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Why Section 15 of the Racing Bill must be changed

Finally it would appear concerns expressed regarding Section 15 of the Racing Bill are beginning to be heard and understood by a wide range of people involved in the Racing Industry. However, with the Bill being bumped up the Order Paper those expressions of concern may well be too little too late as the Bill could well have appeared for its second reading by the time this appears. Assuming there is still time for one last attempt to have government see reason it is probably worthwhile clarifyi...

Stellar field for Group One NZ Bloodstock Breeders' Stakes

The first running of the New Zealand Bloodstock Breeders' Stakes as a Group One event at Te Aroha this Saturday has drawn a field of outstanding quality. It's fair to say - so we'll say it! - that it has more depth than last weekend's Coolmore Classic, although Sunline's presence added a whole constellation of stars to that race's rating. Four Group One winners are among the eighteen acceptors at Te Aroha: Hello Dolly, Star Satire and the last two winners of the NZ 1000 Guineas, Elevenses and F...

First winner for Ashwell Farm's Shinko King

Original Sin's win at last Wednesday's South Waikato race meeting was the first New Zealand victory by Ashwell Farm stallion Shinko King. A half sister to last season's stakes winning two year old Shinnecock, Original Sin was bred by Hamilton couple Bill and Lorraine Sullivan. The filly came from last to beat Sun Wood (Woodborough) and Dane's Commitment (Danehill) by 2 ¼ lengths. Trainer Roger James will look at stepping Original Sin up to stakes company in the $25,000 New Zealand Bloodstock...

Of course, Old Comrade has a Kiwi connection...

Old Comrade (Old Spice-Belgravia by Ksar) scored a memorable triumph for Western Australia in Monday's VRC Australian Cup 2000m G1 at Flemington. In fact, the result was pretty much a whitewash for WA, with second placing going to last year's winner Northerly, also bred, owned & trained by Western Australians, and ridden by WA-born Damien Oliver. But go a couple of generations back into Old Comrade's pedigree and there she is: a fine old New Zealand-bred mare by the name of Cordonniere (...

Melbourne Cup heroine Empire Rose dies at Whakanui Stud

Yesterday Taimana carried the Bodle colours of yellow, black band and red striped sleeves to victory at Flemington for the first time since Empire Rose won the 1988 Melbourne Cup. Today Tim and Karen Bodle farewelled the mare who made those colours famous in the first place. As massive as her name implied, Empire Rose (Sir Tristram-Summer Fleur) was the undoubted star of the 1988 Melbourne Cup Carnival. She defeated weight-for-age stars Vo Rogue and Sky Chase in the MacKinnon Stakes on Derby Da...

Soldier Blue rewards owner-breeders' patience

New Zealand Cup winner Soldier Blue (7g Sir Sian-Va Bene) won the 2500-metre VRC Roy Higgins Quality at Flemington on his ear today for Waikato owner-breeders Alistaire & Isabel Barker and Cambridge trainer Royce Dowling. A very big, imposing individual who needs firm ground to show his best, Soldier Blue was always travelling well and, although taken wide on the home turn by jockey Brett Prebble, he forged clear impressively in the straight to win by a widening four lengths. The Barkers...

Star Belle Classic won by College Union

Owner-trainer Rex Allen faced a long drive back home to Taranaki after today's racing at Ellerslie, but the journey was surely made worthwhile by College Union's brave win in the $40,000 Genesis Star Belle Classic, a 2000-metre event for fillies and mares sponsored by Ancare and the NZTBA Auckland branch. Three-year-old filly Zirna (Deputy Governor) was a very close second, with another three-year-old The Cheek (Kaapstad) third. The race honours a champion New Zealand mare of the 1960s, Star B...

Sunline wins her second Coolmore Classic

She won her first Group One race in October 1998 and three-and-a-half years later she's still doing it. Today New Zealand's champion Sunline became the first mare to win two runnings of the STC Coolmore Classic 1500m G1 at Rosehill in Sydney with a courageous effort under 60 kg on a dead track. She had previously won the race, carrying the same weight, in 2000. Sunline jumped well from a less-than-ideal barrier one, but was steadied by Greg Childs behind early pacemaker Poppett, and then ease...

