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Letter from Scholarship Student

I have completed my second placement at Cheveley Park and I'm currently in my second week at Taylormade Farm, Kentucky. Cheveley Park is situated in Newmarket, England and is the largest british owned Stud Farm. I arrived at Cheveley Park in the middle of May just as the breeding season was beginning to slow down which allowed me to spend more time with the stud manager. I was able to shadow the manager during daily vet work, foal conformation evaluations and general everyday duties. This gave...

Lord Monty an unexpected bonus for breeder

Warren Robinson never expected Montine Rose would be in his possession as a broodmare when she arrived at his farm. The time she was there, however, would lead to him earning credit as the breeder of Montine Rose's son Lord Monty, an astonishing 10-1/2 length winner of the Winter Cup (Gr 3-1600m) at Riccarton last Saturday. Robinson, then based in Horowhenua, in the early 1990s owned the multiple black type-winning mare Waihora's Lass. He leased a racing share to two others, one of whom was th...

Nightlign & Jokers Wild head 2006-07 NZ Free Handicaps

The 2006-07 New Zealand Free Handicaps for two-year-olds and three-year-olds are now online here. The Free Handicaps are compiled by chief handicapper Dean Nowell for the NZTBA. Nightlign heads the two-year-old Free Handicap with 58 kg, followed by Alamosa on 57 kg, El Cuento on 56 kg and Crossyourheart on 55.5 kg. Jokers Wild (60 kg, in the 1200-1600m category) is the top-weighted three-year-old, ahead of Redoute's Dancer (59.5 kg) and Princess Coup (58 kg) in the 1601 metres-plus category....

ARB - The Future of Staying Races in Australia. What are the Issues?

he Australian Racing Board has published a paper addressing the future of staying races across the Tasman. Here's the paper in pdf format: The Future of Staying Races in Australia - ARB...

2007 International Management Scholarship recipient on final leg

The fifth season of the NZTBA International Management Scholarship is nearing completion as the 2007 recipient, Mark Lindsay, heads to Taylor Made Sales Agency in the USA for the third and final placement of his six-month scholarship. "It has just been amazing so far," says Mark. "I've worked at Coolmore in Ireland with some of the best mares and stallions in the world and the experience was awesome." I'm just finishing my last few days at Cheveley Park in Newmarket England and while it's be...

New Zealand Bloodhorse magazine now on line

The Internet was a long way in the future when the magazine New Zealand Bloodhorse was launched 30 years ago. Now, New Zealand's oldest surviving thoroughbred publication, which has itself progressed steadily from a relatively skimpy magazine with black and white pictures to a glossy, full-colour production of more than 100 perfect-bound pages, has "embraced the Net" and is available on line. Managing director Saskia Struyck concedes that making the latest, and previous recent issues, of New...

Kenadaad rewards his breeder

Opunake Cup winner Kenadaad is more than repaying Ken Mold's decision to save his dam Manorvails from an early death. Mold, whose main job is milking cows near Te Aroha in north Waikato, bought Manorvails, by Justice Prevails, from friends Vaughan Handley and Jim Shallue as a five-year-old mare after she was set to be culled, and a little more than a year later she foaled the dual listed stakes winner. "They said they were not going to keep the mare and she was going to be put down," Mold s...

The Pollard's family mares still working just fine!

At various times Liz Pollard of Rosehill Farm in Te Awamutu has been advised to forget about the Rose female thoroughbred line which has served her family so well. Each time she has ignored them, and on Sunday she got a great vindication for doing so when Lim's Prestige won the Singapore Derby (2000m Sing GR 1) at Kranji. Lim's Prestige, out of Stirling Jo, comes from the Wee Rose line which the Pollard family bought into in the 1920s. Her father Joe continued on with the family, selling ...

