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Local families bring global success for Waikato Stud

For about a decade now, New Zealand breeders have been exhorted to upgrade their bloodstock with mares imported from Europe and North America. Yet the stream of good, and better than good horses produced by local female families has defied fashion and kept flowing. One breeder who has resolutely backed not only locally bred mares, but also Australasian-bred stallions, is 2005 New Zealand Breeder of the Year Garry Chittick of Waikato Stud. All four of the stud's resident sires were bred in New...

Shikoba triumphs again for owner-breeder

It was hardly surprising that the first four placegetters in yesterday ARC Royal S. 2000m G2 at Ellerslie are raced by their breeders. That's because, of the 14 starters, only five aren't raced by the people who bred them. The winner, Shikoba (Chief Bearhart-Summary by Tierce) is owned by The Micaela Murray Trust, which bred the petite chestnut filly in partnership with Micaela's parents Stuart and Suzanne Murray. Shikoba, named for the Native American Choctaw tribe's word for feather, also to...

Sculptor takes Guineas for His Royal Highness

Strathcarron Stud's admirable 16-year-old sire His Royal Highness is rarely without a good horse and on Boxing Day got his latest Group winner when Sculptor (ex Betelgeuse by Full Out; bred by Galaxy Exports Ltd; owned and trained by Peter McKenzie) won the ARC Great Northern Guineas 2000m G2 at Ellerslie. Sculptor is his sire's 11th stakeswinner from 260 foals of racing age (excluding his current two-year-olds, none of which has yet raced), giving him 4.2% SW/foals. It's a figure that's especi...

First NZ stakeswinner for Danske

Four-year-old mare Sapphire Belle gave her sire Danske his first New Zealand stakeswinner when she took out the Timaru Cup 1600m LR today. It was a stylish performance, in the quick time of 1:33.83, and defeating a strong field that included two Group One winners, The Jewel (fourth) and Maroofity (eighth). Trained by Jan Hay at Ashburton, Sapphire Belle was bred by the Mapperley Stud Partnership and sold for $22,000 at the 2003 NZ Select Fillies Sale to Kevin Hickman who races her with Graeme R...

Bazelle gets second Group One win at Ellerslie

At her first start in New Zealand since winning the Auckland Cup G1 in January this year, six-year-old mare Bazelle (Zabeel-Show Games by Showdown) led home an all-female finish in the ARC Galaxy S. 2000m G1 on the first day of the Auckland Racing Club's New Zealand Herald Summer Carnival. Five-year-old Kind Return, also by Zabeel, was second, and last-start Group 2 winner Focal Point (by Kashani) was third. The Zabeel quinella was highly appropriate, because Cambridge Stud sponsors the race wh...

Black type Boxing Day for Chief Bearhart

Former Glenmorgan Farm sire and Breeders' Cup Turf winner Chief Bearhart today added black type wins from both ends of the country to his rapidly progressing record. At Ellerslie three-year-old filly Shikoba (ex Summary by Tierce; bred by Stuart & Suzanne Murray and The Micaela Murray Trust) won the ARC Ladies Mile 1600m G2, with Avondale Guineas winner Pulcinella (Stravinsky) and Gaze (Cape Cross) completing a trifecta for shuttle stallions. It was Shikoba's third win from six starts and ...

Consistent Kristov wins Manawatu Challenge Stakes

If every racehorse owner could be guaranteed a horse like Kristov some time in their lives, campaigns to promote ownership would be unnecessary. Alas, such good fortune is rarely distributed evenly or fairly in racing. So Kristov's owners Charlie Beckett, Greg Meads and Phillip Stevens can consider themselves blessed to collect their 37th and biggest cheque from his 39-start career, when he won yesterday's $60,000 MRC Manawatu Challenge S. 1400m G3 at Awapuni. Bred by Willow Park Ltd, the six...

Patient owner-breeders get All Square in Manawatu Cup

Four generations of non-winning mares and no black type until the fourth dam isn't the sort of pedigree that attracts much attention in a sale catalogue. The racetrack is a great leveller, however, and today that pedigree, in the shape of six-year-old gelding All Square, (Vyner's Orb-Westerley Belle by Balmerino) won the $80,000 MRC Manawatu Cup 2300m G3 at Awapuni. It was All Square's sixth win from 20 starts, and followed victories at Riccarton last month and Trentham earlier this month. To ...

