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Golden Path demolishes rivals in Mckell Cup

Victorian raider Golden Path has made it back-to-back victories in Sydney with a dominant victory in the Listed W J Mckell Cup (2000m) at Rosehill on Saturday.The Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr-trained son of Belardo was stepping up a grade and handled the rise with ease.  Golden Path enjoyed a good run just behind the speed in fifth position throughout and was nursed around the home bend by jockey Chad Schofield. He then put his rivals to the sword to win by three and a half lengths from ...

Meet the Breeder - Jon Orr

This week in Dunstan Horsefeeds Meet the Breeder, we catch up with South Island-based breeder Jon Orr who bred Listed Tauranga Classic winner, Casino Princess.Tell us the story of Casino Princess? Casino Princess was the mating of my beautiful mare Sonsy and the best value stallion in Australia, Casino Prince. Sonsy was a very good race mare who never fulfilled her true ability. Her mother, I bought on Trademe for $800 as a paddock mate. One year I sent her to High Chapparal (4th season) and she...

Rebecca Donovan - Sunline Management Scholarship Blog 4

Writing this blog marks the completion of my fourth month, and in turn, means I am over halfway through my scholarship! I arrived in the UK with a lot of nervous energy. I was eager to experience new areas of the industry, but unsure what to expect as I had, up until that point, only worked on studs alongside the horses. In those moments though, I reminded myself that this is the entire point of the management scholarship. I am here to develop a deeper understanding of the industry and experienc...

Australian couple secures stakes-winning Kiwi mare for Super Seth

An affinity with Waikato Stud stallion Super Seth prompted Phoenix Broodmare Farm’s Damian Gleeson and Deb Gifford to make a spur-of-the-moment purchase of stakes-winning mare Zecora on Gavelhouse.com this week.The New South Wales-based couple paid $150,000 for the six-year-old mare, who won the Gr.3 J Swap Sprint (1400m) earlier this season.Super Seth had been on Gleeson and Gifford’s radar for some time, and not only because of his racetrack and stallion credentials. The Gr.1 Caulfield Gui...

Irish Colleen an inspired Karaka purchase

Irish Colleen set the ball rolling for prominent breeder and owner Daniel Nakhle and the daughter of Shinko King keeps on giving.She was a gifted performer with two stakes wins to her credit and has subsequently proved to be a gem of a broodmare for the Byerley Park co-founder.All five of Irish Colleen’s foals to race have been successful and includes the Gr.3 White Robe Lodge Stakes winner Killarney and three-time Group Three winner and Gr.1 Orr Stakes placegetter (1400m) Crosshaven.She is al...

Fee Increase Announced For The Bold One

Grangewilliam Stud’s proven sire The Bold One, sire of this year’s Gr.3 Wellington Cup (3200m) winner Mary Louise, will stand at a slightly increased fee of $6000+GST this year.Studmaster Mark Corcoran said The Bold One, son of recently retired champion sire Fastnet Rock, represented great value at the new fee on the back of a very strong season by his progeny.“Last year he stood at $4000+GST and covered 48 mares but his results this season fully justify the fee increase,” Corcoran said....

Inglewood strikes again

To find New Zealand stakes success in Australia this past weekend we need to trek across the Nullarbor to Perth where Luvnwar (War Decree) scored the Belmont Guineas (Listed, 1600m). She was the sole New Zealandbred in the race. Kiwi Chronicles of June 10th made mention to Luvnwar's first win out west since being sent from the South Island to race in Bob Peters' colours of cerise with white crossed sashes. In three starts from her new home she is now two from three and for her sire, War Decree ...

It's been a while...

The solitary New Zealand blacktype race last Saturday was the Tauranga Classic (Listed, 1400m) for fillies and mares and the winner Casino Princess (Casino Prince) represents a wonderful old family. Although, it has been some time, more than 30 years, since black-type within the first three generations of this branch of her family has occurred. Casino Princess is building a healthy record. Saturday's stakes breakthrough was just her 11th start and fifth success. Her owners, which include her tr...

