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Renegade Rebel all the way in Gingernuts Salver

Emerging three-year-old Renegade Rebel (El Roca x Regalia) stepped up from a last-start maiden win and scored a determined front-running victory in Sunday’s Listed Gingernuts Salver (2100m) at Ellerslie.The El Roca gelding has made marked improvement with every start since finishing at the tail of a five-horse field in his only appearance as a two-year-old last April.He joined Cody Cole’s Matamata stable in the spring and resumed with a close second in a 1400m maiden race at Te Aroha on Nove...

Pike dominates early stakes races at Trentham

Cambridge trainer Tony Pike made a flying start to racing at Trentham on Saturday when he produced the winners of the first two stakes races on a day featuring five black type events.Just one race after promising filly Archaic Smile dominated her two-year-old rivals in the Listed IRT Wellesley Stakes (1100m), underrated mare Churchillian (Churchill x Fond du Couer) produced a dogged effort to take out the Gr.3 Dixon & Dunlop Anniversary Handicap (1600m).Rider Lily Sutherland had the fou...

Times Ticking provides MacGregor with Trentham tonic

Popular Opaki trainer Alby MacGregor was full of emotion as he welcomed his stable favourite Times Ticking (Tavistock x Laoghaire) back to the winners’ enclosure after a thrilling victory in the Gr.3 Mode Technology Trentham Stakes (2100m).MacGregor, who is in his mid-seventies, hasn’t enjoyed the best of health in recent times but was on hand to see his pride and joy register his eleventh career success with a determined finish in the hands of Joe Doyle.The well fancied Sagunto and rid...

Spratt scripts Telegraph upset with Mercurial

Sam Spratt teamed up with arguably New Zealand’s most improved racehorse to land a boilover victory in Saturday’s Gr.1 JR & N Berkett Telegraph (1200m) at Trentham – her third time triumphing in a meeting that once came close to claiming her life.Saturday’s Telegraph heroics aboard Mercurial (Burgundy x Roxette) came some 21 years after Spratt suffered severe head injuries in a shocking fall in an undercard race on Telegraph Day on January 25, 2003. She not only recovered but la...

Quintessa completes Levin Classic treble for Te Akau

Te Akau Racing’s dominance of the Gr.1 Cambridge Stud Levin Classic (1600m) continued at Trentham on Saturday with Quintessa (Shamus Award x Chaquinta) clinging on in an unforgettable finish.Those familiar tangerine colours have towered over the $500,000 three-year-old feature in recent times, collecting five wins since 2017 including all of the last three in a row.Former Te Akau trainer Jamie Richards provided the first three of those victories with Hall Of Fame in 2017, Age Of Fire in 2...

Buying approach realises Magic time for Kiwi breeder

Ainsley Downs Stud’s policy of purchasing older mares in Australia has been rewarded with another feature race contender across the Tasman.The Courtney Howells-bred Vianarra will take aim at The Star Gold Coast Magic Millions 2YO Classic (1200m) and win, lose or draw the Te Kauwhata nursery is delighted to have a representative in the A$3 million feature.“I don’t know if any New Zealand breeders have managed that and it shows that you never know where the next good one is coming from,” h...

Canheroc rewards owner-breeders with overdue stakes win

Last Saturday’s Listed Marton Cup winner Canheroc provided his Taranaki owner-breeders with some overdue success after generations of placing their faith in their broodmare band.“We were due one,” said Aidan Schumacher, who bred the six-year-old gelding with his brothers Kieran and Brian, the latter having since passed away.“We have been in this game for over 40 years and had this family for that long. The fillies are all worthwhile breeding from, and they have produced bread and butter ...

Dominant Canheroc justifies Wellington Cup late entry

A day after his connections took a leap of faith with a late nomination for the Gr.3 Wellington Cup (3200m), emerging stayer Canheroc (El Roca) rewarded their confidence with a powerful lead-up performance in the Listed Marton Jockey Club Marton Cup (2200m) at Hastings on Saturday.Canheroc had risen steadily through the North Island’s staying ranks in recent months, culminating in a close third behind subsequent Group Three winner Trust In You in the Dunstan Feeds Stayers’ Championship ...