New Zealand builds strong hand for Australian classics

Carnegie Express, bred in New Zealand by Queenslander John Hawkins, gave Trelawney Stud's shuttle sire Carnegie his second Group One winner this season when he took out the STC Canterbury Guineas G1 on Saturday evening, beating Pentire's son Pentastic whose passage could have been smoother, according to jockey Brett Prebble. Carnegie is also the sire of VRC Derby G1 winner Amalfi, who has recently been side-lined with a tendon injury. Fourth-placed Leica Guv (Deputy Governor) should not be excl...

No Mean City triumphs over adversity

You won't have heard of him and, to be honest, the six-year-old son of Star Board and Jigtime (by Amazing Dancer) wasn't exactly famous here either before he won the Otaki-Maori RC Auto Auctions WFA 1400m G1 at Trentham on 21 February. A close look at his record of six wins and six placings from 15 starts indicates a very talented horse whose career has been limited by a sequence of injuries and unsoundness. His list of setbacks includes a broken pelvis & two bone chip operations which del...

Sunline shines amid stars at Te Rapa

Seasoned racegoers were moved to tears after current Australian and New Zealand Horse of the Year Sunline (6m Desert Sun-Songline; bred by Susan Archer & Michael Martin) defeated a high-class field by four-and-a-half lengths in the Waikato Draught Sprint 1400m G1 at Te Rapa on Saturday. It was her 28th win from 41 starts, and her tenth Group One victory in a career distinguished as much by the great mare's astonishing soundness and unrelenting competitiveness as by her unquestioned class. ...

Platonic takes out the Chester Manifold Stakes

Platonic (Trustful-Mikis by Noble Bijou) has presented plenty of challenges to her owner-breeders Chris & Glen Dillon and trainer Graham Richardson but, as the ad says, she's worth it. Yesterday she added a second Melbourne stakes race to her record when she took out the VRC Chester Manifold S. 1400m LR, defeating Bush Padre by three-quarters of a length. This was Platonic's tenth win from 22 starts and took her stake-earnings to $A225,250, on top of $142,825 earned in New Zealand. It was...

Chief Executive's View, December 2001

As we come to the end of another busy and challenging year a series of quotes from various sources highlight valuable facts and figures, themes of the NZTBA's current work and issues faced by domestic and international thoroughbred industry. "A major finding was that the contribution of the horse industry to the Australian economy was over $6.2 billion a year. If the value of volunteer labour was included the contribution would be over $8 billion a year. While racing and associated activities ...

The new NZTBA website goes on-line

The NZTBA is delighted to launch the latest version of its website with a new front page, easier navigation, subtly updated design and new services and content. There's more emphasis on news, especially news about New Zealand breeders, star performers, studs and stallions. Check out our Latest News regularly for the background stories and information we have the resources, contacts and, most of all, the desire to bring to you. The NZTBA has always been active in industry politics, representi...

The NZTBA Submission on the Racing Bill

In August the NZTBA made a comprehensive written and oral submission on the Racing Bill to the Government Select Committee. Read it here - ...

Breeder Peter Setchell thrilled with his Final Destination

After the 2001 NZ One Thousand Guineas G1 and Bayer Classic G1 last month a few people can attest to the truth of that particular piece of breeder's wisdom. Graeme & Helen-Gaye Bax of Blandford Lodge, and Australian breeder Arthur Mitchell bought Logical Lady (Sound Reason-Society Bay), now the dam of dual Group One winner Final Destination (by Waikato Stud's O'Reilly), for $100,000 at Millfield Stud's broodmare dispersal at the NZB Spring Bloodstock Sale in August this year. She is foaling ...

Katie Lee's impressive wins

Katie Lee after her impressive win in the '1000 Guineas'. Picture compliments of Trish Dunell The reality of Katie Lee's (Pins- Miss Jessie Jay) outstanding achievement in winning both the 1000 and 2000 Guineas is only just starting to sink in almost a week after the event according to her co-breeder Denny Baker of Hallmark Stud. “It didn't really hit us until a few days after the 1000 Guineas what a fantastic achievement it was, it is only now starting to sink in,...