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Belle Plaisir Upsets In Rangitikei Gold Cup

Underrated galloper Belle Plaisir sprang a minor upset when she picked up her first victory at stakes level when taking out the Listed James Bull Rangitikei Gold Cup (1600m) on her home track at Awapuni. The Lucy Tanner-trained and part-owned four-year-old had won her previous start over a similar distance (1550m) at the venue but was ignored by punters for Saturday’s feature, being sent out at odds of better that $23. Given an economical trip in behind the speed by rider Kate Hercock, the dau...

Equine Breeding Students Achieve Education Milestone

Earlier this week, thirty-one students graduated from the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association promoted Primary ITO’s level three and four Equine breeding courses. “On behalf of the NZTBA we congratulate all of the students that have gained an industry qualification,: NZTBA CEO Justine Sclater said. “Their graduation is a testimony of their dedication and hard work. The NZTBA places a lot of emphasis on promoting training within our industry as it can only enhance our future. W...

New Group winner for 'accidental' breeder

Lucky, loquacious, loyal and in love with racing horses best describes Tommy Heptinstall. The affable self-made millionaire, who now resides in the swanky Melbourne suburb of Toorak, is the first to admit that he is lucky when it comes to racing horses with horses like Tavistock and Sangster testament to that fact. As a breeder he has been successful with Hong Kong Horse of the Year and multiple Group One winner Werther, while Werther’s dam Bagalollies was crowned Broodmare of the Year in 201...

Group One son of Kingman to Novara Park

Group One performer King Of Comedy will join Novara Park’s stallion roster this coming breeding season. Farm principal Luigi Muollo had been on the lookout for a son of outstanding young sire Kingman and is delighted with his acquisition. “He (Kingman) is one of the hottest names in European bloodstock circles, and King Of Comedy ticked all the boxes of pedigree, racetrack performance, type and commercial appeal,” Muollo said. Prepared by John Gosden for the bulk of his career for Lad...

Daring Ride Secures Royal Result In Rotorua Feature

Consistent sprinter Pop Star Princess secured her first black type success when she took out the Gr.3 Rydges Rotorua Stakes (1400m) on Saturday, courtesy of a daring ride by Jonathan Riddell. The noted front-runner had disappointed just seven days ago at Te Rapa when fading badly after being annoyed throughout the 1200m journey when taking up her customary pacemaking role. Riddell wouldn’t let that happen this time as he bounced the six-year-old mare to a clear lead from the starting gates and...

The Good Fight scores knockout in Rotorua Cup

Consistent stayer The Good Fight left his race rivals in his wake as he scooted clear in the home straight to take out the Gr.3 Campbell Infrastructure Rotorua Cup (2200m) at Arawa Park on Saturday. The six-year-old son of High Chaparral was having just his second run after a summer break following a disappointing showing in the Gr.3 Wellington Cup (3200m) in January but stripped a fit horse for trainers Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray. Settled in a handy position by rider Sam Collett, The Good F...

Market Continues to Sky Rocket Following 2021 Weanling Sale

Prominent judges were active at New Zealand Bloodstock’s dedicated National Weanling Sale, with a buoyant market continuing an upwards trend. NZB’s Managing Director Andrew Seabrook was absolutely thrilled at the conclusion of selling.“All key metrics were well up across the board and we couldn’t be happier with how the Sale went today.”“We saw great participation by both international and domestic buyers, highlighted by a strong contingent of pinhookers.“With the market and d...

Almanzor colt tops strong weanling sale

Mark Baker has had plenty of success pinhooking out of New Zealand Bloodstock’s May Sale, and he believes he has found another promising youngster at Karaka on Friday. The Hallmark Stud principal paid $145,000 for lot 78, the Almanzor colt out of Group One performer Girl Of My Dreams from Haunui Farm’s draft. The colt topped the Weanling Sale and Baker thought justifiably so. “I loved him from the time we saw him at Haunui. Myself and my partners are delighted to get him,” Baker said. �...

