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TBS pays out more than $35,000 this week

Thoroughbred Bonus Scheme prizemoney won by ten horses since last Wednesday totals a very healthy $35,475, with owners and trainers clearly targeting races carrying TBS bonuses. This was especially evident yesterday when a Saturday-quality field lined up in the Rating 83 race over 1670m at the Counties RC meeting held at Paeroa. The race carried a $15,000 A Bonus, the four most heavily backed runners were TBS-qualified, and they filled the first four placings. The race was won by the highly pr...

The John Messara interview

The first instalment of John Messara's 50-minute interview by Susan Archer at the recent NZTBA Auckland Awards dinner is now online: The NZTBA Auckland interview with John Messara, Part 1 Topics in this part of the interview include: Industry reform and taking Redoute's Choice to the world Danehill overload and big stallion books Broodmares & super-dominant stallions Selecting & standing stallions - ...

Mary Lynne Ryan: farewell & thank you

A sombre week in New Zealand racing was further darkened by news of the death at the weekend of one of the industry's most valuable contributors, Mary Lynne Ryan. Tony & Mary Lynne Ryan, at Jeanette Broome's 70th birthday party, April 2006 Her funeral today at St Peter's Catholic Church, Cambridge, was led by the Most Reverend Bishop Denis Browne and attended by a large number of New Zealand racing people, including NZTBA chief executive Michael Martin and treasurer Jo...

Cambridge celebrates Melbourne Cup-winning heritage

Thirteen Melbourne Cup winners bred in the Cambridge area were honoured yesterday when the 2006 Emirates Melbourne Cup travelled to the Waikato for an unprecedented celebration of New Zealand's success in Australia's greatest sporting event. The impressive line-up of Melbourne Cup-winning owners, breeders, trainers, jockeys and family members at Cambridge Stud yesterday. At Cambridge Stud Sir Patrick & Justine, Lady Hogan hosted owners, breeders, studmasters, jocke...

NZTBA website gets results for members leasing horses

The Horses for Sale & Lease section of the NZTBA website has been extremely active lately and has received very positive feedback from members who have successfully placed racing prospects or broodmares. Waikato member Bob Pollock has just leased a two-year-old filly we listed for him at the end of August. "The NZTBA service worked really well for me and generated contacts who were definitely interested, not tyre-kickers. I had one response from Melbourne, and one from a local owner who ha...

Waikato Stud heads owner-breeder success at Hastings

Waikato Stud continued its tremendous run of success in Group One company when Legs (Pins-River Century by Centaine) and Kerry O'Reilly (O'Reilly-Pegarah by Grosvenor) filled the first two placings in the $1 million HBRI Kelt Capital-sponsored Ormond Memorial S. 2040m G1, held in near-perfect Hawke's Bay spring weather on Saturday. Waikato Stud 2001 Ltd bred and races Legs, and stands both Pins and O'Reilly. Garry Chittick has won the New Zealand Breeder of the Year title for the past two year...

Kelt Capital attracts best possible field

New Zealand's richest race, the $1 million Kelt Capital-sponsored Ormond Memorial 2040m G1 at Hastings tomorrow has attracted the best possible field, missing only Darci Brahma, who has now embarked on an Australian campaign. It's also a field which displays the diversity of New Zealand's breeding industry. Seven of the 15 starters are raced by their breeders, either by choice or necessity: Kristov, Kerry O'Reilly, Pentane, Sculptor, Lilakyn, Seachange and Legs. Five runners (Balmuse, Mikki ...

NZTBA Auckland honours McLaren & Paykel

The NZTBA Auckland branch honoured Don McLaren and David Paykel with major awards at its highly enjoyable 2006 Awards Dinner, sponsored by NZ Bloodstock Insurance, and attended by 170 members & guests at the Ellerslie Event Centre last evening. Don McLaren received the award for Outstanding Contribution to the Thoroughbred Industry, as an owner, breeder, vendor, administrator, sponsor and founder of animal pharmaceuticals company, Bomac Laboratories. David Paykel was named Auckland Breede...

