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Wrote To Arataki achieves breeder’s dream result

After raising a family of six boys, Noelene Bishop decided to buy a weanling filly to rear and race as a kind of substitute daughter.That was 15 years ago, and now Bishop is as proud as any grandmother, with the granddaughter of that filly being Wrote To Arataki.Last Saturday the talented five-year-old mare scored her fifth win in the Gr. 2 Tristarc Stakes at Caulfield, off the back of a third placing in the Gr. 2 Rose of Kingston Stakes at Flemington fortnight earlier. In her first appearance f...

Meet The Breeder - Christopher Grace

In this week's Dunstan Horsefeeds Meet The Breeder, we catch up with Christopher Grace who bred Gr.3 Sweynesse Stakes winner Johny Johny and has had a tremendous amount of success over the years.How did you get into thoroughbred breeding?Well, I was a young person at the ripe old age of 16, my father financed me into a mare called Beginner from the Alton Lodge clearing sale by the Fletcher family. I had her for a while and sold one or two horses.Then, at the age of 21 (1962) I bought the top-pri...

Japanese St Leger winner for NZ Oaks heroine

Antipodean mares have again proved their worth in Japan, and the latest high-level success came at Kyoto on Sunday when Durezza, a son of Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) heroine More Than Sacred, powered to a three and a half-length triumph in Sunday’s Gr.1 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger).Ridden by Christophe Lemaire for Tomohito Ozeki, the son of Duramente, was in a race of his own over the final 100m.The Satono Crown colt Tastiera, winner of the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby), was second, with ...

Johny Johny weathers the storm in Sweynesse

A wide draw and an energy-sapping fast pace were not enough to stop Johny Johny (Charm Spirit x Galway) in Saturday’s Gr.3 Sweynesse Stakes (1200m) at Te Rapa.The speedy son of Charm Spirit had some factors in his favour leading into the $100,000 weight-for-age feature – including the race’s postponement and relocation from last Sunday at Rotorua, where he had never previously raced in his career. Te Rapa has been a happy hunting ground for Johny Johny in recent weeks, and he has now ...

Undefeated Crocetti a class above in Sarten

Saturday’s Gr.2 James and Annie Sarten Memorial (1400m) at Te Rapa was an eagerly anticipated clash between a number of up-and-coming talents, but it turned into a tour de force by New Zealand’s most exciting three-year-old.Crocetti (Zacinto x Gracehill) extended his unblemished record to five out of five with another dominant display, leading every step of the way in the hands of premiership-leading jockey Warren Kennedy.The Zacinto gelding was already the favourite for the Gr.1 New Ze...

Tristarc victory for smart Wrote mare

Talented five-year-old mare Wrote To Arataki (Wrote x Galloping Gerte) has added further black-type to her record when leading throughout to land the Gr.2 Tristarc Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday.The daughter of Wrote was ridden with good intent by comeback jockey Dean Yendall, and once the mare found the front she was rated to perfection to prevail from Shuffle Dancer and Call Di.There was less than two lengths over the first eight runners home, with trainer Matthew Williams deligh...

Coeur Volante on target for Guineas goal

A supreme ride from jockey Blake Shinn aided smart three-year-old filly Coeur Volante (Proisir x Shanina) to make it back-to-back stakes victories when running out a resounding winner of the Gr.2 Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday.The Michael Moroney-trained daughter of Proisir had been a stunning winner of the Gr.3 Scarborough Stakes (1200m) at The Valley at her previous outing, but faced the stiff challenge of drawing the outside barrier of 14 from the tricky 1400m ...

Impressive Diss Is Dramatic gives Latta another Thompson

Awapuni trainer Lisa Latta celebrated her fifth win in the Gr.3 Gee & Hickton Funeral Directors Thompson Handicap (1600m) when Diss Is Dramatic (Dissident x Our Drahma Queen) scored an emphatic victory in Saturday’s $100,000 feature at Trentham.Latta had previously won the race with Resonare (2000), Fercertain (2008), Jonbalena (2009) and last year’s winner He’s A Doozy, who went on to add the Gr.3 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile (1600m) and Gr.1 Thorndon Mile (1600m) in an impressive ...

