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Melbourne Cup update for Windsor Park resident

Windsor Park Stud were celebrating an important pedigree update on Tuesday after the running of the race that stops the nation. The Cambridge farm is home to Bay Missile (Smart Missile – Aim For Gold), a half-sister to the dam of Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) winner Vow and Declare (Declaration of War – Geblitzt). Bay Missile is owned by Windsor Park Stud in partnership with Daniel Finn, who operates under the name Eton Bloodstock. “I watched the race at Winsor Park, which is across the road ...

Welfare - the topic everyone is talking about

Animal welfare is a subject the NZTBA cares a great deal about The furore created by a recent Australian ABC documentary highlighted some abominable practices in a Queensland abattoir and has prompted ramifications from the Queensland government and throughout the thoroughbred industry in Australia. Racing Victoria have reaffirmed their commitment to the welfare of retired racehorses and announced a A$25 million boost to fund the first three years of an expanded welfare program. The VRC have pl...

Southland brothers enjoying Cup hype

The Dennis brothers are a long way from their Woodlands homes in Southland, but they were never going to miss the thrill of being on track for their own runner in Australia’s most famous race. The 80-year-old twins Ray and Tony and their slightly younger brothers Joe and Martin will all be on hand to watch their home-bred stayer The Chosen One take on an international line-up in Tuesday’s Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington. “Martin came over yesterday (Sunday) and the rest of us arri...

Opportunity for broodmare owners to aid worthy cause

An opportunity to breed a mare to up-and-coming stallion El Roca and at the same time aid a worthy community cause has come about through a generous offer from Westbury Stud. A service to El Roca has been donated for tender by the Karaka-based nursery to the Keep Matamata Beautiful Committee, which over the past year has been raising funds for the construction of a unique thoroughbred racehorse sculpture. Maintaining Matamata’s theme as “The Town that’s Racing Ahead”, the three-metre hig...

Wentwood Grange cherish winning weekend

A partnership that began with the establishment of Wentwood Grange Stud back at the beginning of the century can lay claim to a unique breeding connection on the weekend after Kolding took out the inaugural running of the A$7.5m Golden Eagle (1500m) at Rosehill on Saturday, a result preceded by the victory of Exceedance in the Gr.1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington. Retired Australian businessman and former professional rugby league player, Warren Pegg was one of the original clients of...

Bob Morris – a life well-lived with horses

‘A wonderful life in horses,’ is how I would describe the life of my close friend Bob Morris, who passed away in Cambridge on October 17th, one month short of his 92nd birthday. In Bob’s passing, New Zealand lost one of the very best horsemen it’s ever known. He was also one of the great characters, a great stockman, a great mentor to many successful people in horses, and in his own right, very successful as an owner, trainer and breeder. Robert Lloyd Morris was born in Cambridge in 1927...

Dunstan Feeds offers lucrative trainers incentive for iconic stayers championship series

Kiwi trainers will get the opportunity to scoop a $21,000 Karaka Yearling Sales windfall thanks to the generosity of Dunstan Feeds as the globally-respected feed merchant celebrates its 21st year of sponsoring the popular Dunstan Feeds Stayers Championship. In a joint promotion with New Zealand Bloodstock and the Auckland Racing Club, and with the backing of the New Zealand Trainers’ Association, New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing and the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, Dunstan ...

MacRury gets a good one in Travelling Light

A passion for pedigrees and a love of racing seem to be paying results for Coll MacRury the breeder and part-owner of the smart three-year-old filly Travelling Light (El Roca-Cissy Bowen). Currently favourite for the Gr.1 gavelhouse New Zealand 1000 Guineas, Travelling Light has been to the races on three occasions and has won each time, with her most recent success in the Gr.3 Barneswood Farm Soliloquy Stakes (1400m). MacRury, who works in the meat industry and divides his time between Perth, G...

