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Thirty year partnership prevails

Patience is a necessity in both the racing and breeding game and these mates have heaps. Thirty years ago, six mates formed a partnership to buy a filly at the Ready To Run Sale, and found success with a stakes winner named Centainette, however the game is not that easy and it’s taken another 30 years to get the next one. Well for three of those original partners anyway and ironically the success came with a six-year-old gelding they bred from a full-sister to that first racehorse and stakes ...

Proud record to uphold at Highden Park

Libby and Sam Bleakley’s Highden Park has built up an impressive roll of honour in a relatively short space of time, and they are hoping to add to it with their draft of yearlings at Karaka 2020. Their sale graduates include two-time Hong Kong Horse of the Year Beauty Generation, Hong Kong Derby (2000m) winner Ping Hai Star, and other stakes performers such as She’s Poppy, Monster Kaka, Orbity, Milseain, Harlow Gold and Glorious Beijing. They also raised another Hong Kong Horse of the Year, ...

Iffraaj colt tops Book 2

A son of Haunui Farm stallion Iffraaj topped the Book 2 session of the Magic Million Gold Coast Yearling Sale on Monday. Lot 1037 was knocked down to Orbis Bloodstock for $370,000, a record price for the Book 2 session. Consigned by Willow Park Stud the colt is from the family of Gr.1 Golden Slipper (1200m) winner Belle Du Jour and Adelaide’s The Good wood winner Perfectly Ready. Paul King, representing Orbis Bloodstock, confirmed the quality youngster would join trainer Kris Lees’ Newcastle...

Entries Open for South Island and May Sale

Entries for New Zealand Bloodstock’s 2020 South Island Sale and May Sale are now open. The South Island Sale will take place at the Canterbury Agricultural Park on April 17, while the May Sale will occur at Karaka on May 14 and 15. While yearlings sold at both sales remain eligible to be nominated for the lucrative Karaka Million Series, the upcoming 2020 Karaka May Sale will unveil a major enhancement to the weanling session, with all weanlings offered now eligible to be nominated for the ric...

Little Avondale and Per Incanto step up to the big time

Karaka 2020 looms as a bumper week for Wairarapa’s Little Avondale Stud and their high-flying stallion Per Incanto. The son of Street Cry is third on the New Zealand sires’ premiership in terms of prize-money, and his 37 winners put him in equal top spot alongside Waikato Stud champion Savabeel. Per Incanto has sired a total of 182 winners from 297 runners, with 14 individual stakes winners including Shadows Cast, Santa Monica and Dal Cielo at Group One level. Per Incanto has 14 yearlings in...

Breeder on top of the world after filly lands Group 1

Small-time Tauranga breeder Coll MacRury celebrated his finest success when his gifted filly Travelling Light (NZ) (El Roca) trumped her male rivals with a hollow victory in the G1 Woodridge Homes Levin Classic at Trentham.The chief executive of an Australian-owned meat processing and packaging company by day, MacRury has been an owner for two decades and ventured into breeding with the private purchase of his current pride and joy’s dam Cissy Bowen (NZ) (Colombia {NZ}).She won five ...

Strong start for rookie Kiwi sires on Gold Coast

With big numbers heading to Karaka later this month for the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale, three fresh faces from the New Zealand stallion line-up have made strong debuts in this week’s Magic Millions Yearling Sale on the Gold Coast. Westbury Stud’s Tarzino, Waikato Stud’s Tivaci and Haunui Farm’s shuttle stallion Belardo all achieved strong results in the sale, which set new records for its aggregate and average. Westbury put three Tarzino yearlings through the ring on t...

Kiwi Bred: Episode 7

Kiwi Bred meets Kiwi bloodstock agent Guy Mulcaster, pays tribute to the late Tavistock, trace the journey of Westbury Stud graduate Miami Bound, 60 seconds with Brighthill Farm's Benji King and the WEVC segment continues....

