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LA announces fees for newcomer and stud stalwart

Little Avondale Stud created a slice of New Zealand racing history when they successfully brokered a deal to stand Little Brose at their Wairarapa farm.Principals Sam and Catriona Wiliams pulled off a breeding coup with the high-class colt, the first ever Australian Group One-winning two-year-old over 1200m to debut at stud in this country.He will stand his first season in 2025 at $15,000 + GST alongside his sire and stud stalwart Per Incanto, who off the back of a stellar season will serve a li...

Mature Mehzebeen adds to stakes collection

Time was always going to benefit Mehzebeen (Almanzor) and the Almanzor mare continues to emphasise that in her five-year-old season.She was bred and sold by Pencarrow Stud and at Trentham furthered her black-type record with victory in the Listed Hawke’s Bay Cup (2200m) for trainers Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson.Mehzebeen had also completed the Listed Metropolitan Trophy (2600m) and Gr.3 New Zealand Cup (3200m) double in the spring to realise the earlier staying potential she showed when runne...

Mehzebeen takes Hawke’s Bay Cup

A brilliant rails hugging ride by apprentice Lily Sutherland combined with the never-say-die attitude of progressive stayer Mehzebeen (Almanzor) proved the key to the finish of a thrilling running of the Listed Valley D’Vine Restaurant Hawke’s Bay Cup (2200m) at Trentham.The Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson-prepared five-year-old mare certainly enjoys the scenery at Trentham having placed at her only two appearances there prior to Saturday including finishing second to Pennyweka in the 202...

Sergeant Major strikes winning blow at Randwick

Former Kiwi Sergeant Major (Proisir) recorded a strong victory in the Listed South Pacific Classic (1400m) at Randwick on Saturday as the three-year-old son of Proisir made a deserved Australian breakthrough.Racing for a syndicate headed by Ozzie Kheir, the Ciaron Maher trained galloper raced prominently throughout and defeated ownership-mate Nostringsattached by just under a half-length.Ridden by Ethan Brown, Sergeant Major sat to the inside of the leader a half-length adrift throughout in...

LA Stud colt delivers spectacular anniversary present

The stars in Sydney were all in alignment for Little Avondale Stud to celebrate a record auction result during the second session of the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.Sam and Catriona Williams’ Masterton nursery had high hopes on Monday for their son of Zoustar and Belluci Babe, a daughter of resident sire Per Incanto, and he surpassed all expectations.The dam is a three-quarter sister to Little Avondale graduate Evaporate whose timely emergence further boosted the profile of her firs...

Trelawney trio shine at Inglis Easter

Trelawney Stud were quietly confident they had taken the right trio of yearlings across to the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale in Sydney this week and that was reflected with some outstanding results. The Cambridge nursery were in the spotlight early in the first session, with Lot 20, their regally-bred colt by Per Incanto, reaching $650,000 to the bid of Yulong Investments. The result was the highest-priced yearling by Little Avondale Stud’s star sire, with the pedigree of the col...

Kiwi Chronicles - Eyes on Australia

As recently as March 25 this column discussed the results from the only two studs in the lower half of New Zealand’s North Island, Grangewilliam Stud in Waitotara and Little Avondale Stud in Masterton and the same two studs provided two of the stakes winners on day one of The Championships at Randwick .Evaporate (Per Incanto) improved on his top rate second in the NZB Kiwi (Listed, 1500m) a month ago in a one-race raid. Back in Australia for the Carbine Club Stakes (Gr 3, 1600m) he was far too...

Rich Hill in awe of sensational Derby winner

Rich Hill Stud principal John Thompson is no stranger to success on Australia’s biggest stage, but even he watched in awe as the filly he co-bred in Aeliana (Castelvecchio) stormed away with Saturday’s $2 million Gr.1 Australian Derby (2400m).A bridesmaid in each of the Gr.1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) and Gr.1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m), Aeliana had proven she was right up with the boys and they were no match as she stepped over a mile and a half for the first time, capitalising off a perfe...