Tavistock withdrawn from 2019 service

Cambridge Stud stallion Tavistock has sustained an injury in his paddock which will impact his ability to cover over the coming weeks. As such, Cambridge Stud have decided that Tavistock will be withdrawn from service for the remainder of the 2019 season. He has covered 76 mares out of a large book with 43 in foal and 23 under service. Tavistock has had a strong start to the racing season, particularly in Australia, off the back of good sale results. It has already been a challenging year fo...

Smith out to make his mark in his own right

Bevan Smith admits there have been some nervous times this year, but the young New Zealand bloodstock agent is adopting a methodical approach to establishing his own business and quickly garnered support from prominent owners and trainers.  Earlier in the month, Smith made his biggest sales ring splash so far with a combined 14 horses bought for a range of clients at the Magic Millions Gold Coast 2YOs In Training Sale and the Inglis Ready2Race Sale.  He bought six juveniles on the Gold...

Ferrari jokes aside, Pearl Series Races make a big payday

Te Aroha trainer Ian Marks was only half-joking with his “that much closer to a Ferrari” comment on Trackside TV at Rotorua last Saturday. Marks had just witnessed his smart galloper Tutta La Classe charge past her rivals for victory in the Rating 65 NZB Insurance Pearl Series Race, her second win from three recent starts in filly and mare races carrying the lucrative bonus payment. Six weeks earlier the Per Incanto four-year-old had won a similar midweek race at Te Rapa, while her winning b...

Stakes double for Smithies

The Smithies brothers Joe and Max experienced a weekend most breeding farms can only dream about at Rotorua races recently. Their family owned Monovale Holdings bred the Gr.3 Sweynesse Stakes (1215m) winner Dawn Patrol (Dawn Approach[IRE]- Dazzling) and the Listed Staphanos Classic (1950m) winner Sweet Treat (Ekraar[USA]- Flinders [USA]), and for good measure they own a half-share of the latter winner. Sweet Treat also provided Joshua Kam, his first black type winner at only his second winning r...

Ohio Showgirl an early star for Pitmans’ new Pearl fillies

Michael and Matthew Pitman are expecting another bold performance at Riccarton on Saturday from Ohio Showgirl, whose debut victory on October 5 delivered early success for a new wave of Pearl Syndicates. Centred around the NZB Insurance Pearl Series, the syndicates were developed in partnership with long-time Pitman stable client and friend Jim Bruford, who is also a member of the NZB Insurance team. The concept dates back to the 2014 Karaka yearling sales. The initial Pearl Fillies Syndicate ...

Polly Grey - the gift that keeps giving

Connotations around the expression ‘gift horse’ are many, but for Matamata thoroughbred enthusiast Kylie Fawcett it has a special and defined meaning. Fawcett is enjoying a highlight of her career as the trainer and part-owner of talented racemare Polly Grey, who completed a hat-trick on her home course last weekend with victory in the Listed Team Wealleans Matamata Cup. Polly Grey, now the winner of six of her 13 starts and more than $100,000 in stakes, was bred by the late Barbara Perry, ...

Valachi doffs cap to Baggy Green

Broodmare prospects by champion stallion Galileo (Ire) are prized commodities and a private purchase by Valachi Downs a few years ago has proved to be a blue chip investment for Kevin Hickman’s nursery. He bought Baggy Green from Curraghmore’s Gordon Cunningham and subsequent events now make that deal one of the smartest pieces of business Valachi has completed. Soon after changing hands, the mare’s half-sister Youngstar (High Chaparral {Ire}) won the G1 Queensland Oaks off the back of vic...

First winner for Vespa

Wellfield Lodge stallion Vespa picked up his first win as a sire when Piaggio took out the NZB Insurance Pearl Series Race (1000m) at Tauherenikau on Thursday. It was a special day for trainers Johno Benner and Hollie Wynyard who trained Vespa to seven victories, which included Group One glory in the Diamond Stakes (1200m). Benner was delighted to record Vespa’s first win as a sire and said he was struck by the similarities between the pair when he inspected him at Karaka earlier this year an...

