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Mark Twain rockets home in Roy Higgins

Emerging stayer Mark Twain capped a dream day for Cambridge trainers Roger James and Robert Wellwood when he won Saturday’s Listed Lexus Roy Higgins (2600m) at Flemington and secured himself a ballot-free entry into the Melbourne Cup (Gr.1, 3200m).Mark Twain’s heroics in the A$500,000 staying feature came less than an hour after his superstar stablemate Orchestral won the Gr.1 Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m) in Sydney. That Savabeel filly will deservedly dominate headlines for her blockbuster per...

Group One performer Hilal to Grangewilliam Stud

Australian Group Two winner and multiple Group One performer Hilal will commence stud duties at Mark and Jane Corcoran’s Grangewilliam Stud at Waitotora this spring.The impeccably bred son of Fastnet Rock was prepared predominantly by Team Hawkes in a career that spanned three seasons.Bred and raced by Emirates Park, Hilal boasts victories in the Gr.2 Stan Fox Stakes (1500m) and A$1 million Bondi Stakes (1600m) at three, but his elite talent was noticeable from the outset.Hilal debuted with a ...

Meet the Breeder - Brian Anderton

This week in Dunstan Horsefeeds Meet the Breeder, we have a quick chat with Brian Anderton, a name synonymous with breeding in the South Island and most recently had success in the Gr.3 South Island Breeders' Stakes with home-bred mare, Burgie.Tell us the history of White Robe Lodge.I was a jockey at 13, first winner at age 14, horse called White Robe therefore the business name! So I started as a jockey, then stud master then trainer – I combined all three passions.The business started i...

Te Akau to extend golden run with gavelhouse.com

The last few days have delivered a series of unforgettable moments for Te Akau Racing, and there could be more to come for the syndication powerhouse with Star Of Justice (Justify) and Grace ‘N’ Grey (NZ) (Spirit of Boom) now available for sale on the latest 56 Lot fortnightly auction on gavelhouse.com.Te Akau’s bumper weekend kicked off on Thursday night on Gavelhouse Plus. Group One-winning mare Maven Belle (NZ) (Burgundy) was sold for a whopping NZ$902,500, while the stakes-performed Sn...

Antrim Coast heads Kiwi-bred quinella in Alister Clark

New Zealand’s Group One three-year-old form was to the fore at Moonee Valley on Saturday, where Antrim Coast (Roc De Cambes) edged out Quintessa in a thrilling finish to the A$500,000 Gr.2 DCE Alister Clark Stakes (2040m).Te Akau Racing’s Quintessa went into the race as a $4 favourite. She had previously shown her star quality on home soil, winning the Gr.1 Levin Classic (1600m) at Trentham in January, then finished an eye-catching fourth in this month’s Gr.1 Australian Guineas (1600m...

Dramatic victory in Tauranga feature

Underrated mare Diss Is Dramatic (Dissident) found her winning groove again when she stormed home to claim the feature event at Tauranga, the Gr.2 Ultimate Mazda Japan Trophy (1600m).Steady rain during the day saw the track downgraded to a Heavy8 and played into the hands of those horses who could find a path to the better going out wide in the home straight.Rider Matt Cameron executed that plan to perfection as he allowed the Lisa Latta-prepared four-year-old to settle mid-pack in the earl...

Burgie back to her best in Breeders’ Stakes

Talented mare Burgie (Ghibellines) turned a frustrating campaign around with a powerful finish to win Saturday’s Gr.3 Valachi Downs South Island Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) at Riccarton.White Robe Lodge’s homebred daughter of Ghibellines is making a habit of spending time in the black-type spotlight in Christchurch at this time of the year. She won the Listed Warstep Stakes (2000m) in the autumn of her three-year-old season in 2022, then returned 12 months later for a second...

Eternal Flame deals to family’s unfinished business

Saturday’s A$300,000 Gr.2 BMD Group Sunline Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley provided a special reward for a part-owner who has spent the last few years wondering what might have been.The fillies and mares’ feature was won in impressive style by the New Zealand-bred Eternal Flame (Sacred Falls). The talented four-year-old is co-owned by Trevor Eastwood, who had previously raced the mare’s injury-plagued close relative Kinane.Out of a half-sister to the dam of Eternal Flame, Kinane won twice...

