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Scholarship applications open

Applications are now open for the 2021 Keith and Faith Taylor Equine Scholarship to the Irish National Stud....

Winners flowing for Mongolian Khan

Wagga trainer Tim Donnelly cleaned up at his local meeting on Saturday, claiming three of the six winners on the card, including the heavily backed Mongolian Brave, which was supported from $5 into $1.90 favourite on debut. Under a positive ride, the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale graduate led throughout and ran out a comfortable winner over 1000m, a distance bound to be well short of his best. Mongolian Brave is the second winner for triple Group One winner Mongolian Khan, a dual Der...

Canterbury Belle Stakes a special win for the Wigley's

It was a momentous occasion for the Wigley family of Inglewood Stud when Matchmaker (Makfi[GB]- Love Somebody[AUS]) won the Listed Canterbury Belle Stakes at Riccarton recently. Ever since the race was named after their champion mare, they have aspired to win the race, so for Matchmaker to do so in Canterbury Belle’s very same colours was a huge thrill. “We have had a couple of goes at winning this race,” enthused Gus Wigley a part-owner in the filly, “so we are very pleased especially ...

National’s promises for $1.6b racing industry include tax review

The National Party is promising a raft of proposals to support the racing industry if elected, including a review of how parts of the industry are taxed. Leader Judith Collins made the announcement, while visiting the Hawke’s Bay Racing Centre in Hastings. Collins said the racing industry employs more than 15,000 people directly and supports close to 60,000 indirect jobs. “Racing contributes in excess of $1.6 billion a year to our economy and will be an important part of rebuilding our econo...

'Heights' family strikes again

Breeding two winners on a Saturday race card, one a Group Three winner, is a great weekend by anyone’s standards. Matamata veterinarian Bill Ewen achieved that last weekend when Supreme Heights (Jimmy Choux-Summer Heights) won the Taranaki RI Gr.3 NZB Ready To Run Trainers Series (1400m), while earlier in the day Ace of Spades (Redwood[GB]- Champagne Heights) won a maiden 1800. But for Ewen and his wife Jane members of the Waikato branch of the NZTBA the weekend more thrills than just those de...

NZB Filly of the Year Title Awarded

The undisrupted portion of New Zealand’s 2019-20 racing season marked the 48th year of New Zealand Bloodstock’s highly prestigious Filly of the Year Series. The coveted honour endowing thoroughbred excellence was presented by NZB’s Kane Jones to 2019-20 Series winner Jennifer Eccles’ (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle) winning connections at Shanue Ritchie’s racing stable in Cambridge last Friday. Once described as New Zealand’s best maiden, the Shaune Ritchie-trained Jennifer Eccles made her fir...

Belardo’s hot run continues

Haunui Farm shuttle stallion Belardo has a new Group winner to his credit with Elysium winning the Gr.3 Weld Park Stakes (1400m) at the Curragh on Sunday. A maiden winner in June, Elysium showed a good turn of foot to beat Aunty Bridy by a length and a half. The win continues a strong run of results from Belardo’s first northern hemisphere crop, with smart filly Isabella Giles leading the charge with her Group Two victory at Newmarket last week. Based at Kildangan Stud in the Northern Hemisphe...

Group Two win for Belardo filly

Haunui Farm shuttle stallion Belardo was in the headlines in the northern hemisphere once again through his progressive daughter Isabella Giles, who took out the Gr.2 Rockfel Stakes (1400m) at Newmarket on Friday. The Clive Cox-trained filly provided Belardo, a Group One winning son of Lope De Vega, with his first Group success at Goodwood in August and showed plenty of courage to deny Nazuna by two lengths on the Rowley Mile. Isabella Giles was winning for the fourth time in five starts and was...

Rider a happy man after dual stakes success at Hastings

If smiling were an Olympic sport, then Milan Park principal Tony Rider would most likely have had a gold medal hanging around his neck on Saturday evening. Rider was on hand at Hastings to watch two three-year-old fillies he bred and owns assure their future at his Cambridge-based breeding operation once their racing days are over with comprehensive victories in their respective black-type events on the day. First up was Savabeel filly Shezzacatch, who was making her raceday debut for trainers G...

NZERF Spring Bulletin 2020

View the NZ Equine Research Foundations Spring 2020 Bulletin here....

National Breeding Awards cancelled

The 2020 Ebbett VW National Breeding Awards has been cancelled due to the constraints and complications of holding a large event during the current COVID-19 situation. After persevering for some time and developing contingency plans dependent on Alert Level responses, the organising committee has made the decision to cancel the physical event. “We are all disappointed the event could not go ahead but we were left with little choice for obvious reasons,” NZTBA council member Shannon Taylor sa...

Exciting Savabeel three-year-olds emerging

The huge impression created by young unbeaten Sydney galloper Mo’unga with his Rosehill stakes win last Saturday highlighted a significant week for champion New Zealand sire Savabeel, one which also uncovered another two of his possible three-year-old stars. While Group Two winner The Chosen One (a five-year-old son of Savabeel) boosted hopes of a start in the Gr.1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) next month with a win in the Winning Edge Presentations Handicap (1700m) in Melbourne, winning performances ...

Good friends thrilled with Travi's win

It might have been nearly dusk, but after Travimyfriend (Tavistock-Pineau) won the Listed The Sofitel (1400m) at Flemington on Saturday, Silver (John) Goodin was down to Pineau’s paddock with an extra scoop of feed and a carrot. Goodin, who owns Pineau with his wife Helena and good mate Gavin O’Dea, loves his horses and was so chuffed with Travimyfriend’s win that he had to reward his mother. “Even when she goes to stud, she must be fed twice a day to give her a boost and I don’t mind ...

