(Credit: Race Images)
Awarded New Zealand Breeders of the Year a little more than a week ago, Cambridge Stud has not taken its foot off the accelerator since.
Sir Brendan Lindsay was presented the award as a result of a successful year of breeding multiple Group winners, more than 100 individual winners and a year which also saw the stud top the 2026 NZB Centenary Yearling Sale as well as head the same sales’ turnover figures.
Spurred by those titles the stud has followed through, the last stakes race of the season, the Ryder Stakes (Listed, 1200m), taken out by Back Of The Bus, a daughter of resident stallion Hello Youmzain (Kodiac). Not to be outdone, value resident sire Embellish (Savabeel) chimed in by siring Saturday’s Winter Cup (Gr 3, 1600m) victress Quintabelle in a first rate beginning of the new season.
At Flemington, Almanzor (Wootton Bassett) joined the party when Touchdown landed the 2026 Melbourne Cup Carnival On Sale Handicap (1620m) while at Rosehill, the first of the day went the way of Attractiveness, another daughter of Hello Youmzain, in the Midway Handicap (1400m). Results such as these are somewhat timely leading into the breeding season which gets underway in less than a month.
Front of the queue
Showing real grit in the postponed Ryder Stakes at Otaki late last week, Back Of The Bus prevailed by just a head yet she fully deserved the win when all things are considered. The club was forced to delay the meeting due to a strong weather system the previous Saturday but the track still rated a Heavy 10 resulting in a winning time of 1:16.27.
Back Of The Bus was not first away yet recovered to find the front briefly before sitting just back and outside the leader. At the top of the straight Lisa Allpress immediately sent her into the lead and maintained the lead all the way to the line, fighting off two persistent and solid challenges before lifting just shy of the post. This was a courageous effort from the filly who was making her fifth start.
A June 20th winner at Ellerslie in the Winter Series 2YO Final (1200m), Back Of The Bus is no mudder having scored the Ellerlie win in a good time of 1:11.83, her last 600m in 35.08. Her first black-type occurred courtesy of a third placing in last month’s Castletown Stakes (Listed, 1200m), also at Otaki. Representing Hello Youmzain’s second crop, she becomes his sixth southern hemisphere stakes winner and the second to bag the Ryder Stakes, Platinum Diamond the winner of the 2025 edition.
The stallion is proving to be a prolific sire of winners. His oldest in the northern hemisphere are four-year-olds and with two crops in the south Hello Youmzain has sired 137 individual winners. He has several Group winners in Europe and the best in the south would appear to be Drops Of God, an impressive winner of the Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) last April. Her return is much anticipated.
Back Of The Bus is another example of the growing number of successful purchases from an on-line sale, she from the Wentwood Grange draft of NZB’s 2025 National On-Line Yearling Sale and found by her trainer Tony Pike who post race commented: “She is a really tough and brave filly.”
Pike was attracted by her pedigree: “She is out of a family I know reasonably well. She is out of a half-sister to Witz End. Now she has got a good enough pedigree to carry forward to stud when that time comes,” said Pike who trained Witz End (Savabeel) to win four times and place in Group company. Witz End has since transferred to Terri Rae at Riccarton, adding three more wins including the Listed Hazlett Stakes (1200m) at Wingatui last February, bolstering the black type close up in the family.
No let up
For Cambridge Stud the new season began as it ended with Embellish striking first blood in the race for stakes wins, namely Quintabelle’s strong win in the Winter Cup.
The just-turned six-year-old jumped away well but soon drifted to be worse than midfield yet rider Toni Davies was able to improve around the big bend and although widest, was well placed before starting the run home. A bump when making her run put her off stride but once balanced she chased hard to be level with the leaders inside the 200m. Travelling too well she strode clear for a decisive two lengths win, her career sixth and maiden stakes win. “Third up and with a huge drop in weight we thought she was going to be a key player,” said trainer Anna Furlong.
Quintabelle never raced at two, won twice at three and recorded two Listed placings in the latter half of her three-year-old season. At four she added back-to-back wins at Wingatui and Riccarton where she also finished third in the South Island Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (Gr 3, 1600m) while at five she collected a sole win last February at Riccarton. She has not been overraced. Saturday’s win was her 26th start and she has banked $235,000, a healthy return on the $25,000 outlayed by Invercargill trainer and part-owner Robert Dennis from Book 2 of NZB’s 2022 National Yearling Sale.
