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Late charge lands Aspiration Quality for Lekvarte

Classy New Zealand-bred mare Lekvarte (Reliable Man) collected her second stakes win of the season with a brilliant late burst in Saturday’s A$250,000 Gr.3 Mostyncopper Aspiration Quality (1600m) at Randwick.The five-year-old was sent out as a warm favourite for the fillies and mares’ feature on the strength of her recent form, which included a win in the Gr.3 Belle of the Turf Stakes (1600m) at Gosford two starts back and a strong finish for fifth in the Gr.2 Millie Fox Stakes (1300m) ...

Deserved stakes win for Eternal Flame

Luckless in feature races in her two previous starts, Eternal Flame (Sacred Falls) turned things around and collected a deserved first black-type victory in Saturday’s A$200,000 Gr.3 Matron Stakes (1600m) at Flemington.The New Zealand-bred daughter of Sacred Falls was already a three-time winner, but her previous appearances at stakes level had produced a sixth in the Gr.2 Angus Armanasco Stakes (1400m), sixth in the Gr.2 Kewney Stakes (1600m), fifth in the Listed Black Pearl Stakes (1200...

Von Hauke comes of age in Shaftesbury Avenue

Promising New Zealand-bred Von Hauke (Savabeel) took his career to new heights with his first black-type victory in Saturday’s A$200,000 Gr.3 Furphy Shaftesbury Avenue Handicap (1400m) at Flemington.The Savabeel gelding had made only one previous appearance in stakes company, finishing fifth in the Listed Paris Lane Stakes (1400m) over the same course and distance back in October.But the four-year-old had caught the eye with a strong finish in his resuming run over 1100m at Caulfield on Februa...

Lowland win starts Ormsby’s big weekend on a high

This weekend is set to be one of the biggest in Chad Ormsby’s career, and the Cambridge trainer kicked it off in style with Pulchritudinous (Wrote) winning Friday’s Gr.2 Little Avondale Lowland Stakes (2000m) at Taupo.The three-year-old fillies’ feature was run less than 24 hours out from tomorrow’s Gr.1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m) at Flemington, in which Ormsby will saddle his unbeaten star sprinter Master Fay.“You can’t really ask for a better way to kick off the weekend,” Or...

Meet the Breeder - Lou Weatherley

In this week's edition of Dunstan HorseFeeds Meet the Breeder, we chat with Lou Weatherley, who along with husband Darryn and good friend Barry Wright, have enjoyed incredible success from their mare, La Vitesse.Tell us the story of Maria Farina?We owned her mother La Vitesse, she was lightly raced and retired from a raceday injury, so we decided to breed from her. Her first foal was La Velocita who won 3 races.  One morning on a drive to Cambridge for work, I was on the phone to Michael Hu...

Seachange still playing a starring role

Champion mare Seachange was a flagship performer for The Oaks Stud and her legacy continues to be felt on both sides of the Tasman.Bred and raced by the Cambridge nursery, the two-time New Zealand Horse of the Year landed seven Group One titles during her decorated career and the daughter of Cape Cross’ influence remains current.Seachange features prominently in the pedigrees of The Oaks Stud’s Gr.1 New Zealand Derby (2400m) runner-up Antrim Coast and farm graduate Drakaina, successful in th...

Stud continuing to celebrate with top families

Waikato Stud celebrated trans-Tasman success at the weekend with female representatives of two of their leading families and the nursery is well-placed to continue reaping future rewards.The Matamata farm’s colours were carried to victory by Savabeel filly Certainly in the Gr.3 Mufhasa Stakes (1400m) while their champion stallion also sired homebred Gr.2 Blamey Stakes (1600m) winner Atishu.Australia now beckons the Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson-trained Certainly, a retained daughter of the Pin...

Extraordinary Orchestral makes Derby history for James

Roger James is now the most successful trainer in the history of the Gr.1 Trackside New Zealand Derby (2400m), but even that enormous achievement was overshadowed at Ellerslie on Saturday by the new superstar of his Cambridge stable.Orchestral (Savabeel) became the sixth Derby winner for James, following on from Tidal Light (1986), Roysyn (1995), Zonda (1997), Hades (1999) and Silent Achiever (2012). Saturday’s win took him one ahead of the great Colin Jillings, who had previously shared ...