Goss lands local triumph in Tauranga Classic

The Listed Team Wealleans Tauranga Classic (1600m) produced one of the most popular winners in its 44-year history with Saturday’s black-type breakthrough by local mare Casino Princess (Casino Prince).The highly talented five-year-old is trained at the track by the 92-year-old Cliff Goss, who also shares ownership with his close friend Darryl Heaphy.Saturday’s $80,000 fillies and mares’ feature was the first black-type appearance for Casino Princess and clearly her toughest test yet. ...

Luvnwar impressive in Belmont Guineas

Kiwi import Luvnwar (War Decree) scored her first stakes victory when landing the Listed Amelia Park-Belmont Guineas (1600m) at Belmont on Saturday, with a length and a half to spare over runner-up Petrouchka.Prepared by Michael Grantham, Luvnwar had previously won over 1400m at Belmont, having finished runner-up on her Australian debut over 1200m.The daughter of War Decree is raced by Peters Investments Pty Ltd and was purchased privately out of New Zealand by Liam Peters Byerley Bloodstoc...

Harding secures sale-topping Satono Aladdin filly

New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Weanling Sale got off to an exciting start at Karaka on Thursday morning with three weanlings fetching $140,000 or more within the first hour, headed by prominent owner Gary Harding’s $170,000 purchase of a sale-topping Satono Aladdin filly.Offered by Brighthill Farm and catalogued as Lot 25, the attractive bay filly surpassed the $150,000 price paid for last year’s sale-topping colt by Per Incanto. She also set a new record weanling price for Rich Hill St...

Raptors Thoroughbred make their mark at weanling sale

The emergence of syndicators and traders Raptors Thoroughbred continued at Karaka on Thursday with the title of leading buyers at the 2024 New Zealand Bloodstock National Weanling Sale.Raptors Thoroughbred has had a growing presence on the buyers’ bench since debuting at the 2022 National Yearling Sale, and their handful of yearling purchases in that short space of time have included the winners Raptylight, Incredible and Dajieda. Raptylight also finished fourth in the Listed NZB Airfreight St...

Curraghmore and Haunui delighted with 2024 weanling drafts

Two of the foremost names among vendors at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Weanling Sale every year are Curraghmore and Haunui Farm, who both believe their 2024 crops of weanlings catalogued for Karaka on Thursday are right up to the respected nurseries’ usual high standard.Gordon Cunningham’s Curraghmore has collected more than a dozen leading vendor titles at Karaka’s weanling sales, and past graduates include Group One winner Sousa, Group Three winner Kinane and other stakes perform...

Eagleton bullish ahead of National Weanling Sale

Seaton Park’s Scott Eagleton has been buoyed by inspections both on-farm and at Karaka on Tuesday ahead of Thursday’s New Zealand Bloodstock National Weanling Sale.The Morrinsville vendor will present eight weanlings on behalf of clients at the one-day sale, with positive feedback on the diverse draft which features a slew of in-vogue sires.Among them are weanlings by reigning champion sire Proisir, Satono Aladdin, Almanzor, Ardrossan and Blue Point in addition to a quality colt from the fir...

Ribchester returns for 2024

Haunui Farm will again welcome four-time Group One winner and two-time Champion Miler Ribchester back in 2024 for his fifth season at stud in New Zealand.Ribchester has been well supported by New Zealand broodmare owners and the mating results have seen yearlings from each crop reach six figures in the auction ring.Racetrack results have been solid, despite small crops, and his winners to runners ratio for his four-year-old crop is 80% and 56% for his three-year-old crop, while his stakes runner...

Megastar Heart digs deep for stakes success

Last year’s New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run sale-topper Megastar Heart secured a black-type victory in his fourth start with a relentless performance in Saturday’s A$160,000 Listed SEN Oxlade Stakes (1300m) at Eagle Farm.The two-year-old Star Turn colt was offered by KB Bloodstock at Karaka in November, where he was bought by Hong Kong’s Pato Leung for $825,000.Megastar Heart kicked off his career with a second placing at Kembla Grange in April and a win on Randwick’s Kensington trac...

More Hong Kong success for Highview Stud’s Wrote

Highview Stud stallion Wrote continues to show his versatility with a pair of notable winners in Hong Kong this week.The sire of Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) winner Pulchritudinous was represented by impressive three-year-old debutant Fast Network, who won the Class 4 Chai Wai Road Handicap (1000m) at Sha Tin last Saturday for Dennis Yip.The gelding was the well supported favourite on the strength of strong trial performances and his easy length and a half victory came as no surprise to his tra...