Val Di Zoldo takes Breeders’ Stakes in desperate finish

Cambridge mare Val Di Zoldo (War Decree) bounced backed to winning form after a lengthy hiatus away from the top step of the podium as she took out the Gr.3 Intowin.co.nz Manawatu Breeders’ Stakes (2050m) in a desperate finish at Wanganui.The Tony Pike-prepared daughter of War Decree had looked a filly of real quality during her two and three-year-old campaigns that saw her take out the Gr.2 Lowland Stakes (2100m) amongst a number of fine performances.However, it had been over two years s...

Belle Detelle a chance to follow in Verry Elleegant’s footsteps

A determined win in Saturday’s A$250,000 Group Three TAB Adrian Knox Stakes (2000m) at Randwick may have earned Belle Detelle (Zed) an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of a close relative.Belle Detelle is a three-quarter-sister to the great Verry Elleegant, who won the Gr.1 Australian Oaks (2400m) at Randwick in 2019. That was the second of 11 wins at Group One level for the Kiwi-bred star, who was trained for most of her Australian career by Chris Waller.Waller is also the trainer ...

New Zealand-breds deliver back-to-back Easter Cups for Preusker

For the second year in a row, Horsham trainer Paul Preusker has won the A$200,000 Gr.3 Tobin Brothers Celebrating Lives Easter Cup (2000m) at Caulfield with a New Zealand-bred.Preusker won the race with Savabeel gelding Captain Envious last year, and on Saturday he secured a repeat result with Tarzino five-year-old Torranzino.The Easter Cup was Torranzino’s third start in his current preparation, having run a bold first-up fourth behind Deny Knowledge in the Listed Victoria Gold Cup (2000m) in...

NZB Kiwi runner-up strikes at The Championships

The form out of New Zealand’s newest and richest race stood tall on one of Australia’s biggest stages when Evaporate (Per Incanto) won the Gr.3 HKJC World Pool Carbine Club Stakes (1600m) on the opening day of The Championships at Randwick on Saturday.Evaporate’s last start was in the inaugural $3.5 million NZB Kiwi (1500m) at Ellerslie on March 8, where he was a gallant runner-up behind Te Akau Racing filly Damask Rose.The Ben, Will and JD Hayes-trained Evaporate had previously been a top...

Aeliana blitzes the boys in Australian Derby

New Zealand-bred filly Aeliana (Castelvecchio) secured a special place in the 164-year history of the Gr.1 Australian Derby (2400m) with a stunning five-length blitz in the A$2 million classic at Randwick on Saturday.Aeliana became only the 10th filly to win the Australian Derby, and one of just two in the last 35 years. The other filly to win the race during that period was fellow New Zealand-bred Shamrocker in 2011.The Chris Waller-trained Aeliana burst on the scene in the spring with bac...

Six-time Group One winner to stand at Windsor Park

Six-time Group One winner Auguste Rodin will shuttle to Windsor Park Stud in Cambridge this spring in a coup for the New Zealand breeding industry.One of the world’s finest racehorses, Auguste Rodin enjoyed elite-level success at two, three and four.An impeccably-bred son of Deep Impact out of Galileo’s triple Group One winning daughter Rhododendron, Auguste Rodin boasts one of the most sought-after pedigrees in the world.Trained by Aidan O’Brien, Auguste Rodin made an immediate impact on ...

Lekvarte salutes in Emancipation

Quality six-year-old mare Lekvarte (Reliable Man) recorded a hard-fought Group Two victory when landing the Emancipation Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill on Tuesday.The Joe Pride-trained mare was previously a three-time winner at Group Three level and narrowly prevailed from favourite Lazzura who was held up before making late-ground to finish second.  A ten time winner, Lekvarte’s best form had been on firmer ground than the heavy8 presented on Tuesday, and she had previously been unplace...

Ceolwulf prevails in Neville Sellwood

Favourite backers breathed a collective sigh of relief when a small margin victory went the way of $1.50 chance Ceolwulf (Tavistock) in a photo-finish to the Gr.2 Neville Sellwood Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill on Tuesday.The Joe Pride-trained four-year-old carried 59.5kg topweight to wear down Just Fine by a nose with Our Gold Hope in third.“It wasn’t really the result that counted today - it is easy to say that after a race - but it is more about the performance,” Pride said.“I’ll b...