Windsor Park kicks goal with new initiative

Creative thinking and a trip across the Cook Strait paved the way for Windsor Park Stud’s inaugural Rugby, Racing and Beer event. The Cambridge-based farm sent nine yearlings south to be auctioned off during the luncheon, held last Friday on the eve of Riccarton Park’s Saturday race meeting. The concept was developed by stud master Rodney Schick, with a percentage of the proceeds going to Ellie Stokes, a young rider who was left a paraplegic after a trackwork accident in 2019. “I’ve alw...

Triple Group One Winner Heads Windsor Roster

Galileo’s triple Group One winning son Circus Maximus heads the 2021 stallion roster at Windsor Park Stud. Group One placed as a two-year-old, Circus Maximus won the Gr.1 St James’s Palace Stakes (1600m) and Gr.1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (1600m) at three, before returning as a four-year-old to land the Gr.1 Queen Anne Stakes over his favoured mile distance at Royal Ascot. Circus Maximus will stand for an introductory fee of $20,000 + GST. He joins an exciting young stallion line-up that i...

War Decree Fee Unchanged

Inglewood Stud’s young stallion War Decree, a son of War Front, will stand the 2021 season at an unchanged fee of $4,500+GST. “His yearlings sold through the ring averaged nearly $60,000 this year,” said Inglewood Stud’s Gus Wigley. “That’s a tremendous return on the $6,500 he stood for in his first season. Buyers of his stock included some of Australasia’s best judges, including Roger James, Guy Mulcaster, Paul Moroney, Bruce Perry, Paul Willets, Paul Chow and Debbie Rogerson amon...

Latest Sponsor of NZTBA - Morrison Mallett Law Firm

The NZTBA is pleased to announce that specialist commercial law firm Morrison Mallett is the latest sponsor to join our stable of corporate business partners. With offices in both Wellington and Auckland, Morrison Mallett’s partners are highly experienced lawyers with particular expertise in the primary industries. They regularly advise clients on a wide range of commercial law matters including business structuring, mergers and acquisitions, commercial contracts, succession issues, property a...

Auspicious day for Auret family

Several days have passed since recording a black-type double at Riccarton, but Nigel Auret is still lost for words when asked about the achievement. His son, Fraser, had travelled south from his Marton base with Unusual Countess (Unusual Suspect x Countessofdelgatie) and Streak of Power (Power x Stracile) and duly delivered with the pair winning the Listed Champagne Stakes (1200m) and Listed Easter Stakes (1400m) respectively.  “It was just a fantastic day, that is all I can say,” Nigel...

Another Explosive Weekend for Passionate Kiwi Breeder

Thoroughbred owner and breeder Luigi Muollo was celebrating another milestone on Saturday evening after star staying three-year-old colt Explosive Jack added another Derby trophy to his growing collection. The son of Muollo’s ill-fated stallion Jakkalberry raced away with Saturday’s Gr.1 South Australian Derby (2500m), his third Derby win this season after earlier taking out the Listed Tasmanian Derby (2200m) along with the Gr.1 ATC Derby (2400m) at his previous start. Jakkalberry became the...

Turn The Ace Takes Out Te Rapa Feature

Rugged two-year-old Turn The Ace provided a second milestone for his sire Turn Me Loose in the space of seven days when he took out the feature event at Te Rapa on Saturday, the Listed Waikato Equine Veterinary Centre 2YO Stakes (1100m). The Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained youngster registered the first success as a sire for triple Group One winner Turn Me Loose when he won on debut last Saturday and backed that up with another superb performance to become his first stakes winner. Rider ...

Auret Captures Stakes Double At Riccarton

Marton trainer Fraser Auret made it a red-letter day for the Auret family on Saturday when he captured both feature races at Riccarton. Two-year-old debutant Unusual Countess made a stunning racetrack debut when she took out the Listed Berkley Stud Champagne Stakes (1200m), before lightly raced four-year-old Streak Of Power outlasted his rivals to win the Listed Daphne Bannan Memorial Easter Stakes (1600m). Both horses are raced by Auret’s parents Nigel and Adaire, who stand Gr.1 Hollywood Tur...