Feeding Yearlings in the Spring

Article by Dunstan FeedsAs we head into Spring there is much excitement with pregnant mares and new arrivals. However, it is also a critical time for last year’s foals as they hit 12 months of age.  The way these young horses are managed over the next few months will depend a great deal on their body condition, type and if they are to be targeted at Yearling Sales. With Spring comes an increase in pasture availability and within these Spring pastures, elevated sugar levels, resulting in i...

Demand for Almanzor youngsters continues

Impressive sale ring results continued for Almanzor during the second session at the Arqana Select Sale in France. On the first day, a son of the Cambridge Stud shuttle stallion sold for €280,000 and the demand continued overnight. Agent Oliver St Lawrence was in the thick of the action with two high-priced purchases. He went to €260,000 for a son of Almanzor and to €250,000 for a daughter. The colt is out of the Gr.2 Canadian Stakes winner Minakshi and the family of the G1 VRC Oaks winner...

New Zealand Broodmare of the Year announced

At a small gathering at Haunui Farm, Auckland branch member Marie Leicester was presented with the Arion Pedigrees Eight Carat Broodmare of the Year Award for her mare Meleka Belle. The award criteria states that the winner shall be the mare whose New Zealand-bred and/or New Zealand conceived progeny, anywhere in the world, in the season under review, most clearly reflect true breeding merit in quality of racing performance.  Meleka Belle’s daughter Melody Belle certainly achieved that c...

Strong start for Belardo

Haunui Farm shuttle stallion Belardo made a splash in the northern hemisphere this year with his first crop and now his southern progeny are turning heads. The son of Lope de Vega has had seven winners from just 33 starters in the northern hemisphere, including Gr.3 Prestige Stakes (1400m) winner Isabella Giles. Haunui Farm managing director Mark Chitty has been pleased with Belardo’s start at stud, particularly watching Isabella Giles’ dominant stakes victory. “The filly won a Group Three...

Hawkes Bay/ Poverty Bay Racing & Breeding Awards Dinner

The Awards dinner scheduled for Friday 18 September has been postponed due to the ongoing Level 2 restrictions. The time frame after the next announcement on Monday 14 September has become too tight to continue on this date. The awards will now tentatively be scheduled to take place on Friday 2 October before the Windsor Park Plate race day the middle day of the Bostock NZ Spring Carnival. More details will follow once the Club has further information on the time frame around the ...

Guide to NZB Sale Photos & Videos

With COVID-19 and travel restrictions preventing the majority of international travellers physically attending the sales, it is going to be more important than ever to be as transparent as possible by providing photos, videos and information on each horse to give offshore buyers as much confidence as possible. Outside of the sale dates, the most talked about subject during our buyer research this year was the importance of high quality, professional and real-time videos. This media will be cruci...

Lease filly shines in Wanganui Guineas

A lease arrangement brokered by Novara Park principal Luigi Muollo has allowed Sweynesse’s former trackwork rider to share in his black-type success at stud. Muollo bred the Sweynesse filly Only Words, who scored an impressive victory in Saturday’s Listed HS Dyke Wanganui Guineas (1200m). She became the second stakes winner for Sweynesse, who was New Zealand’s leading first season stallion in 2019-20 and has now begun his second season on the perfect note. After Only Words was passed in as...

Pearl bonus struck

Two big supporters of the NZB Insurance Pearl Bonus Series were rewarded with an extra $10,000 in winnings this week after winning bonus races at Avondale. Turrett won a 1600 metre maiden for John McPherson, Kylie Fawcett, Rob Joyce, Dwayne Todd and Jeremy Ruddle, and Vamos Bebe won the 1400 metre maiden for the Taylor Family Trust and Trelawney Thoroughbreds Limited. For Matamata based trainer Kylie Fawcett is was the sixth Pearl Bonus she has won as an owner and her fourth as a trainer since t...

Book full for Almanzor

Cambridge Stud has put up the book full sign for their European Champion three-year-old Almanzor for the third consecutive year. The son of Wootton Bassett is standing his third season in New Zealand at a fee of $30,000 + GST. “We are delighted that Almanzor’s book is full again,” Cambridge Stud chief executive Henry Plumptre said. “Our thanks go, particularly, to our shareholders but also our annual breeders, most of which are using him for the third consecutive year. “New Zealand bre...

Waikato Stud named New Zealand Breeder of the Year

The New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association (NZTBA) has announced that Waikato Stud is the winner of the Sir Patrick and Justine Lady Hogan New Zealand Breeder of the Year Award. In a very successful year for New Zealand breeders, the voting went right down to the wire with Waikato Stud prevailing from a stellar pool of finalists which featured Gerry Harvey, Nearco Stud, The Oaks Stud and Trelawney Stud. According to NZTBA President John Thompson, the competition for the New Zealand Bre...

First stakes success for Belardo as Isabella Giles dominates at Goodwood

Haunui Farm shuttle stallion Belardo registered his first stakes success over the weekend with two-year-old filly Isabella Giles scoring in impressive fashion at Goodwood. Isabella Giles enhanced her position as the leading light from the maiden crop of Belardo as she provided him with his first stakes win in the G.3 Ladbrokes Prestige Stakes (1408m). The filly already boasted victories at Leicester and Newbury and had finished fourth to Santosha (Coulsty) in the Gr.3 Princess Margaret Stakes (1...

January dates retained for New Zealand Bloodstock Yearling Sale

New Zealand Bloodstock has today announced that the 95th National Yearling Sales Series will be held in the original timeslot in January next year as a physical sale at Karaka. While a secondary April date was initially set aside to allow for travel restrictions to ease; with the ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks, non-confidence from government and airlines and the lack of certainty that any change should amount between now and April, the decision was made not to delay the Sale. “If you asked me one ...