Maria Farina shines in King’s Plate

Underrated mare Maria Farina (Contributer) outsprinted several of the country’s top gallopers to secure Saturday’s Gr.3 Haunui Farm King’s Plate (1200m) at Ellerslie.The daughter of Contributer has flown relatively under the radar this season, despite having accumulated six career victories, including the Listed Lightning Handicap (1200m), and Listed Stewards’ Stakes (1200m) during New Zealand Cup Week in November.Maria Farina lined up in both the Gr.1 Railway (1200m) and Gr.1 Teleg...

Positivity takes out Sunline Vase

Unheralded Almanzor filly Positivity (Almanzor) sprang an upset at Ellerslie on Saturday when she fought doggedly in the run home to take out the Gr.3 McKee Family Sunline Vase (2100m) and claim her first stakes victory.The Andrew Forsman-prepared three-year-old was having just her fifth start and had looked a likely staying prospect when breaking her maiden status over 1600m a Tauranga at just her second start.She was spotted running on nicely in two subsequent efforts in black-type compan...

Australian Cup focus for Blamey winner Atishu

Multiple Group One winning mare Atishu has claimed a berth in the A$4 million All-Star Mile (1600m) with a strong victory in the Gr.2 Blamey Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday. The Chris Waller-trained daughter of Savabeel was ridden more forward than usual under Blake Shinn, who was aboard the six-year-old for the first time, defeating Holymanz by three-quarters of a length, with Ayrton close-up in third after being held-up for a run. “We know she is a filly that has had her s...

Certainly continues Te Akau’s Mufhasa Stakes dominance

Te Akau Racing’s former trainer Jamie Richards had a stranglehold on the Mufhasa Stakes (1400m) on New Zealand Derby Day, and his successors Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson continued that tradition at Ellerslie on Saturday.The runaway premiership leaders won the Mainstream Plumbing-sponsored Group Three feature with classy Waikato Stud homebred Certainly (Savabeel), who became the fourth Mufhasa Stakes winner in the last five years to come from Te Akau’s Matamata stable.Richards had previously...

Drakaina dominates NZB Airfreight Stakes

Drakaina’s (Ace High) commanding victory in Saturday’s Listed NZB Airfreight Stakes (1400m) at Wingatui completed a remarkable rise to prominence for a filly that was bought for just $3,000.The daughter of Ace High caught the eye of her trainer and part-owner Ebony Turner on Gavelhouse last year. She was unplaced on debut at Ascot Park in November, then won at $50 odds at Gore on December 24 before finishing fourth in the Listed Gore Guineas (1335m) and second in last month’s Listed Dunedi...

Alice Wilkinson - Irish National Stud Blog 2

In the last month I have spent most of my time in the Sun Chariot yard which is the foaling unit here at the INS. I spent three nights on foal watch alongside another student named Luis, Carol and Lauren who are the foaling supervisors here at the stud.On my first night of foal watch we had two mares foal. One of which was a high risk foaling due to Neonatal Isoerythrolysis. (NI) is caused by an incompatibility of blood types between a mare and her foal, in which the foal’s red blood cells are...

Jon Snow records first win as a sire

Group One winner Jon Snow got off the mark as a sire on Thursday when his son King Of The North took out the Farewell Dave Bradford (1400m) at Matamata.It was the Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott-trained gelding’s third start, having run fourth on debut over 1200m at the Waikato track in January before placing over 1300m at Te Rapa a fortnight later.Jon Snow stands at Clearview Park, near Timaru, and farm principal Aaron Tapper was rapt to see King Of The North get his sire on the board.“...

gavelhouse.com auction brings curtain down on Live Drama’s quality career

Six years after being bought for just $8,500 from New Zealand Bloodstock’s South Island Sale, Live Drama (NZ) (Ghibellines) has retired with more than $330,000 in prize-money to her name and is being sold as a valuable broodmare proposition in the latest fortnightly auction on gavelhouse.com.Live Drama’s high-class career spanned six seasons, winning on debut as a juvenile in May of 2019 and placing at Group Three level as a seven-year-old in November.She had a total of 35 starts for nine wi...

Meet the Breeder - James Chapman

This week in Dunstan Horsefeeds Meet the Breeder, we catch up with James Chapman of Jamieson Park. James bred Saint Alice, winner of the Listed Kaimai Stakes and also has an exciting new addition to add to the stallion ranks!Tell us the history/story of Jamieson Park?Jamieson Park is the culmination of a desire to build and live on a thoroughbred horse stud, developed after visiting some of the best New Zealand studs. I was fortunate to employ Sam Munro and together we set about transforming a...

