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Chittick Savouring Further Racetrack Success from Graduates

Amidst the hustle and bustle of another busy morning at Waikato Stud, principal Mark Chittick was pleased to be able to sit down and catch his breath as he reflected on another stellar 48 hours for the iconic Matamata nursery. Three-year-old filly Zee Falls (Sacred Falls- Zelitist) started the ball rolling when she became the third individual stakes winner for ill-fated stallion Sacred Falls when taking out the Gr.3 Wellington Stakes (1600m) at Otaki on Thursday while leading sire Ocean Park (Th...

Hardy Kiwi Bred Wins Prestigious Jericho

Grangewilliam Stud stallion Zed (Zabeel- Emerald Dream) is having a spring to remember and as we venture into summer the juggernaut continued as his six-year-old son Count Zero (Zed- My Duchess)  raced away with the A$300,000 Haymes Paint Jericho Cup (4600m) at Warrnambool for local trainer Symon Wilde. The unheralded stallion is the sire of six-time Group One winner Verry Elleegant, in addition to Ballarat Cup hero Irish Flame, while the stallion’s versatility extends to champion jumpers...

Entries Open for New National Online Yearling Sale

Off the back of a successful Ready to Run Sale with the addition of a new online bidding facility, New Zealand Bloodstock is pleased to announce their further expansion into the realm of online thoroughbred auctions.  NZB is adding a new addition to their sale calendar, which will be known as the National Online Yearling Sale set to take place on 3 February 2021.  The newcomer to NZB’s National Yearling Sale Series will take up a fully digital format, set to be conducted on...

Life Long Dream for Irish Flame's Breeder Realised

She may have lived on the Central Coast of New South Wales for 40 years, but Margaret Reid the part-owner and breeder of the Listed Ballarat Cup winner Irish Flame (Zed- Fleur De L’Orient) is still very much a Taranaki girl. So much so that the green and brown colours that Irish Flame races in feature a stylised logo of Mount Taranaki and the nearby Waiwhakaiho river. Those colours she shares with her husband Bill and fellow breeder and part-owner Inglewood farmer Gary Kemp. For good measure ...

Syndicate Taking Success in their Stride with Levante

Ancroft Stud owner Philip Brown is keeping his feet on the ground as excitement mounts all around him over the potential of four-year-old galloper Levante (Proisir (AUS)-Island Doy (GB) by Doyoun).  Brown and his wife Catherine share in the ownership of the Proisir mare with long-time friend Tony Enting and his wife Mary, former touring golf professional Mark Tapper and several other mates under their Sandringham Investments Ltd banner. Beaten only once in five starts as a three-year-old, L...

Kiwis claim Ballarat Cup with Irish Flame

Former Kiwi galloper Irish Flame (Zed (NZ)- Fleur De L'orient (NZ) by Thunder Gulch) overcame a torrid run and a frantic finish to score a narrow victory in Saturday's Listed A$500,000 Ballarat Cup (2000m) under jockey Michael Walker.   Prepared by Mornington trainer Brett Scott, Irish Flame has been in rich form, and defied a tough run from barrier 16 to win in a close finish from favourite Affair To Remember and Game Keeper. The son of Zed transferred from Scott’s old boss John Wh...

Media Sensation Dominates On-Speed in Group Two Feature

Talented mare Media Sensation (I Am Invincible (AUS)- Different To (NZ) by High Chaparral) backed up an eye-catching performance at the Ellerslie trials earlier this month with a comprehensive front-running effort to take out the feature event for the fillies and mares at Pukekohe on Saturday, the Gr.2 Dunstan Feeds Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1400m). Successful at the elite level as a three-year-old when winning the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m), the now five-yea...

Reliable Man Mare Dominant in Railway

Five-year-old mare Inspirational Girl (by Reliable Man (GB)- Inspired (AUS) by Zabeel) produced a devastating turn of foot under popular jockey William Pike to race away with the Gr.1 Railway Stakes (1600m) at Ascot in Perth on Saturday. The Group One winning mare advanced her record to nine wins and two placings from eleven starts and stamped herself as one of the most exciting horses in Western Australia when putting away Too Close The Sun and Uni Time.       Pre...