Wexford win Railway with Waitak

Former champion jockey Lance O’Sullivan captured five Gr.1 Railway (1200m) successes in the saddle and on Monday he finally got his hands on the silverware as a trainer, courtesy of Waitak’s (Proisir) explosive victory in the Sistema-sponsored feature.As expected, Johny Johny set a breakneck speed upfront, while at the opposite end of the field, in-form hoop Warren Kennedy switched Waitak off at the back of the pack.The son of Proisir was still well off the pace at the top of the straig...

Fitting win in Sir Patrick Hogan Stakes

It was a fitting win in the inaugural Gr.2 Sir Patrick Hogan Stakes (2050m), formerly known as the Royal Stakes, at Pukekohe on Monday, with the Cambridge Stud-bred and owned About Time (American Pharoah) taking out the fillies feature named after the farm’s founder.Cambridge Stud principals Brendan and Jo Lindsay were trackside to welcome back their filly, and trainer Lance Noble said it was a sentimental win for the couple, who purchased Cambridge Stud off the legendary horseman.“He (...

Collett makes most of fleeting visit home

Ex-pat Kiwi jockey Jason Collett well and truly paid for a flying visit home from his Sydney base when he guided promising stayer Trust In You (Sweynesse) to a gritty victory in the Gr.3 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2400m) on New Year’s Day.On his old stomping ground at Pukekohe, Collett produced an inch perfect effort to bring the Bruce Wallace and Grant Cooksley-trained son of Sweynesse with a decisive late burst to reel in pacemaker Khan Hunter, who looked like he would steal the race after...

Te Akau Racing take home Wingatui feature

Pint sized mare Kai (Ocean Park) showed her undoubted ability on wet and loose footing when she stormed down the outskirts of the Wingatui track to take out the feature race there on Boxing Day, the Listed Property Brokers – Ray Kean Hazlett Stakes (1200m).Heavy overnight rain and persistent showers during the day saw the track downgraded to a Heavy 10 which played into the hands of the Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson-trained northern visitor as three of her previous four career wins had co...

Auckland Guineas gold for Pendragon

Enigmatic three-year-old Pendragon demonstrated just how tough he is as he took out the Gr.2 Shaw’s Wire Ropes Auckland Guineas (1400m) at Pukekohe with a strong front-running performance.The Mike Moroney and Pam Gerard-trained son of U S Navy Flag was ignored by punters to start at the juicy odds of $26 in the race, despite having beaten two of his more fancied rivals in Tokyo Tycoon ($3.60) and Quintessa ($4.80) by nearly two lengths at his previous start over 1200m at Te Rapa.Seeking a hat-...

Molly blooms in Eight Carat Classic

Visiting Australian rider Blake Shinn made good use of his trip across the Tasman to ride at Pukekohe on Boxing Day as he guided Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) winner Molly Bloom (Ace High) to a nail-biting victory in the Gr.2 Hallmark Stud Eight Carat Classic (1600m).The Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott-trained daughter of Ace High had been unsighted since her victory at Riccarton last month and she gave her supporters, who backed her into a $1.60 favourite for the race, plenty o...

Campionessa breaks through for Group One win

Campionessa (Contributer) shed her Group One bridesmaid’s tag at Pukekohe Park on Boxing Day when recording a well-deserved victory in the Cambridge Stud Zabeel Classic (2050m).Previously runner-up in the Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) and Gr.1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2050m) earlier this year, Campionessa returned in the spring where she disappointed in her two outings at Hastings and the decision was made to put her aside for summer racing.That decision by trainers Mark Walker a...

Puntura dominates at Trentham

Puntura showed he will be a force to be reckoned with over the coming months as he scored in dominant fashion in Saturday’s Gr.2 Bramco Granite & Marble Manawatu Challenge Stakes (1400m) at Trentham.Having his first start since a memorable victory in the Gr.3 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile (1600m) at Riccarton during New Zealand Cup Week, the Robbie Patterson-trained six-year-old was fitted for his first up run with a comfortable win over 1000m at the Foxton trials during the week.Unlike his R...

Sagunto defends Manawatu Cup title in style

After leading all the way to claim his first black-type win in last year’s Gr.3 Humphries Construction Manawatu Cup (2300m), Sagunto returned to defend that crown with an even more spectacular front-running performance at Trentham on Saturday.Sagunto defied $20 odds for his narrow victory over Subtle Point and Soprano Supreme in the 2022 edition of the Cup, and the Peter and Shaun McKay-trained runner started as a distant $10 second favourite on Saturday behind dominant market leader Manifique...