Vale Dave Bradford

Respected racing journalist and administrator Dave Bradford passed away peacefully in Auckland on Thursday, aged 91.Having started out as a cadet reporter with the Thames Star, Bradford moved onto the Rotorua Daily Post before later becoming racing editor of the Auckland Star/8 O’Clock.A committee member of Auckland Racing Club and Matamata Racing Club, Bradford was the first editor of the New Zealand Racing Annual from early 1970s for MOA Publications.He managed Whitford agistment property Lo...

Sydney features on horizon for unbeaten Immediacy

Expat New Zealand trainers Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young know what it takes to win a Derby in Australia, and now they are setting their sights on Sydney with the unbeaten Immediacy (Tarzino).The Kiwi-bred son of Tarzino extended his perfect record to three-from-three with a dominant performance in Saturday’s A$300,000 Gr.2 Stow Storage Autumn Classic (1800m) at Caulfield.Immediacy’s super-impressive win prompted his trainers to look ahead to the Gr.1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m) on March 23 a...

Savaglee springs Slipper surprise

A fruitless summer saw Savaglee (Savabeel) slip under the radar in this season’s two-year-old crop, but that all changed with a brilliant upset victory in Saturday’s Gr.3 Fairview Matamata Slipper (1200m) on his home track.The blue-blooded colt is by Savabeel out of Glee, who is a full-sister to the dam of Orchestral and a three-quarter-sister to the dam of Daffodil. Savaglee was bought by The Oaks Stud for $400,000 at Karaka last year, and he looked worth every cent of that purchase pr...

La Crique back to brilliant best in WFA Classic

Katrina and Simon Alexander celebrated one of their most satisfying moments on a racetrack with La Crique’s (Vadamos) triumphant turnaround in the Gr.1 Trackside Otaki-Maori WFA Classic (1600m) on Saturday.The undisputed star of the Alexanders’ Te Awamutu stable, La Crique had endured a turbulent 12 months since her runner-up finish behind Levante in the same race in February of last year.But the efforts and patience of everyone connected with the Vadamos mare was richly rewarded as she...

Mr Brightside adds Futurity to stunning season

Megastar Mr Brightside (Bullbars) added a sixth Group One trophy to his collection with another breathtaking performance in Saturday’s A$750,000 Lamaro’s Hotel Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.Four of those six Group One triumphs have come this season alone, where the New Zealand-bred’s eight starts as a six-year-old have produced five brilliant wins and three second placings.After kicking off his season with wins in the Gr.2 PB Lawrence Stakes (1400m), Gr.1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) ...

Campionessa claims her missing piece at Caulfield

A proven Group One star in her homeland, Kiwi mare Campionessa (Contributer) added valuable Australian black-type to her CV with a determined win in Saturday’s A$300,000 Gr.2 Carlton Draught Peter Young Stakes (1800m) at Caulfield.Te Akau Racing’s high-class six-year-old has put together an outstanding record in New Zealand, winning 10 of her 28 starts along with nine placings and more than $1 million in stakes.She triumphed in the Gr.1 Zabeel Classic (2050m) at Pukekohe on Boxing Day, ...

Wilson celebrates massive weekend

Hawke’s Bay horsewoman Vicki Wilson’s diverse range of skills and associated success were showcased last weekend across the wide spectrum of equine competition.On Saturday at Invercargill’s Ascot Park racecourse, Aberlour, a daughter of Wilson’s young stallion Mongolian Falcon, completed a stakes double with a runaway win in the Listed Southland Guineas to go with last month’s Listed Gore Guineas.The following day Wilson was the toast of the showjumping world when she scooped the pool ...

Pericles adds to Pencarrow’s big year

The past 12 months have been very rewarding for Pencarrow Stud, with last Saturday’s Listed Sky City Horizon Uncle Remus Stakes winner Pericles (Rubick) being the farm’s sixth stakes winner in that period.“I don’t think we have ever done better than that,” stated manager Leon Casey Casey in a big call considering the Sir Peter Vela-owned Pencarrow has produced 20 individual Group One winners in more than 35 years of operation.“That sort of success keeps reinvigorating the broodm...