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Snow Patrol prevails in thrilling Autumn Stakes

New Zealand-bred gelding Snow Patrol (NZ) (Contributer) dug deep as he defeated classy rival Southport Tycoon (Written Tycoon) in a stirring edition of the Gr.2 Hyland Race Colours Autumn Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday.The Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr-trained son of Contributer was fresh-up but had trialled well leading into Saturday’s assignment.Winning jockey Mark Zahra made sure he never let chief rival Southport Tycoon and Damian Lane out of his sight, with that duo pulling awa...

Fifth Group One for remarkable Mr Brightside

Cult horse Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) commenced his autumn campaign in the Gr.1 C.F. Orr Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday and after looking beaten for much of the contest called on all his fighting qualities to mow down bold front runner Pride Of Jenni (Pride Of Dubai) and Buffalo River (Noble Mission) in the shadows of the post.The Ben, Will and JD Hayes-trained gelding has a never say die quality that has endeared him to racing fans and has been scarcely out of the money since crossi...

Group Three win for brave Proisir mare

Quality mare Yonce (NZ) (Proisir) scored a richly-deserved Group Three victory when landing the Carlyon Cup (1600m) at Caulfield on Saturday for trainer Ciaron Maher.The highly-talented daughter of Proisir rewarded her connections faith with her first stakes victory at her third start this campaign, having been off the scene for 20 months due to a tendon strain.The now six-year-old mare won six of her first seven starts, with her only defeat in her maiden campaign a brave fourth in the Gr.1 Quee...

Bold Soul lands Tasmanian Derby

Trainer Patrick Payne has claimed his third successive Listed Graham Family Funerals Tasmanian Derby (2200m) when Bold Soul (NZ) (Embellish) dug deep to prevail from fellow Kiwi bred Gold Wolf (NZ) (Tivaci).The son of Embellish was sent out a $1.45 favourite on the back of a stunning last-to-first victory in the Listed Launceston Guineas (2100m) and defeated a similar field in Friday’s Derby, with the exception of the runner-up.Ridden by Jake Noonan, Bold Soul raced fifth on the fence for...

Meet the Breeder - Adrianne Gemmell

This week in Dunstan Horsefeeds Meet The Breeder, we catch up with Adrianne Gemmell. A Kaitaia-based small breeder who is passionate about her horses and has had recent success with her bonny mare, Contribute.Tell us the story of Contribute?She is out of the O’Reilly mare Contrada which we bred to Contributer. She is from a good family as it is the family of Baltaine (Lord Ballina) and Betcha Wood (Woodbury Lad) who I raced as well with my parents.She was born at Mapperley Stud, then she went ...

Oaks candidate Khanshe certainly can

The old adage that good horses can come from anywhere certainly applies to last Saturday’s Listed Grangewilliam Stud Oaks Prelude winner Khanshe according to her owner breeder Rick Orr.Orr was thrilled to bits to have bred his first stakes winner, but he didn’t think it would come from the Mongolian Khan filly that he was discouraged from putting through the ring and ended up being trained by Fraser Auret by default.“I was told that the Mongolian Khans were not much bloody good, and she wa...

Town Cryer too tough in Tauherenikau feature

A stunning display of resilience and courage in the heat of battle was on display at Tauherenikau on Tuesday as progressive mare Town Cryer (Tavistock) claimed the Listed Clubs NZ @ The Races Wairarapa Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) in a torrid three-way tussle.The Roydon Bergerson-prepared six-year-old was one of the main fancies in the contest after finishing third in the Gr.3 Anniversary Handicap (1600m) at Trentham last month.Rider Craig Grylls was content to sit outside surpri...

Nimble Nimbus wins Gr.3 Centenary Vase

Nimble Nimbus (Sacred Falls) powered to success in the HK$4.2 million Group Three Centenary Vase Handicap (1800m) at Sha Tin on Sunday.Jumping from barrier five, Nimble Nimbus advanced to his sixth win from at his 27th start after Atzeni took the gelding to the outside of the field before denying Five G Patch by a head with Straight Arron an impressive third.“He’s an amazing horse, he never gets beaten far and is very consistent no matter the distance,” Ricky Yiu said. “I always thought ...