Cold Type warms up in Queensland

If it wasn't for watching a maiden race at Te Rapa this year Matamata breeder Peter Setchell wouldn't still have the dam of Queensland Oaks winner Eskimo Queen. Cold Type was catalogued to be sold at the broodmare sale this year but was withdrawn after Setchell watched the Shinko King filly he bred and sold as a weanling in 2004 for $2500 to Belane Stables of Waiuku (she was sold at the Festival Sale a year later for $10,000) racing at Te Rapa on March 13. "I had been looking to sell a lot o...

Tom Burn accepts Life Membership at AGM

Every time Tom Burn watches a young horse handler make an impact in New Zealand after winning a scholarship to the English and Irish National Studs he feels immensely proud. Latest NZTBA Life Member, Tom Burn Burn was this week made a life member of the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, a fitting reward after nearly 30 years of service to the organisation. He achieved a great deal for the NZTBA, both as president of the Wellington branch and as a mem...

His Royal Highness comes up trumps again

Horowhenua breeder Peter McKenzie bought his mare Betelgeuse because he thought she would go well with the sire Tom's Shu. But as so often happens, it was another sire, His Royal Highness, to whom she produced her best progeny. Betelgeuse's best son Sculptor added to his own very good record with victory in Saturday's Ipswich Cup (Listed-2150m), less than a week after a botched start cost him his chance in the Brisbane Cup (Gr 2-2400m). The four-year-old's win followed a group two victory in th...

Empire Rose's daughter leaves Derby winner

Rosie's Star may have just become a group one-producing mare, but Tim Bodle still thinks he might sell her. New Zealand breeding's 7th Derby winner for the season EMPIRES CHOICE takes out the Queensland Derby G1. PHOTO : Graham Potter/NZTM The daughter of Melbourne Cup-winning mare Empire Rose became a group one producer when Empires Choice outstayed his opponents in the Queensland Derby (Gr 1-2400m), establishing himself as a possible contender to emulate his grandda...

'New Kid In Town' makes his mark in Melbourne

Westbury Stud only owned Yuleda for two years, but it was long enough to breed a black type winner from her. Yuleda's son New Kid In Town became the latest stakeswinner bred by the Karaka-based stud of multimillionaire Eric Watson when he won the $A200,000 Andrew Ramsden Stakes (3200m) at Sandown in Melbourne on Saturday. He also became another stakeswinner for Westbury's most reliable stallion Faltaat, who like Volksraad emerged as a quality sire after starting at a modest service fee. West...

'Anna's Choice' grows beyond expectations

Jen Campin's first broodmare Anna's Choice was an unwanted twin when she began life. Now she's a producer of multiple black type performers. Best-known as the dam of New Zealand Derby winning international performer Hades, Anna's Choice added further prestige to her record when Everbright took out the Queen Mother Memorial Cup (HK Gr 3-2400m) at Sha Tin in Hong Kong on Saturday. "I was at a party when the race was run and I didn't see him win," Campin says. "But a friend called me to tell me abo...

NZ Gr1 winners summary 2006-07

The season of 2006-07 had 20 individual winners of 24 Group One races. Multiple winners were Sir Slick (3), Seachange (2) and Darci Brahma (2). Cape Cross leads the list of most successful sires – not only leaving Seachange, but also Mikki Street and Gaze. Pins (Legs, Porotene Gem) and Volksraad (Sir Slick, Willy Smith) were the other sires to leave more than a single Gr1 winner this season. And talking of sires – stallions of all siring abilities left Gr1 winners this season. At the to...

Group 2 win a fine result for the breeder of Coalesce

Evelyn Hipwood despaired about her mare Essylt ever producing another live racing foal after losing three full siblings to Australian group one winner Bezeal Bay within a year. But she was determined to get that full relation, and with the assistance of several Waikato horsemen Essylt was able to produce Coalesce, whose win in Saturday's group two Hollindale Stakes (1800m) showed just how valuable that effort was. Hipwood, a jeweller, and her bookmaker husband Ray retired to New Zealand in the...

Bomac Lecture Series offers valuable information on laminitis

The combined expertise of veterinarian Professor Chris Pollitt and farrier Richard Hansen will shed valuable light on the serious topic of laminitis in horses when they head this month's 2007 Bomac Lecture series on behalf of the New Zealand Equine Research Foundation. The impact of laminitis, an inflammatory condition of the hoof, was brought home graphically by the dire predicament of last year's Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro. The hugely talented colt made an initially encouraging recovery ...