Racing Minister on The Ford Report

The new Minister for Racing, Rt. Hon. Winston Peters fronts up to leading industry broadcaster Adrian Clark in this week's edition of The Ford Report, which airs on Trackside this Saturday, 17 December. Mr Peters answers questions about the lead-up to this year's election, his appointment as Racing Minister, his commitment to implementing major taxation and legislative changes for racing and when those changes might happen. This is Mr Peters' first in-depth television interview about the raci...

World Champion highlights Zabeel-Danehill cross

Vengeance of Rain (Zabeel-Danelagh by Danehill) closed out 2005 in the best possible way for the New Zealand breeding industry with a tremendous victory in the $HK18 million Hong Kong Cup 2000m G1 on Sunday evening. The win confirmed the five-year-old gelding as the World Racing Series Champion and underlined – in case anyone had forgotten – that his sire Zabeel and damsire Danehill are truly world-class. The careers of Zabeel and Danehill, foaled seven months apart in 1986, are entwine...

Focal Point nets Group win for Bob & friends

Now that the Auckland suburb of Remuera isn't quite so fashionable, maybe it's okay to admit that I live there. And, yes, I shop there too, meeting a fair number of racing people around the traps. Happy owner Bob Lovett in his Remuera fish shop People like Bob Lovett at Remuera Fisheries, who has every reason to smile this week after his very good five-year-old mare Focal Point (Kashani-Key Issue by Sir Tristram; bred by Veda & the Estate of the late Jim Morris) won th...

First winner, first stakeswinner for Traditionally

First season sire Traditionally (Mr Prospector-Personal Ensign by Private Account) got his first winner in style yesterday, when his smart daughter Chant (ex Chantenay by Warning) won the Waikato RC Star Way 1000 LR at Te Rapa. In the process she burst the bubble of Don Garcia, the shortest-priced favourite in New Zealand TAB fixed odds history, who finished fifth. Rick Williams, general manager of The Oaks Stud, owned by Chant's owner-breeder Dick Karreman, says "I only backed her for a place,...

Tribute to NZTBA past president Ted Howarth

The New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders' Association lost one of its most distinguished members last week when Ted Howarth died suddenly at the age of eighty. An accountant who established a successful roofing business, Mr Howarth had a thirty-year record of dedicated voluntary service to the NZTBA at branch and national level. He helped to establish the NZTBA's Wellington branch in 1973, serving as its inaugural President until 1980 and remaining on the branch committee until 2003. Mr Howarth...

Third-crop sires shine in weekend racing

Only eight stallions that began stud duties in 2000 were still advertised in the NZTBA's Stallion Register five years later, but two of them, Waikato Stud's Pins and Cambridge Stud shuttler Stravinsky, are enjoying an excellent season in Australia and New Zealand. Up to 27 November Pins was sixth and Stravinsky 14th on the NZ General Sires' table (by earnings) and both sires have significantly boosted their New Zealand records since then. Pins (Snippets-No Finer by Kaoru Star) is proving even ...

Creil's pedigree full of winners

Wednesday's Avondale Cup G1 winner Creil can't be described as fashionably-bred, but her pedigree does feature plenty of winners, including others at Group One level. Bred by Cambridge Hunt Ltd, the six-year-old is a daughter of Hollywood Turf Cup G1 winner Frenchpark (Fools Holme-Piffle by Shirley Heights), resident at Bill Borrie's Richfield Thoroughbred Farm, Te Kauwhata, since 1996. He has left only two stakeswinners, Creil and Listed Stakes winner Chokin Stardust, from seven crops of raci...

NZTR Chief Executive charts a new course for the industry

"I want to champion New Zealand thoroughbred racing, and it's fair to say, I'm not here for practice." So says Paul Bittar, new Chief Executive at New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing, who was a guest speaker at Tuesday's NZTBA Council and Branch Representatives' meeting in Auckland. His audience included many experienced New Zealand racing and breeding participants who have seen several new faces come and go over the years as the thoroughbred industry has struggled to deal with its challenges. Pau...