Mongolian Falcon Boosts Hawke’s Bay Stallion Ranks

Well-known equestrian Vicki Wilson is leading the resurgence of thoroughbred breeding in Hawke’s Bay with the addition of Mongolian Falcon to the region’s stallion ranks. It will be a homecoming of sorts for the son of Fastnet Rock, with his biggest victory coming at Hastings in the Gr.2 Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m), beating subsequent Group One winner and now stallion, Jon Snow, by five lengths. Trained by Donna Logan and Chris Gibbs, Mongolian Falcon won three of his nine starts, and plac...

Physical Weanling Sale Returns to Karaka

Vendors are welcoming the return of New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Weanling Sale to a physical format at Karaka next week, but without losing sight of lessons learned from last year’s COVID-19 disruptions. A select catalogue of 120 weanlings will go under the hammer at Karaka next Friday, marking the return of a physical weanling sale after the 2020 version was replaced by an online sale. Haunui Farm have been major players at New Zealand Bloodstock weanling sales for a number of years, s...

Highview Returns to Boutique Operation

Highview Stud stallion Wrote will stand his fifth season at stud at an unchanged fee of $5,000 + GST this coming breeding season. The Group One winning son of High Chaparral has enjoyed good patronage in his initial seasons at stud, covering 338 mares across four seasons, with his eldest crop of two-year olds. On the back of strong yearling sale results in 2020, he covered 95 mares last season. “The feedback from trainers to date has been very positive on him. The underlying comment coming thr...

2021 Stallion Register

The production of the 2021 Stallion Register is underway with breeders expected to have their copy of the sought-after publication by the end of June. This year the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association (NZTBA) made the decision to produce the register ‘in house’ after more than 20 years of it previously being outsourced. “We are excited to roll our sleeves up and get stuck into the development and print of this year’s edition, it is a team effort from everyone in our office,�...

Ribchester & Belardo Service Fees Unchanged For 2021

Haunui Farm will once again welcome Champion 2YO and dual G1 winner BELARDO (IRE) (Lope De Vega) and, 4-time G1 winner and two-time Champion Miler RIBCHESTER (IRE) (Iffraaj), back to New Zealand in 2021. BELARDO wasted no time in making his presence felt in the Northern Hemisphere stallion ranks with four stakes winners from his first crop including dual stakes winners ISABELLA GILES and LULLABY MOON.  In New Zealand, AVONALLO became his sire’s first Southern Hemisphere stakes winner wh...

Sword Of State Confirmed for Cambridge Stud

Group One winning juvenile Sword Of State will join Cambridge Stud’s stallion roster at the conclusion of his racing career. Te Akau Principal David Ellis has confirmed that the exciting young son of champion sire Snitzel has been secured for future stud duties by Cambridge Stud, in partnership with his current ownership. Raced by the Te Akau 2020 Four Colt Breeding Syndicate, Sword Of State was purchased by David Ellis as a yearling for A$600,000. The quality two year old has won four of his ...

Savabeel Heads Waikato Stud Stallion Roster

New Zealand Champion sire Savabeel will once again headline an impressive stallion roster at Waikato Stud for the forthcoming breeding season where he will stand for a fee of $100,000+gst. Savabeel has now sired 23 Group One winners and 114 stakes winners with his progeny earnings topping NZ$122 million globally. The venerable son of Zabeel is the current leading Australasian sire of stakes winners with 18 winners of 29 races including four Group One winners including Probabeel, Mo’unga, Conce...

Waikato Quinella in Queen of the South

Waikato Stud was the dominant force in the Gr.2 Queen of the South Stakes at Morphettville with Fabric (NZ) (Ocean Park) and Shop Til I Drop (NZ) (Savabeel) quinellaing the mares’ feature.Bred and raced by the Matamata farm, Fabric produced a well-timed finish to lift her future broodmare value when she returns to the nursery.Trained by Danny O’Brien, the daughter of Ocean Park had finished runner-up when resuming at Caulfield at her previous appearance and appreciated the ste...

SAVE THE DATE | Does foal education help create champions?

So You Think, Preferment, Jimmy Choux and Norzita are just some of the Group One winning graduates to complete the Foal NZ foundation behaviour programme. Next month Foal NZ will hold two 30minute lecture sessions explaining the benefits of their scientifically-proven training methods. Established in 2003, Foal NZ have continued to develop their processes, keeping their methods in line with up-to-date research to establish foundation behaviours that give each foal the best chance possible to bec...