Dunc’s mistake a Group Three winner

Recent Gr.3 Red Badge Spring Sprint (1400m) winner True Enough (Nom du Jeu – Valada’s Dream) is what you would call a fortunate mistake. Co-owner and breeder Mick Preston had Valda’s Dream (Sakura Seeking – Kerry’s Dream) booked to visit Fairdale Stud’s Full Fledged in 2012, but an oversight saw her covered by Nom du Jeu instead who she had missed to previously. “She was supposed to go to Fully Fledged but Duncan Fell made a blue and put her to Nom du Jeu,” Preston said. “To be...

Massive offer rejected for star 3YO

Dick Karreman has certainly confirmed his desire to enjoy racing top-class horses as he chases further Group One success. The highly successful Queensland businessman and owner of The Oaks Stud has officially turned down a $2.5 million offer for the exciting three-year-old gelding Catalyst, who is hot favourite to win next month’s Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton after annihilating his opposition in Saturday’s Gr.2 Sacred Falls Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400...

Spare a thought for Thomo

In the aftermath of lightly-tried stayer Surprise Baby’s victory in the Gr.3 Bart Cummings (2500m) at Flemington on Saturday, a ballot-free exemption race for the Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m), it was hard not to spare a thought for Rich Hill Stud principal John Thompson. The popular stud master stands Surprise Baby’s sire Shocking at the Walton-based stud and bred the Paul Preusker-trained galloper from Kaapstad mare, Bula Baby. Had the cards Thompson was dealt with Surprise Baby fallen diffe...

Kolding heads NZ-bred Trifecta in G1 Epsom

On a red letter day for trainer Chris Waller, Kolding (NZ) (Ocean Park) has delivered on the big stage in the Epsom Handicap, narrowly beating New Zealand cult horse Te Akau Shark (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle).In the process, he gave his Waikato Stud sire, Ocean Park, a richly deserved first Group One.Waller-trained horses won all four Group One races in Australia on Saturday with Kolding’s win over the famous Randwick mile of special significance for trainer and jockey Glen Boss.Kolding and Te Akau S...

Melody Belle makes history in Livamol

Megastar Melody Belle earned two slices of New Zealand racing history on Saturday with another commanding performance in the Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m) at Hastings. She became the first horse to complete Hawke’s Bay’s weight-for-age Triple Crown during the Bostock New Zealand Spring Carnival – the Tarzino Trophy (1400m), Windsor Park Plate (1600m) and Livamol Classic. Eight horses had previously won two of the three. It was also the ninth Group One win of Melody Belle’s glittering care...

Kiwi breeder to the fore in Hong Kong

Greg Tomlinson's Nearco Stud bred the winners of both feature races at Sha Tin on Tuesday night.Beauty Generation made a winning return taking out the Gr.3 Celebration Cup Handicap (1400m). The brilliant bay brushed off the burden of 60kg, as well as large weight concessions to all his rivals, and surged to victory in a track record 1m 20.05s. “He’s just an amazing horse. To do what he does defies logic to a certain degree,” jockey Zac Purton said. “He’s one out of the box, he’s gon...

BLOG POST: Sam Bergerson

Sunline Trust International Management Scholarship recipient Sam Bergerson gives us an update on his travels. It has been a busy last couple of months to end the scholarship. Yearling preparation at WinStar has been full noise leading in to the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. A new straight-shot pool has just been finished for the yearlings so we have been very busy breaking that in with the majority of the horses swimming. I’ve also spent a few mornings over at the Training and Rest & Reha...

Sweynesse youngsters impress at Avondale trials

It might be early days, but juveniles by dual Group Three winning stallion Sweynesse have made a positive impression. The Group One-placed son of Lohnro was represented by two impressive trials winners at Avondale on Tuesday, while his only race-day performer to date, Swey My Way, ran an encouraging fourth in a strong two-year-old event at Pukekohe won by Not An Option. Te Awamutu trainer Clint Isdale produced a filly out of Darci Brahma mare Jungle Pago to win by five lengths over 600m. “I...

VIDEO: Bred To Win at Haunui Farm

Caroline Searcy's Bred to Win brings you the son of Lope De Vega, Belardo and his first foals at New Zealand's Haunui Farm. Plus sire of sires and broodmare sire of champions, Iffraaj....