir was the winner of the Listed Queensland Cup (2400m) two starts back and relished the solid tempo on Saturday as he landed the thick end of the A$300,000 purse.Ridden by Tim Clark, Nikau Spur n...

Winning roll continues for quality mare Niance

Classy sprinting  mare Niance (Swiss Ace) has proved a revelation since crossing the Tasman and joining the  stable of Cranbourne trainer Grahame Begg.The five-year-old daughter of Swiss Ace has won five of her six starts in Australia and dominated her rivals when defying the pattern of the day to lead throughout and land the Gr.3 How Now Stakes (1200m).Leaders on the day had been thwarted by a strong northerly breeze, but connections elected not to alter the preferred racing styl...

Mehzebeen completes carnival double with Cup romp

After going into the New Zealand Cup Carnival without any black-type victories to her name, Mehzebeen (Almanzor) leaves Riccarton with two of them including Saturday’s time-honoured Gr.3 Martin Collins 161st New Zealand Cup (3200m).This has been a career-changing week for Mehzebeen, who showed bright promise with a Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) placing as a three-year-old but has alternated between disappointing and unlucky through the 18 months since.The first sign that Mehzebeen might b...

Mystic Park all class and courage in Stewards’ Stakes

Riccarton’s Listed Lindauer Stewards’ Stakes (1200m) is a special race on the calendar for local trainers Michael and Matthew Pitman, who won the $140,000 sprint showpiece again on Saturday with a remarkable performance from a rising star.Mystic Park (Ocean Park) became the Pitman stable’s sixth Stewards’ Stakes winner in the last 17 years, joining Coup Bloomsbury (2007), Coup Align (2009 and 2010) and El Chico, who won it as a seven-year-old in 2011 and again as an 11-year-old in 2...

Bella Waters on target for summer features

Promising mare Bella Waters (Sacred Falls) indicated she is on the right path to success in some of the upcoming major summer feature events when she came from last to secure victory in the Gr.2 Gartshore Tauranga Stakes (1600m) at Tauranga.Carrying the colours of Cambridge Stud principals Brendan and Jo Lindsay, who bred and race her, the Moira and Kieran Murdoch-prepared five-year-old was having just her second start in a new campaign after signing off her four-year-old season with succes...

Kiwi Chronicles - Not my last bid

Immediately prior to the 2023 NZB Karaka Yearling Sale The Oaks Stud’s Rick Williams was thrown a curveball. Instead of looking at buying a nicely bred f illy, owner Dick Karreman caught Williams a little off-guard: “What about a Savabeel colt, a future sire prospect?” If the purchase was to happen, Williams was keener on a filly. Williams has been in this game for a few years and knows the odds of finding a potential stallion as a yearling. The odds are miniscule but he set about looking ...

Deserved Riccarton reward for Kopua

Kopua (Shocking) attended to unfinished business in style on the middle day of the New Zealand Cup carnival at Riccarton when he produced an irresistible finish to claim top honours in the main event on the card.The son of Shocking had finished a luckless sixth in the Gr.3 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile (1600m) 12 months ago and successfully turned his fortunes around in Wednesday’s feature, now renamed the TAB Mile.Kopua further added to the long list of Riccarton successes of his trainer Ke...

First Australasian winner for Hello Youmzain

Cambridge Stud shuttle sire Hello Youmzain has made an outstanding start to his stallion career in the Northern Hemisphere, and he’s now opened his Australasian account.The former high-class sprinter was on the board following his two-year-old son Hello Romeo’s front-running victory over 1000m at Bendigo on WednesdayHello Youmzain won the Gr.1 Haydock Sprint Cup (1200m) before Cambridge Stud purchased the son of Kodiac with Haras d’Etreham, his northern base in France, and he subsequently ...

Fourth time lucky for Mr Brightside in Champions Mile

The Group One Champions Mile (1600m) at Flemington has been one of the few major miles to elude Mr Brightside (Bullbars), who finished fourth in the race in 2021, third in 2022 and second last year. But it was fourth time lucky on Saturday and the seven-year-old added the A$3 million feature to his glittering CV.Mr Brightside has now won 18 of his 40 starts and more than A$16 million in stakes, and he is showing no sign of slowing down. He has continued his customary consistency throughout this ...