Meet The Breeder - Sir Peter Vela

In this week's Dunstan Horsefeeds Meet the Breeder, we catch up with Leon Casey on behalf of Sir Peter Vela who bred Gr.3 Barneswood Farm Stakes winner, Star Of Justice.How did you get into thoroughbred breeding?Sir Peter became involved with racing early in life. His father had a strong interest and had friends who were actively involved. Sir Peter worked his way through university as a starting stalls attendant in the Waikato area. While teaching in his first job out of university he met his g...

Filly playing starring role for Pencarrow

Emerging filly Star Of Justice (Justify x Fair Isle)provided Pencarrow Stud with a timely result when she bridged the gap to black type company with aplomb at Ashburton.The chestnut broke her maiden at Riccarton at her second race day appearance before the Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson-trained daughter of Justify claimed the Gr.3 Barneswood Farm Stakes (1400m) on Monday.Star Of Justice now shares the second line of betting at $8 for next month’s Gr.1 Barneswood Farm New Zealand 1000 Guine...

Red letter day for Grangewilliam Stud

Mark Corcoran savoured a top-flight victory on the racetrack at Hastings and a few hours later the Grangewilliam Stud co-principal had further cause to celebrate.Farm graduate Ladies Man, a son of resident stallion Zed (NZ) (Zabeel), claimed top honours in the Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m) and a half-brother to the Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) contender was subsequently welcomed at the Waitotara nursery.“It was a brilliant day and a great result for Zed to get another Group One winner,” said Co...

Stakes-winning Synchronize (NZ) for sale on Gavelhouse Plus

Gavelhouse Plus is offering buyers a special opportunity to enhance their broodmare bands with a speedy and well-bred daughter of super-sire Savabeel.Te Akau Racing’s black-type winner Synchronize (NZ) is now for sale on Gavelhouse Plus, with bidding closing from 7pm (NZT) on Wednesday October 18.One of 135 individual stakes winners by Waikato Stud’s eight-time champion New Zealand sire Savabeel, Synchronize is out of the blue-blooded O’Reilly mare Splits (NZ).Herself unraced, Splits is a ...

Group One glory for Ladies Man in Livamol

Respected New Plymouth trainer Allan Sharrock has always seen Ladies Man (Zed x Just Polite) as a superstar in waiting, and Saturday’s Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m) marked the big gelding’s arrival on the major stage.The lightly raced six-year-old overpowered his elite weight-for-age opposition at Hastings, joining his half-sister Ladies First as a Group One winner.It was the seventh win of a 22-start career for the son of Zed, who had won three races last season headed by the Gr.3 Trent...

Raf Attack all the way in Gloaming

Satono Aladdin colt Raf Attack (Satono Aladdin x Sima) burst into contention for staying three-year-old features with a determined front-running performance in Saturday’s A$500,000 Gr.3 Toyota Forklifts Gloaming Stakes (1800m) at Randwick.A stylish maiden winner on the Kensington track in early August, the New Zealand-bred three-year-old was close up in sixth in the Gr.3 Ming Dynasty Quality (1400m) and fourth in the Listed Dulcify Stakes (1600m) in his two subsequent appearances.On Satur...

Ayrton back on top in Weekend Hussler

The roller-coaster career of highly talented galloper Ayrton (Iffraaj x Odessa) got back on the right track with a tenacious performance to win Saturday’s Listed The Big Screen Company Weekend Hussler (1400m) at Caulfield.The New Zealand-bred son of Iffraaj made waves in the early stages of his career, winning six of his first eight starts including the Gr.3 Gunsynd Classic (1600m) and Gr.3 Victoria Handicap (1400m).Trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr have endured their share of tria...

Renaissance Woman shines in Angst Stakes

A multiple stakes winner over 1800m and 2000m as a three-year-old last season, Renaissance Woman (Reliable Man x Mrs Kennedy) showed real spark over a shorter trip with a highly impressive second-up performance in Saturday’s A$250,000 Gr.3 James Squire Angst Stakes (1600m) at Randwick.Trained by Bjorn Baker, the daughter of Reliable Man won the Gr.3 Ethereal Stakes (2000m) at Caulfield last spring. She later added the Listed Gold Coast Bracelet (1800m) during the Queensland Winter Carniva...