European superstar to stand at Windsor Park

One of the world’s best racehorses last year has been secured to stand at Windsor Park Stud in 2024.Ballydoyle superstar Paddington, a four-time Group One Classic and Royal Ascot-winning son of leading commercial sire Siyouni will shuttle to Windsor Park following the completion of his first stud season this year at Coolmore, Ireland.Paddington is the only horse in history to win the Group One quartet of the Irish 2000 Guineas, St James’s Palace Stakes, Eclipse Stakes & Sussex Stakes.&nb...

Bumper Oaks result for Rider’s Milan Park

Tony Rider celebrated a classic dose of double delight in the Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) at Trentham on Saturday.In a near perfect result for the Milan Park principal, he had the honour of breeding the winner Pulchritudinous and also owns the dam of the runner-up Positivity.Rider enjoys a close association with Pulchritudinous’ trainer and part-owner Chad Ormsby and purchased the mother of the second filly from her late co-breeder Sir Patrick Hogan.“Chad and I have had horses together and...

Stud’s top staying mare Aquacade retired

Multiple Group-winning mare Aquacade will begin the next phase of her career later this year.Time has been called on the racing days of Dundeel’s daughter with the five-year-old to become a valuable addition to Cambridge Stud’s broodmare band.Trained at Karaka by Lance Noble for breeder-owners Brendan and Jo Lindsay, Aquacade performed up to the highest level with seven victories and six placings and only twice missed a top five finish from 19 appearances.“She has been fantastic and that�...

Oaks heroine gives Ormsby a different kind of Group One

Almost two decades after riding Creil to victory in the Gr.1 Avondale Cup (2200m) as an apprentice jockey, multi-talented horseman Chad Ormsby climbed the same mountain in a different way when Pulchritudinous (Wrote) won the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand Oaks (2400m) at Trentham on Saturday.Ormsby now trains a small team at Cambridge, saddling eight winners so far this season including Pulchritudinous in the Oaks and Gr.2 Lowland Stakes (2000m), along with Master Fay in the Gr.3...

Major prize for Grail Seeker at Trentham

Australian hoop Kyle Wilson-Taylor has made his first visit to New Zealand a memorable one by guiding promising filly Grail Seeker (Iffraaj) to a hollow victory in the Gr.2 Life Direct Wellington Guineas (1400m) at Trentham.The Queensland-based rider struck up a friendship with trainers Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott when he rode trackwork for the pair during the Queensland winter carnival last year, and was quick to take up an invitation to ride members of their team at Trentham inclu...

Cuddle Stakes delivers milestones for connections

Saturday’s Gr.3 Wentwood Grange Cuddle Stakes (1600m) at Trentham delivered multiple milestones for the connections of Taranaki mare Hi Yo Sass Bomb (Complacent).The underrated five-year-old became the first stakes winner for her New Plymouth trainer Kim Reid, who also co-bred and part-owns the daughter of Complacent. Hi Yo Sass Bomb was ridden to her Cuddle Stakes success by Irish jockey Joe Doyle, who notched up his 100th win in New Zealand.It was also a well-deserved turn at the top of...

South Island victory in Lightning Handicap

Southern sprinter Our Echo (Echoes Of Heaven) showed his northern rivals just how good he can be when he sat wide throughout before holding off a host of challenges to win Saturday’s Listed Lincoln Farms Lightning Handicap (1200m) at Trentham.Prepared by Danny Frye at Balcairn, the seven-year-old came into the race off a last start victory at Wingatui which gave him a vital confidence boost leading into the contest.Rider Tegan Newman followed instructions to the letter by allowing the son...

Pride Of Jenni proves she’s an All-Star

Elite front-running mare Pride Of Jenni triumphed in a captivating edition of the A$3.75 million All-Star Mile (1600m) at Caulfield on Saturday for trainer Ciaron Maher and regular rider Declan Bates.The dual Group One winner is known for being able to sustain a strong tempo for longer and once she found the lead within the first furlong for Bates, the pair set a building pace that had several of her rivals gasping a long way from home.The Trelawney Stud-bred Pride Of Jenni kicked off the turn a...