Black type successes for Egan

Awapuni is certainly proving to be a happy hunting ground for Waikato NZTBA member Joan Egan after two recent black type successes. Egan bred and races Concert Hall (Savabeel[AUS]-Classic Legacy) the winner of the Gr.3 Manawatu Cup last month and Beauden (Bullbars[AUS]- Belle Femme) who won the Listed Marton Cup both on that track. “Awapuni is definitely Beauden’s favourite track, he has raced there eight times for six wins and two placings,” recalled Egan, “and Concert Hall’s win wel...

Gr.2 win adds commercial appeal to Two Illict pedigree

Two Illicit’s perceived lack of commercial appeal put a stop to her being offered through the sales ring as a yearling, but her victory in the Gr.2 Valachi Downs Royal Stakes (2000m) at Ellerslie on Wednesday has certainly changed that fate for her future progeny. The Roger James and Robert Wellwood-trained filly took her tally to three wins and two placings from just five starts, including victory in the Listed Trevor Eagle Memorial 3YO (1500m) and a last start runner-up effort behind Jennife...

Platinum result for Auckland breeders

2020 is already a year to remember for Chris Stewart and Robyn Milliken. The Karaka-based couple bred Platinum Invador (Redwood x Atomic Dancer), winner of the Gr.3 City of Auckland Cup (2400m) at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day. “He is the first stakes winner we have bred,” Stewart, who has been Stallion Manager at Haunui Farm since 2017, said. “It is pretty exciting to breed a winner, let alone a stakes winner. “Having worked in racing stables I know what it takes to actually get a horse...

Many points of interest in Valachi’s Karaka draft

Valachi Downs will send a quality group of yearlings through the ring during the 2020 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sales, but this year’s Karaka draft is likely to be remembered mostly for the generosity of the Matamata stud’s owners Kevin and Jo Hickman. Valachi will offer 16 horses in the Book 1 session and eight in Book 2, with a wide selection of stallions and plenty of black type among the pedigree pages. Among them is Lot 313 – a filly by Brazen Beau out of the Danehill D...

Cambridge mourn loss of Tavistock

Cambridge Stud reported eight weeks ago that Tavistock suffered a life threatening injury in a freak paddock accident. Although he made significant progress from the initial injury, he sustained secondary complications following further surgery last week and was put down on vets advice this afternoon. Cambridge Stud have paid special thanks to their vet team of Dr. Rob Hitchcock and Dr. Alanna Zantingh of Cambridge Equine along with Dr. Ric Redden from Kentucky who all made extraordinary efforts...

Haunui stallions to make presence felt at Karaka

Book 1 of Karaka 2020 looms as a pivotal few days for Haunui Farm stallions Belardo and Iffraaj. The top-tier session of New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sales will feature six yearlings from the first crop of exciting young shuttle stallion Belardo, while representation has soared to an all-time high for highly-regarded sire Iffraaj. A son of Lope de Vega, Belardo won the Gr.1 Dewhurst Stakes (1400m) as a two-year-old and added the Gr.1 Lockinge Stakes (1600m) as an older horse. Shu...

EXPLAINED: Racing Industry Bill

The changes to the racing industry, as laid out in the Messara Report, have now been drafted into the Racing Industry Bill (Bill Two) and is currently before Parliament. This Bill finalises the post-transition governance structure of the racing industry, creates a legislative framework to enable property to better benefit the racing industry, and enables new ways of seeking approval for betting products. The Bill will create a new Racing Industry Act that amalgamates the exiting provisions from ...

Racing Industry Bill Update

Good afternoon,  I wanted to write to you and your members on the back of the Racing Industry Bill which was introduced into Parliament earlier this month. Submissions are now being called for with the closing date being Tuesday, 11 February. Information on the Bill and how to make a submission can be found on the Parliament website. This Bill, the second of two pieces of legislation, is a significant milestone for racing which will help transition the racing industry into a financially sus...

Cambridge Stud secures Not An Option

Cambridge Stud have secured a majority share in unbeaten two-year-old colt Not An Option, a son of proven Australian sire Not A Single Doubt. An impressive winner of the recent Gr.2 Wakefield Challenge Stakes (1100m), following an easy debut victory at Pukekohe, Not An Option will remain in the care of Cambridge trainer Tony Pike. “Not An Option is arguably the most naturally gifted juvenile we have had anything to do with,” Pike said. “His potential is largely untapped. I am delighted to...