Meet the Breeder - Russell Rogers

Off the back of Zecora's tough win in the Gr.3 J Swap Sprint, we caught up with Russell Rogers who, in conjunction with wife Robyn, literally built Kendayla Park from the ground up; and has some fantastic success to go with it.How did you get into thoroughbred breeding?Russell: My grandfather was a dairy farmer who always bred a couple of mares each year in Gisborne to race the progeny back in the 60’s and 70’s. He bred and raced a very good horse called Master Morgan who won 18 races. He ac...

Guise bang on with racing and breeding decisions

Te Kuiti owner-breeder Paul Guise is hoping to be “bang on” when New Year’s Day rolls around and his pride and joy Still Bangon tackles the Gr. 2 Sir Patrick Hogan Stakes at Pukekohe Park.The Satono Aladdin filly produced a gutsy run to come from near last on the turn and take out the Gr. 3 Lawnmaster Eulogy Stakes last Saturday at Trentham, and her trainer Stephen Autridge has confirmed the Sir Patrick Hogan Stakes as her next assignment.Guise, a retired King Country farmer, has been laid...

Pottinger pining for Paris with Kiwi thoroughbred

As one door closes, another opens, and that is the case for leading New Zealand eventer Amanda Pottinger.The Kiwi horsewoman recently called time on the eventing career of her star thoroughbred Just Kidding, who took Pottinger to the lofty heights of competing at some of the most iconic competitions in the world, including the Badminton Horse Trials and the 2022 World Championships in Pratoni, Italy.By Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus, Just Kidding was initially destined for a career on th...

Zecora dials up the smiles for her connections

Promising mare Zecora (NZ) (Power) made a welcome return to the winners’ enclosure at Te Rapa when she stormed home out wide to secure a thrilling victory in the Gr.3 J Swap Sprint (1400m).The six-year-old mare looked to have any amount of ability when winning three of her first nine starts before a fractured cannon bone intervened and saw her spend over a year away from the track for trainers and part-owners Russell and Robyn Rogers.A quiet run for second in a 1000m trial at Taupo last m...

Still Bangon wins Eulogy thriller

Under-rated filly Still Bangon (NZ) (Satono Aladdin) stepped up to stakes class and prevailed in a nail-biting finish to the Gr.3 LawnMaster Eulogy Stakes (1600m) at Trentham on Saturday.Trained by Stephen Autridge for owner-breeders Paul and Maureen Guise, the daughter of Satono Aladdin came into Saturday’s black-type debut with a win, three placings and a fourth to her name from her seven previous career starts. That included a relegation to second after being first past the post in a m...

Campionessa dominates Cal Isuzu Stakes

A commanding victory in Saturday’s Gr.2 Cal Isuzu Stakes (1600m) at Te Rapa completed a rare fillies and mares’ feature double for Campionessa (NZ) (Contributer).The Te Akau Racing mare became only the fourth horse to win the Gr.2 Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1400m) and the Cal Isuzu in the same season, joining Just Apollo (1995), Calveen (2004) and Ruud Van Slaats (2008).Campionessa was bought by David Ellis for A$60,000 on the Gold Coast as a yearling in 2019, and her 26-...

Dionysus lifts stable spirits with Waikato Cup victory

Consistent stayer Dionysus (NZ) (Ocean Park x La Quinta) provided Roger James and Robert Wellwood with a positive end to a tough week when scoring a fighting victory in the Gr.3 SkyCity Hamilton Waikato Cup (2400m) on Saturday at Te Rapa.The Cambridge training partners announced the retirement of superstar mare Prowess earlier in the week, but were back at the fore on Friday at Tauranga with Hastobeawinner victorious over 1400m, and headed to Te Rapa with the Cup favourite on Saturday.With ...

Meet the Breeder - Luigi Muollo

Off the back of Lucky Sweynesse's win in the Gr.1 Hong Kong Sprint, we caught up with his breeder and Novara Park Stud principal, Luigi Muollo.Tell us the history of Novara Park Stud and Explosive Breeding Ltd.Explosive Breeding Limited was formed when my foundation mare Explosive by Exploding Prospect went to stud in 2004. She was a three win stakes placed mare and a full sister to The Red Express who won eighteen races.Explosive foaled six fillies in a row and I retained them all. I now have a...