Group Three triumph for Ribchester mare

Ultra-consistent four-year-old mare Red Card (Ribchester) landed her biggest prize to date when running out a comfortable winner of the Gr.3 Maurice McCarten Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill on Saturday for trainer James Cummings.Beginning brilliantly from an inside draw, Red Card comfortably found the lead under Adam Hyeronimus and controlled proceedings throughout.A daughter of Haunui Farm stallion Ribchester, Red Card’s Group Three victory enhances her CV further, having landed the Listed De...

Group One winner Maven Belle for sale on Gavelhouse Plus

Maven Belle (NZ) (Burgundy) is following in some famous Te Akau Racing footsteps, becoming the fifth Group One-winning mare from the stable to be offered for sale on Gavelhouse Plus.Te Akau Racing has previously sold Avantage (Fastnet Rock) for a world-record price of $4.1 million, followed by Entriviere (NZ) (Tavistock) for $900,000, Amarelinha (NZ) (Savabeel) for $1.1 million and Belle En Rouge (NZ) (Burgundy) for $800,000.Like Belle En Rouge, Maven Belle was bred by Te Akau’s David Ellis an...

El Vencedor lives up to early prediction

A prophecy made about El Vencedor by his trainer Stephen Marsh in 2021 appears to be coming true.Back then when the horse was an unraced two-year-old, Marsh told his long-term Wellington-based clients Mark Freeman and David Price that this would be the best horse they would ever race.That would have been music to the ears of the young horse’s breeders, who had bought his granddam, the Star Way mare Take Silk, in the late 1990s.Now as a five-year-old, the son of Shocking is enjoying a breakout ...

Rebecca Donovan - Sunline Management Scholarship Blog 1

Hello everyone! It’s hard to believe, but my first four weeks in Ireland have flown by, and it's time for my first blog update. I would like to start by saying, I have so far really enjoyed my opportunity to work in the Northern Hemisphere. Before boarding the plane to Ireland, I was given a piece of advice that continues to resonate with me: "Make the most of it, take every opportunity, and ask every question". I have endeavoured to follow this piece of advice every day since I arrived, and i...

Meet the Breeder - Stewart Hume

This week in Dunstan Horsefeeds Meet the Breeder, we catch up with Queensland breeder Stewart Hume, whose interest in the thoroughbred started in country Queensland and whose love for the middle-distance staying type of horse has given him many highlights throughout his journey in thoroughbred breeding.Tell us the story of Lekvarte?Yea so that was exciting on the weekend (winning the Gr.3 Mostyncopper Aspiration Quality). I bought the mare ‘Plumm’ off the track, she hadn’t won a race, but ...

Belle Of The Ball and Never Forgotten for sale on gavelhouse.com

The latest fortnightly auction on gavelhouse.com gives buyers access to a pair of blue-blooded broodmare prospects that have recently been retired from the Te Akau Racing stable.The first of these high-class offerings is the black-type performer Belle Of The Ball (NZ) (Savabeel).Bred by Waikato Stud, she is by super-sire Savabeel out of two-time winner and Melbourne Group Two placegetter Lady Tatia (Duke Of Marmalade). Belle Of The Ball’s second dam is a sister to Group One winners Shogun Lodg...

Don Goodwin on Weigh In

Weigh In's Emily Bosson catches up with breeder Don Goodwin on the recent passing of his champion mare, Verry Elleegant....

Posthumous Group One honour for grand producer

El Vencedor’s career-best performance at Ellerslie to triumph at Group One level was tinged with a bittersweet note for breeder-owners David Price and Mark Freeman.The Stephen Marsh-trained son of Shocking added to the Wellington pair’s success with the family when he capped off a lucrative campaign with victory in Saturday’s Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m) under Irish jockey Joe Doyle.“It was off the charts really, you don’t go there expecting to beat what is probably the best ...

El Vencedor causes massive upset in Bonecrusher Stakes

An inch perfect front running ride by Irishman Joe Doyle paved the way for outsider El Vencedor (Shocking) to upset the applecart in the Gr.1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m) at Ellerslie.Despite a consistent form-line with a win and three placings along with a last-start fourth in the Gr.1 Otaki-Māori Weight For Age Classic (1600m), the five-year-old son of Shocking was overlooked by punters as he closed at $21 on the Fixed Odds market.All the smart money was on class four-year-old ...