Able One takes Hong Kong Champions Mile 01 May 2007

If Cambridge Stud's latest Hong Kong group one producer Gardenia was human she'd probably have had a hip replacement. Gardenia joined the premier level of the elite Waikato farm's broodmare band when her son Able One, bred by Sir Patrick and Justine Hogan, defied a top field of Hong Kong milers – along with top Irish performer Lingari and the quality Aussie three-year-old Casino Prince – to win the Champions Mile (HK1-1600m) at Sha Tin on Sunday. Able One's all-the-way victory at huge od...

Allan Schaare's breed continues

Matamata horseman Terry McDermott couldn't have got himself a better mare to continue his uncle Allan Schaare's breeding heritage when he bought Dainty Eyes. The Alvaro mare, bought for $3200 in 2001, became a black type producer for McDermott and his breeding partner John Newton of Rotorua when Valley Chief won Saturday Hawke's Bay Cup (Gr 2-2200m). McDermott, 70, trained horses for many years, some for Schaare. When Schaare died in 2000 aged 93, McDermott was given the task of dispersing th...

Viking Ruler nomination up for auction

A service to Cambridge Stud stallion Viking Ruler was kindly donated to St Peters School in Cambridge by Sir Patrick and Justine, Lady Hogan. The school is holding a fundraising dinner On Saturday 28th April to raise funds for students to travel to Italy and France on a rugby tour. If you would like to lodge a proxy bid for this service then please download the Viking Ruler pdf and place your bid before 5pm Thursday 26th April at 5pm. - ...

Charlie Roberts and family breed Sydney Cup winner

Mary Kenny would love Gesine to breed a full brother or sister to Saturday's Sydney Cup winner Gallic. Trouble is, Zabeel doesn't seem to want to come to the party. Charlie Roberts Kenny, her husband Paul and Kenny's father Charlie Roberts were overjoyed on Saturday when Gallic, a seven-year-old son of Zabeel and their mare Gesine, added the Sydney Cup (Gr 1-3200m) to the Adelaide Cup (Gr 2-3200m) he had already won this season. Gesine has been a very reliable broodmare ...

Further Group 1 success for the "Gabardine" family

When you've got 15 mares from the same family on your farm, you've clearly got a strong belief in its ability to produce. But for Richard Moore of Karaka, south of Auckland, the family which traces back to his 1950s taproot mare Gabardine has given him no end of encouragement about its potency for many, many years. That family was in the limelight again at Te Aroha last weekend when Captivate won the country's most prestigious race for fillies and mares, the NZ Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes (...

Wanted: NZTBA members views on Code of Practice

New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) is currently seeking industry comment and feedback to develop a Code of Practice for Bloodstock Sales in New Zealand. NZTR has distributed a copy of the Australian Racing Board's draft Code of Practice as a possible blue-print in the development of what is hoped will become an accepted code in both Australia and New Zealand. The Australian Code of Practice sets out principles that apply to sales of bloodstock and sales of stallion shares and nominations, ...

Wanted: NZTBA members' views on AI

New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) has asked the NZTBA for their response regarding the level of support among our members to raise the A.I. issue with the International Stud Book authorities and open up the debate for industry discussion. The Council has decided to canvas members to assess the level of interest and opinion on Artificial Insemination. The Council believes it is important to discuss the issues surrounding A.I. and consider whether the time has come to at least develop an ...

Auckland and Waikato Branch seminars a success

Attentive audiences attended the Auckland Branch's seminars on Fertiliser, Parasite Control and Pasture Management. The two hour presentations provided breeders with practical information on each topic and were well received. Arthur Payze from Fertco, talked about utilising good pasture maintenance in order for fertilisers to do their job efficiently. His presentation placed emphasis on the benefits of soil testing, weed and pest control. He presented comparisons of different re-grassing...