Highden Park yearling parade

Sam and Libby Bleakley of Highden Park will hold a yearling parade at their Manawatu property ahead of the New Zealand Bloodstock Yearling Sales, which will begin on January 26. The Manawatu farm will showcase their 11 strong Book 1 and 2 draft, which include progeny of sires Tavistock, American Pharoah, Shamexpress, Per Incanto, Free Eagle, Brazen Beau, Real Impact, Power, and Vadamos. The yearlings will be available for inspection at any time between 9am and 3pm on January 17. Light refreshmen...

Kiwi Bred 2019- Episode 6

The team head to Windsor Park Stud to catch up with Rodney Schick, spend 60 seconds with Haunui Farm's Shannon Taylor, tell the origin story of Verry Elleegant and the team at Waikato Equine Veterinary Centre prep for surgery on a sesamoid feature....

Auckland/Waikato yearling tour

Waikato bloodstock agent Stuart Hale’s annual Auckland/Waikato yearling inspection tour will return in 2020. The week-long tour will commence on Sunday, January 5, and include visits to 30 farms, with inspections of more than 750 yearlings. The tour will depart daily from BP Cambridge, 98 Victoria St Upper, and lunch and dinner will be provided on each of the six days of the tour. To book a place on the free tour, please contact Stuart Hale on 027 492 0975. Tour Itinerary Sunday - January 5 7...

'Champ' delivers Group Three win

He may have just won his first stakes race, but in the eyes of those close to him Justamaiz (Guillotine – Arthena) has been a “champ” since the day he was born. His recent victory in the Gr.3 Sky City Waikato Cup was the sixth and biggest win for the five-year-old Guillotine gelding that was bred by Larry and David Greene’s Greene Thoroughbreds Limited and is raced by that entity along with Quentin Maisey and Jack and Sue Thorburn. Champ, as he was named when his life began at Geoff and ...

Charm Spirit heads exciting Windsor Park roster

With Charm Spirit in stellar form and a new wave of stallions approaching their yearling debuts, the festive period has some extra shine this year for the team at Windsor Park Stud. Multiple Group One winner Charm Spirit has been shuttling to Windsor Park since 2015, and his oldest southern hemisphere progeny are now three years old. The son of Invincible Spirit has already sired 20 individual winners from just 50 runners in the southern hemisphere, with a flurry of black-type successes through ...

RITA Welcomes Significant Milestone for Racing Industry Reform

The Racing Industry Transition Agency (RITA) welcomed the Government’s introduction of the Racing Industry Bill  - a major package of reforms to replace the Racing Act 2003. The Bill, which was introduced last week, had its first reading on Tuesday. RITA Chairman Dean McKenzie said the introduction of the Racing Industry Bill is a significant milestone for racing and will help achieve the ambitious goals set by John Messara to ensure the sustainability of the racing industry.  ...

Cook comes full-circle with Preferment

Eminent Australian owner Francis Cook has returned to New Zealand this week, the source of one of his standout racetrack performers. Cook and his wife Christine have enjoyed sensational success over the last few seasons. Their tally of Group One victories has soared into double digits thanks to the likes of Lasqueti Spirit, Foreteller, Moriarty and this season’s Gr.1 Toorak Handicap (1600m) and Cantala Stakes (1600m) hero Fierce Impact. They have become renowned not only for their success, but...

Charismatic Riodini retained by his breeders

Right from the time he was a foal Riodini(Proisir[AUS]-Giardini) the winner of the recent Gr.3 Bonecrusher Stakes, was a horse with charisma. “He was one of those foals with a personality a bit different from the rest, he always looked for you when you went in the paddock and would come over and say hello,” recalled Alan Galbraith who bred and races the horse with his wife Liz, daughter Cecilia and her husband Mike Lewis. “We all liked him as an individual, but Liz particularly liked him ...