Her family has been active recently as her half-brother Dionysus (Ocean Park) won the Waikato Cup (Gr 3, 2400m) in December 2023, completing his career of six wins which also included the Queen Elizabeth Cup (Gr 3, 2400m). Quintabelle and Dionysus are the only two winners from La Quinta (Tavistock), an unraced half-sister to the dam of dual Group 1 winner Quintessa (Shamus Award), victress in the 2025-26 Proisir Plate (Gr 1, 1400m). Their dam, La Quinta Gold (Encosta De Lago), ranks as a sister to Australian Group 3 winners Besame Mucho and Gold Lottey.
Embellish is now the sire of seven individual stakes winners and Quintabelle represents his initial crop from which four of the seven have emerged. Quintabelle won’t be the last although breeders’ interest is waning as his mare numbers have dropped. His value is undeniable.
What about me?
Cambridge Stud’s Almanzor got the new season off to a flying start and has a more than promising sort in Touchdown who is building a top resume of five wins and three placings in only nine starts, the latest at Flemington on Saturday at Benchmark 84 level.
The just-turned five-year-old has had an interesting life. He was foaled in New Zealand but offered for sale as a yearling at the 2023 Wm Inglis Easter Yearling Sale. He failed to reach his reserve and was returned to New Zealand where he landed a trial win at Taupo in November, 2024 before being sold to Australian interests.
Transferred from the stable of Glen Old in Matamata to the Hayes stable in Victoria, Touchdown placed on debut in May last year, breaking his maiden at Sale the following September at four. Shortly after he worked through the grades completing a hattrick of Caulfield (Heath) wins. Saturday’s win was his best yet, drawing clear from the 150m to win convincingly, taking his earnings to $223,000.
He is the sixth foal and fifth winner from Shamardal Luck (Shamardal) making him a half-brother to Rough Habit Plate (Gr 3, 2000m) winner Shocking Luck (Shocking), who began his career in New Zealand and was successful in Hong Kong as Zilong. Their grandam, Perth winner and Group 2 placed Colour Me Lucky (Is It True) ranks as a half-sister to the Australian Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) winner Starstruck (Haulpak). She was a grand campaigner, scoring 13 wins. The Hayes boys bought Touchdown’s yearling half-brother by Shocking (Street Cry) at NZB’s 2026 Centenary Yearling Sale last January.
Hello again
In full circle, Hello Youmzain similarly got the stallion’s Australian season away when Attractiveness emerged from a sticky position to land her third win in eight starts. The four-year-old mare is working through the grades nicely, having won at Gosford last December and rather impressively at Newcastle this past June.
At Rosehill, in the Benchmark 72 over 1400m, she sat midfield but was trapped on the fence rounding into the straight, then barged her way out of a tight spot soon after, balanced up and finished strongly for the win, her rider Chad Schofield more than likely copping a close look from the stewards.
A $120,000 purchase from Blandford Lodge’s 2024 NZB Yearling Sale (Book 1), Attractiveness is the second winner from two to race from the High Chaparral (Sadler’s Wells) mare Hot In High Heels, a dual winner whose dam Fairygem (Viscount) was a Listed winner at Randwick. Fairygem is a half-sister to Captain Cook Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Penny Gem (Pentire) who also placed at Group 1 level on four occasions.
Te Akau ace
There was a double connection to New Zealand in the Horse’s Birthday Handicap (1410m) at Flemington where Rich Hill Stud sired and Te Akau Racing’s Stage ‘N’ Screen (Ace High) clung on very gamely to bag her fourth win at start 17. The mare’s chances did not look good turning for home but when the leader drifted away from the fence she was able to drive through but did not reach the lead until the 150m. To her credit, she fought really hard to deny her challengers.
A trial winner at Te Awamutu at two, Stage ‘n’ Screen was sent to Te Akau’s Cranbourne stable and broke her maiden at Seymour in October 2024. The stable must think something of her as she was given her chance in the Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) before wins at Pakenham and Sandown (at four) last December. Purchased by David Ellis for $200,000 at the 2023 NZB Ready to Run Sale, Stage ‘N’ Screen has recouped her purchase price plus $10,000.
She is a half-sister to Caulfield winner and Group 1 placed Japanese Emperor (Satono Aladdin) as well as Ellerslie winner Imperial Empress (Satono Aladdin). Another half-sister, Aladdin’s Girl (Satono Aladdin), a $900,000 Karaka yearling purchase, has been placed. Their dam and the dam of New Zealand Filly of the Year Amarelinha (Savabeel) are three-quarter sisters.