Celebrating Sunline, New Zealand's champion

The "Diva Fever" which swept through Australian racing last year, after Makybe Diva's unprecedented third Melbourne Cup win, may have swept Sunline from the pedestal of Australia's champion, but she remains New Zealand's darling. It is perhaps only the long view, 20 or 30 or 50 years from now, that can fairly determine the relative merits of these two extraordinary horses. Time has certainly confirmed Bonecrusher's status, who can now be seen clearly as New Zealand's greatest champion of the 1...

Postponed leads the charge of NZ sophomore sires

New Zealand's second season sires not only stepped up to the mark last Saturday, they also produced the kind of results that help to fill books at this critical stage of the season. Postoned, sire of three stakeswinners from his first crop: NATURO, DORABELLA & POST THYME. Stoney Bridge's Postponed was the weekend's undoubted star among sires with two crops of racing age, producing three-year-old stakeswinners at Hastings and Riccarton P...

Scaredee Cat on The Ford Report, 30 Sep-6 Oct

Waikato Stud's new sire Scaredee Cat features on the upcoming edition of The Ford Report. Programme content for this edition is: * New Stallion: DUBAWI @ Darley Australia, NSW * Proven Stallion: HUSSONET @ Arrowfield Stud * Year Two Stallion: SCAREDEE CAT @ Waikato Stud * Pedigree Subject: TEOFILO FIRST PLAY - Saturday, September 30 @ 7.30am (Digital) SECOND PLAY - Sunday, October 01 @ 11.00am (UHF & Digital) THIRD PLAY - Tuesday, October 03 @ 11.30am (Digital) FOURTH PLAY - Friday,...

Wahid named Taranaki Horse of the Year

Wahid, bred by Trelawney Stud Ltd, was named 2006 Taranaki Horse of the Year at the region's Breeding and Racing Awards, attended by around 120 people last evening in Hawera. WAHID winning the Levin Classic G1 last November. PHOTO: Courtesy NZ Thoroughbred Marketing The awards dinner, organised by the NZTBA Taranaki-Wanganui branch and the Taranaki District Turf Club, was sponsored by Highview Stud, whose managing director, Brent Gillovic, now owns Wahid's dam, Rory'...

The specialness of Seachange

It's two days after Seachange's brilliant third Group One win, in Saturday's Stoney Bridge-sponsored Horlicks Challenge Stakes, and Rick Williams is still buzzing with the "tremendous reception" the crowd at Hastings gave her, and runner-up Darci Brahma, after the race. He's also amazed by the mare's quick recovery. "She's very tough and has just bounced through it. Three weeks between races is probably too long for her. You give her an extraordinary amount of work and she wants more." ...

Third Group One for Seachange

In the wake of heated controversy about the 2006 Mercedes Champion Three-Year-Old award, it was some relief that yesterday's big race at Hastings was decided in the best possible way, by two wonderful horses who offered neither excuse nor quarter to each other. The $150,000 Horlicks Challenge S. 1600m G1, sponsored by Stoney Bridge, Karaka, matched all expectations, with last season's 1000 and 2000 Guineas winners, Seachange (Cape Cross) and Darci Brahma (Danehill), lining up in the straight ...

Young sires stepping up to the mark

First crop sires are the young pretenders of horse-breeding. They naturally attract attention each spring as industry players wait to see whether investment, mating and sale-ring decisions made up to three years ago will be worthwhile. The 17-strong "Class of 2003" has already opened its account with trial winners for Black Tuxedo, No Excuse Needed & Van Nistelrooy; while Pyrus (True Warrior & I'ma Turner) and Strategic Image (Amber Rose) are both represented in tomorrow's juvenile race ...

NZTBA's online catalogue proves very popular

Spring 2006 is proving to be the busiest period ever for the NZTBA's online marketplace, Horses for Sale or Lease. There are probably several reasons for that: the closure of the Friday Flash, with its popular classified section; the Council's decision to accept sale listings, as well as horses for lease; increased entry-level investment in the industry, following this year's long-awaited taxation changes; and the NZTBA site's higher profile, since its re-launch in April. NZTBA chief executi...

NZ-breds attack Australian black type

Strong victories at the weekend by Lad Of The Manor and Estelle Collection took this season's tally of New Zealand-bred Group & Listed wins in Australia to eight. This is one more than our tally at the same stage of 2005-06. A total of 55 black type races have been run in Australia to 16 September. (The NZTBA maintains a complete list of the season's NZ-bred stakeswinners in Australia here.) David Thomas' and Lorraine Smith's home-bred star LAD OF THE MANOR, winning his ...