La Crique snares lucrative Queensland feature

High-class Kiwi mare La Crique (Vadamos) put her best foot forward when pulling clear of her rivals in Saturday’s A$500,000 Magic Millions National Classic (1600m) at Eagle Farm.Prepared by Simon and Katrina Alexander, the lightly-framed daughter of Vadamos took her time to balance up under champion hoop James McDonald before her class prevailed, defeating Foxy Freda and Maracana by just over a length.A dual Group One winner at a mile, La Crique was perfectly placed in the lucrative weigh...

Imperialist oozes class in The Phoenix triumph

Trainer Chris Waller has a good opinion of progressive two-year-old Imperialist (Churchill), who came with a perfectly timed run under James McDonald to claim the Listed The Phoenix (1500m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday in impressive fashion.The New Zealand-bred son of Churchill notched his first win from just three starts and relished the solid tempo of the juvenile feature to close in the manner of a horse that has an exciting Classic season ahead of him.Waller will now ponder whether to push on t...

Breeze-up mates score in the same week

Andy Win completed a memorable Prima Park graduate double this week in the Matamata Glass & Joinery 2000 on Wednesday, and farm principal Kelly Van Dyk couldn’t be any happier with the result.Andy Win was a breeze-up partner to last Saturday’s Gr.1 Queensland Derby (2400m) winner Warmonger at the 2022 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale, where the latter was sold to Champagne Racing’s Shane Kennedy for $165,000, while Andy Win failed to reach his $80,000 reserve.Warmonger was subs...

Belclare coming out of racing retirement

Group One winner Belclare’s retirement from racing has been short-lived, with the daughter of Per Incanto set to join expat Kiwi trainer Bjorn Baker’s Sydney barn.The six-year-old mare had a stellar racing career in New Zealand, winning 11 races for Awapuni trainer Lisa Latta, including the last two editions of the Gr.1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m).She was subsequently offered at Magic Millions’ National Broodmare Sale last month where she failed to meet her A$700,00...

Belardi lands Castletown on big day for family

Three and a half hours before Moonlight Magic (Almanzor) took her place in Saturday’s Gr.1 Queensland Derby (2400m) at Eagle Farm, her half-brother Belardi (Belardo) kicked off a huge day for the family with victory in the Listed John Turkington Forestry Castletown Stakes (1200m) at Wanganui.Both Belardi and Moonlight Magic are trained by Andrew Forsman for owner-breeders the Sunlight Trust, and they are among the five winners from just five foals out of the Encosta De Lago mare Japo...

Belardo Boy back to winning form at Wanganui

Proven miler and winter track specialist Belardo Boy (Belardo) bounced back to winning form when he produced a powerful home straight surge to capture the feature event at Wanganui on Saturday, the Listed AGC Training Stakes (1600m).The 2023 Gr.3 Winter Cup (1600m) winner was having just his second run in a new campaign for trainer Lisa Latta and stripped in good condition after taking plenty of benefit from his first up run for eighth at Te Rapa a fortnight ago.The five-year-old son of for...

Hezashocka too good in Premier’s Cup

Hezashocka (Shocking) has proven himself in far stronger company than Saturday’s Gr.3 Living Turf Premier’s Cup (2400m), and that big-race quality shone through with a comfortable victory at Eagle Farm.Although last month’s Listed Gosford Gold Cup (2200m) was his first win since 2022, Hezashocka has made his presence felt right up to the highest level. He has placed in the Gr.1 Champions Stakes (2000m), Gr.3 JRA Plate (2000m) and Listed Mornington Cup (2400m), along with a fourth in t...

I Wish I Win back on top in Kingsford-Smith Cup

After placing in all of his first four starts of the season, Waikato Stud’s sensational sprinter I Wish I Win (Savabeel) returned to the top of the podium in Saturday’s Gr.1 EVA Air Kingsford-Smith Cup (1300m) at Eagle Farm.It was the seventh win of a remarkable 21-start career for the Savabeel gelding, who has now earned more than A$11.8m in prize-money. His previous triumphs included last year’s Gr.1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick, along with the A$10m Golden Eagle (1500m).Befo...