Group Three reward at last for Our Alley Cat

Previously a five-time placegetter at Group level, classy mare Our Alley Cat (Atlante x Sima) broke through and secured her first stakes win in style in Saturday’s Gr.3 Valley D’Vine Restaurant Spring Sprint (1400m) at Hastings.The seven-year-old daughter of Atlante went into the $120,000 feature as the winner of six of her 29 starts, but she had also been runner-up behind Levante and Imperatriz in two editions of the Gr.2 Westbury Classic (1400m), second to Showoroses in the Gr.2 Auckl...

Vale Mick Preston

Thoroughbred industry stalwart Mick Preston has passed away, aged 90.Preston was a member of one of New Zealand's best-known racing families, being a son of renowned owner-breeder Ted Preston.He was sent to England, aged 18, in 1952 to study the breeding industry and thus fit himself for studmaster duties at the family's West Derby Stud, in Levin.During his eight-month stay in England he worked for five months at Lord Derby's Stanley House Stud where the great sires Hyperion and Alycidon stood.O...

Meet the Breeder - Peter and Barbara Smith

This week we catch up with Peter and Barbara Smith who bred the well-named Town Cryer who took out the Gr.3 Grangewilliam Stud Taranaki Breeders' Stakes.How did you get into thoroughbred breeding?It was through Peter’s father, he had a mare called ‘Left’ who was no good as a racehorse but produced numerous Cup winners including a Melbourne Cup winner Wotan in 1936. It was Peter’s father and two uncles that had the family but the uncles weren’t so keen on the breeding side so when Peter...

Poetic Champion produces outstanding first victory for Super Seth

Exciting two-year-old prospect Poetic Champion (Super Seth x Regally Blonde) produced an emphatic first victory for young Waikato Stud stallion Super Seth at Hawera on Saturday.Prepared by Cambridge trainer Tony Pike, Poetic Champion exuded confidence in the birdcage before the 950m contest and he looked every part the professional from the jump, striding up to sit outside the leader and race-favourite Cognoscenti through the running.The imposing chestnut travelled seamlessly under a hold i...

Legarto all class in local feature

With a dominant home-track performance in Saturday’s Listed Team Wealleans Matamata Cup (1600m), Legarto (Proisir x Geordie Girl) has put last week’s weather woes behind her and set her sights on Sydney.The exceptional daughter of Proisir was a Group One winner on both sides of the Tasman as a three-year-old last season, blowing her rivals away in the New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) before launching an incredible late burst to become the first New Zealand-trained winner of the Australi...

Town Cryer springs upset in Taranaki Breeder’s Stakes

While most people were surprised to see Town Cryer (Tavistock x The Speaker) hold out the late charge of multiple Group One winner Prowess as she took out the Gr.3 Grangewilliam Stud Taranaki Breeder’s Stakes (1400m), trainer Royden Bergerson wasn’t necessarily one of them.Bergerson had expected Prowess to be the hardest to beat in the feature race at Hawera on Saturday but when he heard the track would be in the Soft range on the day, his confidence grew that he could spring an upset with h...

Life Lessons secures first stakes success

Despite the last-minute defection of Skew Wiff (Savabeel), New Zealand maintained a strong influence on Saturday’s A$300,000 Gr.2 Furphy Rose of Kingston Stakes (1400m) at Flemington thanks to a determined victory by Kiwi-bred mare Life Lessons (Tavistock x Brockman's Lass).There had been plenty of pre-race attention centred around the Waikato Stud homebred Skew Wiff, who was a last-start winner of the Gr.1 Tarzino Trophy (1400m) at Hastings and was being pointed towards next month’s A$...

Meet the Breeder - Duncan Fell

Tell us about Fairdale Stud and its history. My grandfather, Arthur started breeding horses at Fairdale in the 1940's and previous generations had been farming here for a fair while before that. The stud rose to prominence in the 1960s and 70s when Pakistan 11 became a champion sire. His statistics were incredible and are comparable to the likes of Danzig and Northern Dancer, he even has his own Wikipedia page! Unfortunately he died when he was only thirteen.Fairdale has bred over 200 stakes win...

Dorian Kos wraps up Sunline Management Scholarship

Hello everyone,Welcome to my last blog from what has been an amazing seven months of learning and travelling for me.My last stop took me to Hong Kong, where I discovered a completely different way to approach horse racing. One of the fundamental things I learnt about the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which is a key point, is that it is a not-for-profit organisation, which allows them to reinvest all of their profits into prizemoney and charities, amongst others. It is very important to know that horse ...