An evening with John Messara

John Messara, chairman of Australia's Arrowfield Stud The NZTBA Auckland branch is holding their Annual Awards evening, kindly sponsored by New Zealand Bloodstock Insurance, at the Ellerslie Function Centre on Sunday 1 October. Special guest this year is Arrowfield Stud chairman and Australian bloodstock visionary John Messara. John brought international supersire Danehill to Australia in 1990 and now manages the career of his champion sire son Redoute's Choice. He led ...

Xcellent wins second Horse of the Year title

The 16th New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Awards, sponsored for the sixth time by Mercedes, attracted around 450 guests to the Ellerslie Convention Centre, Auckland on Friday evening. 2006 Mercedes Horse of the Year XCELLENT (Pentire-Excelo), bred in Hawke's Bay by the Graeme Gimblett Family Trust PHOTO: NZ Thoroughbred Marketing It was an enjoyable, if not spectacular night, culminating in the announcement of Xcellent as Horse of the Year for the second consecutive time....

Seachange surges home at Hastings

Seachange is a wonderfully appropriate name for the first Group One winner of a new SEACHANGE wins the 2006 HBRI Hawke's Bay Challenge S. G1, sponsored by Mudgway PartsWorld on 2 September PHOTO: NZ Thoroughbred Marketing era in New Zealand racing, after the legislative reforms earlier this year, and the tide of fresh energy and professionalism surging through the industry. Dick Karreman's homebred four-year-old mare simply ran away from l...

Young sires feature on Ford Report, 9-15 September

The next edition of The Ford Report features first season sire Keeninsky along with Johar and One Cool Cat, serving their second books at Highview and Cambridge Studs respectively. Programme content for this edition... * New Stallion: KEENINSKY @ The Oaks Stud * Year Two Stallion: JOHAR @ Highview Stud * Year Two Stallion: ONE COOL CAT @ Cambridge Stud * Pedigree Subject: COURT COMMAND FIRST PLAY - Saturday, September 09 @ 7.30am (Digital) SECOND PLAY - Sunday, September 10 @ 11.00am (U...

First TBS trifecta of 2006-07 at Ashburton

The opening weeks of the new season have seen Thoroughbred Bonus Scheme prizemoney of $19,725 won at six meetings from Ruakaka to Ashburton. Results include the season's first TBS trifecta at Ashburton on Sunday, when Santa Rosa De Lima led home Makamak and Bolivar Belle. They claimed 100% of the $7500 B bonus, which more than doubled the base stake for this race. Last season's champion two-year-old & TBS star JOKERS WILD, winner...

Eleventh Dewar Trophy for Zabeel

Zabeel's record-setting eleventh consecutive Dewar Stallion Trophy is a welcome opportunity to reassess his remarkable stud career, as he enters his 16th season at Cambridge Stud. Champion sire ZABEEL (above) and two of his stars in 2005-06, VENGEANCE OF RAIN (top right) and BAZELLE (below right). PHOTOS: Courtesy of Cambridge Stud & NZ Thoroughbred Marketing The Dewar Trophy is awarded to each year's leading New Zealand-based sire by com...

Six outstanding finalists for 2006 Breeder of the Year title

The 2005-06 season produced another rich harvest of international success for New Zealand thoroughbred breeders whose achievements are well-represented by the six 2006 finalists for the NZTBA's highest honour, the Mercedes New Zealand Breeder of the Year award. Two are previous winners, while four are first time-finalists, from Canterbury, Hawke's Bay, Central Districts and Waikato. Collectively they have bred 23 winners of 34 Group & Listed races in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Sing...

NZTBA Auckland & Waikato put stallions on parade

Keen to cast your eye over some of the country's finest thoroughbred horse-flesh? Then sixty-nine stallions parading at 22 lovely Auckland and Waikato stud farms during the next two weekends should be enough to keep you happy! Organised by the Waikato and Auckland branches of the NZTBA, the self-drive tours offer broodmare owners an outstanding opportunity to check out new, up-and-coming and proven sires before finalising their 2006 bookings. Not to mention a welcome chance to socialise before t...