Perfect Scenario defends Wingatui crown

Consistent performer Perfect Scenario (Iffraaj) made it back-to-back victories in the feature event at Wingatui on Saturday when he captured his second Gr.3 White Robe Lodge Weight For Age (1600m) title.The Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson-trained six-year-old had bolted away with the 2023 edition of the time-honoured southern mile, winning by more than three lengths, but was made to work much harder this time around as he survived a torrid home straight scrap with eventual runner-up Dazzling ...

Collect Your Cash delivers popular local Guineas win

With a powerful burst from the back of the field, Collect Your Cash (Rageese) delivered an unforgettable result for local horseman Shankar Muniandy in Saturday’s Listed Dunedin City Motors Dunedin Guineas (1500m) at Wingatui.Muniandy has been a popular member of local jockey ranks for most of the last two decades, riding 237 winners in a career that started in the 2007-08 season. His seven black-type victories include the 2022 edition of the Dunedin Guineas with Palmetto.While the 36-year...

Patterson adds home-town feature to stable’s run

The sensational summer form of Robbie Patterson’s New Plymouth stable kept on rolling on Saturday with his first win in the Gr.3 Denis Wheeler Earthmoving Taranaki Cup (1800m) on his home track.Contribute’s (Contributer) Cup victory was the 36th win of the season for Patterson, who now sits in fourth place on the New Zealand trainers’ premiership. He also saddled unbeaten three-year-old Shameless Boy to win an earlier race on Saturday’s card.Patterson’s runners have earned more th...

Khanshe too strong in Oaks Prelude

Lightly raced filly Khanshe (Mongolian Khan) displayed her staying credentials ahead of a potential tilt at the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand Oaks (2400m) at Trentham next month when she captured the Listed Grangewilliam Stud Oaks Prelude (1800m) at New Plymouth.The Fraser Auret-prepared filly was having just her fifth start as she lined up for her first start since a six-week break following her eye-catching performance to finish seventh in the Gr.3 Eulogy Stakes (1600m) at Tre...

Tyler reclaims Dunedin Gold Cup with Shockallia

Two years after Kilowatt (Shocking) claimed the Listed Positive Signs + Print Dunedin Gold Cup (2400m), Shockallia (Shocking) emulated that performance in carrying the same green and white silks to victory on Saturday at Wingatui.Kilowatt, a former North Island-based galloper that entered Kelvin Tyler’s Riverton stable in 2017 had shone on the Southern cup’s circuit over several seasons, headed by his Gold Cup success in 2022.The Shocking gelding was retired after a career that ear...

A weekend Green will never forget

It has been a momentous week for Barneswood Farm’s Sarah Green, which kicked off on Saturday with a memorable double at Ellerslie.Green cheered home her pride and joy Desert Lightning to win the inaugural $1 million Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic (1600m), before putting on her breeding hat to barrack for farm graduate Orchestral, who took out the $1.5 million TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m) in the following race.“It was such a special night on Saturday, it was unbelievable. We had 46 people wi...

Meet The Breeder - Sarah Green

In this weeks edition of Dunstan Horse Feeds Meet the Breeder, we catch up with Ashburton-based breeder, Sarah Green of Barneswood Farm who has had a dream few days, starting at Ellerslie on Saturday evening and ending at the Karaka Complex on Tuesday.Tell us the history/story of Barneswood Farm & how did you get into thoroughbred breeding?It started with a conversation with business partner and racing partner Ger Beemsterboer of the Netherlands who is now a great friend ...

Sears secure half-brother to Pendragon

Toowoomba trainers Tony and Maddy Sears teamed up with Paul Moroney Bloodstock and Catheryne Bruggeman to purchase the top lot on Day 1 of Book 2 at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sales when going to $220,000 to secure a stunning colt by Time Test.Presented by Leanach Lodge, the brown colt enjoyed a significant pedigree update since the catalogue went to print, with his half-brother Pendragon now the winner of the Gr.2 Auckland Guineas (1600m) and runner-up in the Karaka Millions 3...

Ardrossan colt set for Karaka return

A handsome colt by Ardrossan was one of the keenly sought-after lots on Day 1 of Book 2 at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sales with Ready To Run Sale vendors Lilywhites Lodge securing the prized target for $155,000. Catalogued as Lot 795, the colt by rising star Ardrossan out of the Per Incanto mare La Donna was prepared by Dave Duley and Jude Latimer’s Landsdowne Park.After a spirited bidding duel, it was Sophia Nolan, bidding while on the phone to husband Derek, who lande...