Long time breeder passes away

Reproduced courtesy of Thoroughbred News Mrs Joan Nally, a New Zealand breeder of distinction passed away on Monday, aged 86. Mrs Nally was not a major breeder by any stretch of the imagination, but she and her family have influenced the industry in many positive and tangible ways. She was the sister of the late Bill Myers, making her an aunt to trainer Kevin Myers and Patrick Myers, the father of the rising young Central Districts apprentice Kelly Myers. She was the mother-in-law to Jim Wal...

Sweet dream comes true for owner-breeders

"Absolutely thrilled. It's been a dream, an absolute amazing dream." That's how southern Hawke's Bay breeders Julie & Kevin Taylor felt after their four-year-old mare Viennetta (Pins-Bali Sugar by Christmas Tree) romped home in the $75,000 Counties RC NRM Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders' S. 1400m G2 at Ellerslie on Saturday. The race is a major event on the NZTBA Auckland calendar and has been supported by the branch for 35 years. The Taylors, who own and operate Kia Ora Station, a 1400-acr...

NZ first season sires quick off the mark

Of the 23 stallions that began stud duties in New Zealand in 2002, ten have had raceday runners in Australasia to date, and four, Bertolini, Postponed, Black Minnaloushe and Spectatorial have already posted their first winners. This is a faster start than the 25-strong "Class of 2001", which took a month longer to match that performance. Rich Hill Stud's Bertolini (Danzig-Aquilegia) has made a tremendous impact with his first crop of European two-year-olds. Twenty-seven have won, and three ar...

Exuberant spring for NZ-breds in Australia

New Zealand-bred horses have won twenty-one Australian Group and Listed Races this season (to 20 November), compared with 12 at the same stage in 2004-05. The overall quality of those performances is also better this year, with five Group One wins (Underwood, George Main, Caulfield, MacKinnon & Victoria Racing Club Stakes) compared with only one last spring (Econsul's Caulfield Guineas); six Group Two victories (four last season); six at Group Three level (two last year); and four Listed R...

Makybe Diva joins the company of legends

Yes, we are dedicated to the New Zealand thoroughbred and to New Zealand breeders, but we're also dedicated to celebrating the thoroughbred horse. So we happily joined the millions around the world who applauded the ascent of Makybe Diva from champion to legend on Tuesday. The seven-year-old mare's historic third Melbourne Cup victory may have been aided by a track prepared for her, but the ease of her win was such that it's hard to make excuses for her rivals. The outstanding performance of N...

Update on NZ-breds’ performance in Australia

Several aspects about the performance of New Zealand-breds in Australia this season are striking – at least to those who track such things from year to year, as the NZTBA does. Firstly, up to the end of Cox Plate day, New Zealand-bred horses have won fifteen Australian Group and Listed Races this season, compared with eleven at the same stage in 2004-05. Secondly, the overall quality of those performances is somewhat better this year, with three Group One wins (Underwood, George Main and C...

New online database offers listings to all NZTBA members

The NZTBA has recently completed Stage 1 of its plan to upgrade its website, with the launch of its new online NZ Studs & Stallions database. Last week the NZTBA Council decided to offer free listings in the database to all NZTBA members, not only the studs who advertise in the annual Stallion Register. Members wishing to take up this offer are invited to contact NZTBA website editor Susan Archer for details of the information required for a listing. Susan says "The Studs & Stallions ...

NZTBA welcomes new Minister's commitment

Statements made by Winston Peters, the new Minister for Racing, in today's New Zealand Herald have been warmly welcomed by the NZTBA. In an interview with Mike Dillon, Mr Peters says that New Zealand First's demands for the racing industry had been agreed to during his party's negotiations with the Labour Party in the past two weeks. The five points in New Zealand First's racing policy which will be implemented next year are: *Remedy the anomaly in gaming legislation by putting gaming on the ...

Railings chains himself to Caulfield Cup history

In January 2003 I was working on the Ford Report, Trackside television's weekly window on the thoroughbred breeding industry. One of my assignments that month was to film yearlings at Haunui Farm, and one of the horses studmaster Mark Chitty chose to parade for our cameras that day was an Australian-born colt by champion sire Zabeel from the Palace Music mare La Suffragett. Bred by Haunui Farm and Noel Robinson, the colt was good-looking and strong, with an aura of something special about him. ...