Savaglee, Gerard and Spratt steal the Guineas spotlight

A dream spring for Savaglee (Savabeel), his trainer Pam Gerard and jockey Sam Spratt culminated in something very special in the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai 52nd New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton on Saturday.Savaglee began his three-year-old season somewhat below the radar, albeit with two wins to his name from seven starts last season including the Gr.3 Matamata Slipper (1200m). But the Savabeel colt has blossomed before our eyes this spring and become a standout of his gener...

Belclare dominates Hot Danish

Multiple New Zealand Group One winner Belclare (Per Incanto) has continued her strong form in Australia from her new quarters at Bjorn Baker’s stable.The seven-year-old daughter of Per Incanto won the A$2 million Gr.2 The Invitation (1400m) at Randwick a fortnight ago and it was a case of rinse and repeat when landing the A$500,000 Gr.2 Hot Danish Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill on Saturday.On both occasions Belclare went forward under Tyler Schiller and had her rivals in trouble when showing a goo...

Smokin’ Romans back on song

Group One winner Smokin’ Romans (Ghibellines) broke a two-year win drought in style on Saturday with a black-type success at the scene of his biggest triumph.The Ghibellines gelding went into Saturday’s A$300,000 Gr.3 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2600m) at Flemington as a nine-time winner from a career spanning 39 starts. However, he had not won since taking out the Gr.1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington in October of 2022.The eight-year-old turned back the clock in Saturday’s Queen El...

Mehzebeen produces front-running masterclass in Metropolitan

Misfortune has been a recurring theme in Mehzebeen’s (Almanzor) 18-race career, but she made her own luck at Riccarton on Saturday with an emphatic front-running victory in the Listed Nautical Boat Insurance Metropolitan Trophy (2600m).Runner-up behind Pennyweka in the Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) as a three-year-old, Mehzebeen went into Saturday’s $100,000 feature with three career victories to her name and unlucky not to have more. She was badly blocked in the straight when sixth in ...

Illicit Dreams all the way in Pegasus

Riccarton is a home away from home for speedy Ruakaka mare Illicit Dreams (Vancouver), who added a blistering front-running win in Saturday’s Listed Donaldson Brown Pegasus Stakes (1000m) to her proud record at the Christchurch track.A daunting 1200km journey separates Riccarton from trainer Kenny Rae’s Northland base, but Illicit Dreams has repeatedly taken those big trips in her stride and produced some of the best performances of her career.The daughter of Vancouver is now a dual sta...

Dunell snaps breeding success on Melbourne Cup Day

Well-known racing photographer Trish Dunell had a day to remember on Tuesday, recording success as a breeder on racing’s biggest stage at Flemington on Melbourne Cup Day.Following a busy day plying her trade at the Ellerslie races, Dunell was able to watch Fancify (Niagara) take out the Gr.3 The Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes (1400m) in the hands of Joe Bowditch for trainer Michael Hickmott.Dunell had raced the daughter of Niagara up until recently before selling to a client of Hickmott’s, and...

Opening Address makes Cup Day statement

The Listed TAB Trophy (1800m) on Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington has been a good race for emerging Kiwi-breds, and Opening Address(NZ) (So You Think) continued that trend in the A$175,000 feature on Tuesday.Last year’s edition of the three-year-old race was won by Warmonger, who was having just the third start of his career. That son of War Decree went on to win the Gr.1 Queensland Derby (2400m) by 10 lengths in June, and he was also runner-up in the Gr.1 South Australian Derby (2500m).Opening...

Kiwi Chronicles - To The Rescue

No stakes racing in New Zealand on Saturday meant that all the attention was focussed on Australia and in particular, Flemington, for Coolmore/Derby Day, and Rosehill for Golden Eagle Day. The Coolmore Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner hails from a US family while a British bred horse took out the Golden Eagle (1500m) so pickings looked slim for the New Zealand Stud Book. The Victoria Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) winner Goldrush Guru (American Pharaoh) does descend from a New Zealand-bred Le Filou (Vatellor) m...