Derby throne awaiting Te Akau stayer

Te Akau unleashed a serious Gr.1 Trackside New Zealand Derby (2000m) chance in Ascend The Throne at Te Rapa on Wednesday, the gelding displaying all of his staying prowess in claiming the Gr.2 Legacy Lodge Waikato Guineas (2000m).After commencing his career with two strong performances over the shorter trips, Ascend The Throne looked all too comfortable in breaking maidens over 2000m last start, the performance warranting $6.90 TAB second-favouritism behind Group One-performer Zabmanzor for the ...

Baker returns to winning formula

Little Avondale Stud’s yearling drafts have yielded plenty of success for Bjorn Baker, and the expat New Zealand trainer returned to the same formula with his purchase of another Savabeel colt at Karaka on Tuesday.Baker has trained several winners with the distinctive ‘LA’ brand, including Addictive Nature, who was bought for $775,000 from the Karaka sale ring in 2016. That son of Savabeel won the Gr.3 Ming Dynasty Quality (1400m) and placed in the Gr.2 Stan Fox Stakes (1500m) and Gr.2 Exp...

Wootton Bassett makes mark at Karaka

The first Wootton Bassett yearlings to be sold in New Zealand have made a big impression at Karaka this week, headed by a well-related filly that fetched $800,000 on Tuesday morning.Best known in our part of the world as the sire of multiple Group One winner and star Cambridge Stud shuttle stallion Almanzor, Wootton Bassett is by the former Haunui Farm shuttler Iffraaj and was champion two-year-old in France in 2010.He started his stud career in France in 2012, but only began shuttling to the so...

Richards lands prized Deep Field colt

There are limited chances left to secure progeny of dominant Hong Kong stallion Deep Field, and Jamie Richards jumped at the opportunity to buy a well-credentialled colt for $500,000 at Karaka on Tuesday.Deep Field has topped the Hong Kong sires’ premiership in both of the last two seasons, and he again holds a runaway lead in the current term with total progeny earnings of HK$46.7 million – well clear of the second-placed Starspangledbanner with HK$27 million.The outstanding Northern Meteor...

Richards secures Per Incanto colt for $500,000

The Karaka sale ring provided countless major winners for Jamie Richards during his tenure at Te Akau Racing, and the four-time champion New Zealand trainer has returned to the same recipe for his fledgling stable in Hong Kong.Richards, who trained 35 winners in his first Hong Kong season in 2022-23 and has added another 16 so far in 2023-24, has made his presence felt across the first two days of the 2024 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale on Sunday and Monday.His two purchases on Su...

Alice Wilkinson - Irish National Stud January 2024 Blog

On the Friday of our first week here in Ireland we were presented with the opportunity to go to Ballydoyle racing stable and Coolmore stud. During our visit to Ballydoyle, we were shown around their world-class facilities. The size of this racing stable was very impressive and essentially a 5-star hotel for all the horses on the approximately 300 acre property. Whilst on the bus we were driven around their many tracks, some of which include man-made hills as they are used regularly as a par...

Hong Kong secures another coveted colt

A day after winning the battle for a highly rated Kingman colt with a $650,000 price tag, the Hong Kong Jockey Club and bloodstock agent Craig Rounsefell struck again at Karaka on Monday and came away with another yearling that was near the top of their wish list.Rounsefell went to $620,000 to secure Lot 409 from the draft of Waikato Stud. The colt is by eight-time champion New Zealand sire Savabeel out of the winning O’Reilly mare Simply You. That makes him a full-brother to the dual Melbourn...

Quality filly adds to big week for Elsdon Park

As well as making an outstanding start to the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale as a vendor, Elsdon Park principal Lib Petagna added an exciting young prospect to his racing team with a high-priced Savabeel filly late on Monday afternoon.Elsdon Park is in only its second year as a yearling vendor at Karaka, having sold 13 yearlings last year for a total of $2.3 million and an average price of $176,923.The Waikato nursery will far surpass those figures in 2024, already selling 10 hors...