Savabeel colt tops Ready To Run Sale

As the curtain came down on a successful New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale, a colt by Savabeel out of the O’Reilly mare Miss Opulence, a half-sister to multiple Group One winners Sir Slick and Puccini, stole the limelight late in the piece, topping the sale at $700,000. Presented by Sam and Hana Beatson’s Riversley Park, who finished as leading vendor for the fourth year in succession, the athletic bay attracted the interest of multiple parties before eventually going the way of Te Ak...

Records Smashed During Outstanding Ready to Run Sale

With a brilliant closure to what has been an outstanding two days of trading, New Zealand Bloodstock’s Ready to Run Sale broke their own record in the final moments of Day Two. Sam and Hana Beatson’s Riversley Park offered the NZB record-breaking two-year-old, Lot 298 purchased for $700,000 in a bidding dual between Te Akau Racing’s Jamie Richards and Kingsclere Stables’ Roger James.The prolific cross between Savabeel and the O’Reilly mare Miss Opulence caught the a...

Wally O’Hearn – one of the truly good guys

By Dennis RyanRacing bid farewell to one of its true-blue good guys when Wally O’Hearn lost his brave fight with cancer early Saturday morning. Hours later, jockeys riding in the second race at Riccarton wore black armbands as a mark of respect on what was one of Wally’s favourite racedays. The name W R O’Hearn appeared in the racebook as a part-owner of Letsbringiton, who rallied for fifth but like Race 9 runner Where’s Wally, wasn’t quite able to carry the day. Wally O’Hearn learn...

Little Avondale celebrate success with Avonallo

Sam Williams isn’t the first to sell a broodmare only to have her progeny come out and perform with distinction a short time later, but he isn’t losing sleep over it, in fact he couldn’t be happier with the result. Williams bred and shares in the ownership of recent Listed Welcome Stakes (1000m) winner Avonallo (Belardo) though he had sold his dam Real Angel (O’Reilly – Centrefold Angel) through online auction house gavelhouse.com in April. “Heading into COVID-19 I decided I was goin...

Curraghmore graduates shine at Cup Week

Kahma Lass (Darci Brahma – Distinctive Lass) capped off a great Cup Week at Riccarton for Te Awamutu farm Curraghmore when winning the Gr.1 Barneswood Farm New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) on Saturday. Wearing the colours of her owners Brendan and Jo Lindsay of Cambridge Stud, and ridden superbly by Opie Bosson Kahma Lass defeated a quality field by an official margin of 0.8 lengths. “I’m so pleased for her breeder Greg Tomlinson of Nearco Stud,” said Curraghmore’s Gordon Cunningham. ...

Concert Hall caps superb week for Cambridge pair

The Roger James and Robert Wellwood stable capped off a superb week when classy mare Concert Hall (Savabeel (AUS) Classic Legacy (NZ) by CARNEGIE) captured the Gr.2 Gartshore Tauranga Stakes (1600m) at Tauranga on Saturday. The Cambridge stable picked up the Gr.2 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile (1600m) at Riccarton on Wednesday with Hypnos and made it a Group Two double in the space of 72 hours courtesy of the Joan Egan-bred and raced Concert Hall. James has made no secret of the high ...

Bosson and Richards combine for 1000 Guineas triumph

The potent combination of trainer Jamie Richards and rider Opie Bosson were back doing what they do best on Saturday — winning Group One races — as they combined to guide Kahma Lass (Darci Brahma (NZ)- Distinctive Lass (AUS) by Orientate) to victory in the Gr.1 Barneswood Farm New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton. Wearing the colours of Cambridge Stud proprietors Brendan and Jo Lindsay, Bosson produced a masterclass to weave the Darci Brahma filly between runn...

Avonallo turns tables in Welcome Stakes

In a battle that most pundits expected, speedy two-year-old Avonallo (Belardo (IRE)- Real Angel (NZ) by O’Reilly) turned the tables on rival Follow Your Dreams to take out Saturday’s Listed Frantic Bloodstock Welcome Stakes (1000m) at Riccarton. The pair had met on two occasions previously over 800m where Follow Your Dreams had the edge on Avonallo, however a rise in distance to 1000m and the addition of top rider Opie Bosson aboard the Jamie-Richards-trained Belardo colt...