Plan B working a treat for boutique breeder

A forced change of plan with a daughter of Dubawi has produced another success story for Sydney breeder Warwick Doughty.He initially sent his mare Pouter to Cambridge Stud to be mated with Roaring Lion, only for the multiple Group One-winning son of Kitten’s Joy to tragically succumb to colic.Doughty then decided on Contributor as a suitable replacement and Saturday’s Gr.3 Manawatu Classic (2100m) winner Kiwi Skyhawk is the profitable outcome.“It’s great for the mare, she’s a funny mar...

Ka Ying Rising continues dominance

Delivering a chilling reminder of his extraordinary talent, Ka Ying Rising (Shamexpress) posted his 11th consecutive victory with a blistering display in the Gr.2 Sprint Cup (1200m) to crown Zac Purton’s return to race riding at Sha Tin on Sunday.The world’s highest-rated sprinter, Ka Ying Rising demolished his opposition with familiar nonchalance to score by three lengths from Helios Express (123lb) and Lucky With You (123lb) in 1m 08.18s after being eased down by Purton with 100m to g...

The Doctor delivers at Trentham again

Unheralded four-year-old Doctor Askar (Derryn) has proved himself one of the finds of the summer as he completed his fifth win from just six starts since breaking maidens in December when taking out the Listed Bramco Granite & Marble Flying Handicap (1400m) at Trentham on Saturday.Trainer Joanne Moss, who bred and co-owns the son of Derryn in partnership with her mother Jill, had thought she had a handy horse on her hands when he showed plenty of ability by placing in five of his first ...

La Dorada seals another two-year-old sweep for Te Akau

A sparkling performance by La Dorada (Super Seth) in Saturday’s Gr.1 Courtesy Ford Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) completed another Te Akau clean sweep of New Zealand’s biggest two-year-old prizes.La Dorada had previously won the Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) and Gr.2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m), while her unbeaten stablemate Return To Conquer strung together four black-type successes including the Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m).Since the inception of the Karaka Millions in...

Back-to-back Group Twos for Waitak

Last year’s Gr.1 Sistema Railway (1200m) winner Waitak (Proisir) has showcased his versatility and class this autumn with a dominant double over 1600m and 2100m.The son of Proisir was a three-length winner of the Gr.2 Japan Trophy (1600m) at Tauranga on March 15, and on Saturday he stepped up over even further and won the Gr.2 City of Palmerston North Awapuni Gold Cup (2100m) at Trentham with similar ease.Waitak has joined a rare club, becoming only the second horse to win both the Railwa...

Consistent Kiwi Skyhawk breaks through in Classic

After a series of highly creditable performances against some of the best of his age group, Kiwi Skyhawk (Contributer) broke through for his first feature-race success in Saturday’s Gr.3 Higgins Concrete Manawatu Classic (2100m) at Trentham.The Contributer gelding was a third placegetter on debut at Te Rapa on July 27 last year, then scored a 1400m maiden victory at the same venue a fortnight later.Kiwi Skyhawk had gone winless through the seven months since then, but ran third in the Gr....

Meet the Breeder - Nicci Oberholster

This week in Dunstan Horsefeeds Meet the Breeder, we caught up with Nicci Oberholster, who along with her husband Dirk own Totara Park Stud. As breeders, they achieved the pinnacle on Saturday with both a group one winner and group two winner within hours of each other.A huge congratulations with the results on Saturday – tell us where you were watching and how you celebrated?We flew to Trenthan on Friday and met up with dear friends and co-owners Matt and Mandy Brown to watch Vegas Queen on S...

Kiwi Chronicles - Farewell Lucy

Geographically, the New Zealand thoroughbred industry is largely centered in the Waikato region and within that, principally around the towns of Matamata and Cambridge.The lower–half of New Zealand’s North Island (known as the Central Districts) has just two significant studs that stand stallions, namely Little Avondale Stud near Masterton in the Wairarapa, and Grangewilliam Stud which is based in Waitotara in South Taranaki. These two studs shared the limelight last Saturday.Grangewilliam�...

Vale John Richardson

The breeding industry lost one of its most loyal and long-time supporters last week when 88-year-old John Richardson passed away in Waikato Hospital following a short illness, capping off a sad week for the thoroughbred industry after funerals for trainer Mike Moroney and veterinarian Bill Ewen.John substantially contributed to the New Zealand industry after arriving from England in 1974 aged 37. Early in 1975, he was appointed editor of the newly founded Bloodhorse Magazine, a position he held ...