Stakes winners keep coming for Belardo

Haunui Farm shuttle stallion Belardo, is among Europe’s leading first season sires and increased his tally of stakes winners to four overnight when his unbeaten son Belloccio took out the Grand Criterium du Languedoc over a mile at Toulouse.Travelling close to the speed throughout, Belloccio quickly responded when asked the question by Olivier Peslier and ran out to a length-and-a-quarter margin at the line.BELARDO’s three other stakes winners are the Group winning fillies Isabella Giles (G2...

Aegon: a quintessential Waikato Stud product

The win of Aegon, a son of the late Sacred Falls, in last Saturday’s Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) provided cause for triumphant reflection from powerhouse breeders Waikato Stud. Bred and sold by the Matamata nursery who were recently named as the 2019/2020 New Zealand Breeders of the Year, Aegon has come a long way in a short time for trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman, with the latter joined in the ownership by the Zame family. The unbeaten three-year-old defeated Bourbonaire ...

NZTBA sponsor new Ex-Factor award

The NZTBA will sponsor a new award at the Beyond the Barriers Dunstan Ex-Factor competition at Equifest at Taupo on November 27-29. The inaugural Equifest competition, which replaces Equidays, will feature the popular competition for off the track thoroughbreds and for the first time, the NZTBA Judge's Choice award. "This competition is the cornerstone event for Beyond the Barriers and allows us to showcase the versatility and suitability of Thoroughbreds as sporthorses," organiser Nicky Wallace...

NZTR director appointments

The Members’ Council of New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) yesterday announced three new appointments to the NZTR Board. The new appointees - Darryll Park, Andrew Fairgray and Mike Clarke (from 1 January 2021) – will take up their positions following the NZTR AGM on Tuesday 17 November. At that time chairman Dr Alan Jackson and board members Victoria Carter and Rick Williams will depart.  During their time at the Board table the industry has been faced with many challenges throughou...

NZB online bidding registration open

After months of preparation and extensive testing, New Zealand Bloodstock is pleased to announce that registrations for their online bidding platform are now open, with the platform due to debut at the Ready to Run Sale on November 18 and 19.   With COVID-19 preventing NZB’s international clientele from physically attending their sales, the decision was made early in the year to create a robust online bidding platform. The upgrade to ultra-fast fibre at Karaka has enabled NZB to off...

Scholarship winner announced

Nathan Trumper has headed a strong group of applicants to win the 2021 Keith and Faith Taylor Trust Equine Scholarship. Administered by the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, the scholarship will support Trumper to travel to Ireland early next year to attend the world renowned Irish National Stud and complete the breeding diploma. Like many, Trumper’s early introduction to the thoroughbred industry came through family ties when helping out at his grandparent’s stud and trainin...

Weigh In- 02.11.2020

Emily Bosson and Michael Guerin review the weekend of racing and preview the Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m)....

Pearler Saturday for Nakhle

A lot can happen in 10 minutes. That was the case for prominent breeder/owner Daniel Nakhle who was on track at Pukekohe on Saturday to watch his promising mare Arrivederci win the NZB Insurance Pearl Series Race (1200m). Nakhle barely had time to watch the replay before Crosshaven, a horse Nakhle co-bred and retained a share in, battled it out to prevail in the finish of the Gr.3 Carbine Club Stakes (1600m) at Flemington. “It was probably the best 10 minutes I have experienced in racing,” N...

Melbourne Cup owner on the ride of his life

There won’t be many people hoping for a dead-heat in this year’s Melbourne Cup, but Tony Rider will be one. The principal of Cambridge thoroughbred nursery Milan Park has a connection with two horses in the great race – Oceanex and The Chosen One. Rider bred the former and co-owns the latter and he said it’s a surreal moment to have two chances in the race that stops a nation. “It’s a dream come true to have a horse in the Melbourne Cup,” he said. “We were fortunate to have one i...