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Checkmate adds to Wexford record in three-year-old feature

The race now known as the Listed Armacup 3YO Stakes (1500m) is becoming a reliable springboard to bigger and better things for Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott, and that trend looks likely to continue after a smart win by Checkmate (Monglian Khan) at Ellerslie on Saturday.The three-year-old feature was previously known as the Trevor and Corallie Eagle Memorial. Wexford Stables won the race in 2022 with the subsequent Gr.1 Sistema Railway (1200m) hero Waitak, while they finished second last ye...

Raise The Flag fondly remembered

Veteran White Robe Lodge stallion Raise The Flag has been humanely euthanised after battling health issues in recent months, aged 20.The impeccably bred son of Sadler’s Wells and blue-hen mare Hasili, retired to White Robe Lodge in 2010 after injury cut short his racing career after just one start.A half-brother to a remarkable five Group One winners including Banks Hill, Intercontinental, Cacique, Heat Haze and Champs Elysees, Raise The Flag was also a half-brother to the Group Two winner Dan...

Tuxedo takes centre stage in Wellington Stakes

Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray collected their second Group Three success in a matter of days at Otaki on Thursday, with Tuxedo (Tivaci) stamping himself as an early Derby prospect when winning the Gr.3 Elsdon Park Wellington Stakes (1600m).The Cambridge training partnership won last Saturday’s Gr.3 Counties Cup (2100m) with Nereus, and partnering up once again with jockey Joe Doyle, they travelled to the Central Districts with a promising horse having just his second race-day start.The s...

Meet the Breeder - John Cassin

This week in Dunstan Horsefeeds Meet the Breeder, we caught up with John Cassin, who inconjunction with his wife Jan, bred and race outstanding racemare, La Crique.Tell us the story of La Crique?It started with buying a 50% share of a yearling filly, Dubai Destination/Lulworth Cove, purchased by Simon & Katrina Alexander, through the 2008 NZB Select book at Karaka. We raced her (Destiny Cove) until her retirement in 2014, and our trust (Cassin Trust) bought out the other owners. As we have a...

Kiwi Chronicles - Influential

The folks at Waikato Stud had plenty to celebrate when Nereus (Savabeel) added the Counties Cup (Gr 3, 2100m) to his growing record. However, Nereus wasn't the only positive for the highly influential bloodstock establishment.Last autumn, Nereus made a good impression when taking out the time honoured Awapuni Gold Cup (Gr 2, 2100m), run at Trentham while the Awapuni track was undergoing refurbishment. That was just his eighth start and fifth win as he'd flown through the grades with Benchmark wi...

Elite 1088-Lot Catalogue Unveiled for Karaka 2025

Hot on the heels of a record-breaking Ready to Run Sale, the cream of New Zealand’s yearling crop has been revealed for Karaka 2025.The world-renowned week of selling in late January is the shop window for the thoroughbred talent that New Zealand produces, and that trend is set to continue with world-class catalogues unveiled.The 99th National Yearling Sales Series will take place at Karaka from Sunday 26 January to Thursday 30 January. The catalogues, which are now available to view online, c...

Pearler sale for Prima Park

Prima Park has accrued an enviable record with their New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale graduates, and farm principal Kelly Van Dyk is hoping they can add another to that list from their 2024 draft.2019 Hong Kong Champion Sprinter Beat The Clock, 2016 Horse of the Year Debt Collector, and Gr.1 Queensland Derby (2400m) hero Warmonger sit atop their honour roll of Ready to Run Sale graduates, and Van Dyk believes plenty of quality is set to come out of their draft from last week’s sale, wh...

Breeding feather in vendor’s cap

Vendor Barry Donoghue enjoyed a lucrative two days at New Zealand Bloodstock’s Ready to Run Sale last week and he’s now celebrated a significant result in another role.Under his BMD Bloodstock banner, his draft was highlighted by a Toronado colt who was knocked down for $625,000 and hot off the heels of his Karaka success came homebred Globe’s victory in Saturday’s Listed Cranbourne Cup (1600m).“I was delighted, I don’t breed many so to be a black-type breeder now is fantastic,” Do...

Gong glory for Gringotts

Gringotts (Per Incanto) continued his coming-of-age campaign with a powerhouse front-running performance under 60kg to win Saturday’s A$1 million The Illawarra Mercury Gong (1600m) at Kembla Grange.The Per Incanto gelding continued an outstanding run in the race for New Zealand-breds, who have now won it three years in a row. Riodini won The Gong in 2022, followed by Detonator Jack in 2023.Gringotts went into Saturday’s race on an upward trajectory. He had claimed his first black-type s...

Globe caps comeback with Cranbourne Cup

The super-talented Globe (Charm Spirit) put a troubled 14 months behind him with a powerful all-the-way win in Saturday’s A$500,000 Listed Cranbourne Cup (1600m).The New Zealand-bred son of Charm Spirit had announced himself as an exciting young talent on the Australian scene with wins in all of his first four starts between March and May of 2023. He was sent out as favourite in the Gr.2 Feehan Stakes (1600m) in his next appearance in September of that year, but was beaten by more than 30...

La Crique lands last-gasp triumph

La Crique (Vadamos) sprouted wings in the Pukekohe straight on Saturday to come from a near-hopeless position and win the Gr.2 Dunstan Horsefeeds Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1400m) in a photo finish.The Vadamos mare went into the fillies and mares’ feature as the class act of the field, having won eight races and more than $1.3 million including Group One victories in the Arrowfield Stud Plate (1600m) and the Otaki-Maori WFA Classic (1600m). In her first start since taking o...

Drama aplenty in Counties Cup

Promising stayer Nereus (Savabeel) put his current campaign back on track when he captured an action packed Gr.3 TAB Counties Cup (2100m) on Saturday.The field of fourteen runners was thrown into chaos after 500m when Arby dropped rider Matt Cartwright after making contact with the inside running rail leaving the straight for the first time.Severely checked in the incident were Cognito, Blue Moon, Sassy Lass and Ess Vee Are while the rest of the field were also subsequently hampered as the ...

Luberon all class in Counties Bowl

Quality mare Luberon (Embellish) put a classy field of sprinters to the sword at Pukekohe on Saturday when she dashed away in the closing stages to score a handsome victory in the Gr.3 Haunui Farm Counties Bowl (1100m).The Lance Noble-trained daughter of Cambridge Stud stallion Embellish was shooting for a winning treble to open her spring campaign after taking out a rating75 1200m contest at Ellerslie back in September, followed by the Gr.3 Sweynesse Stakes (1200m) at Rotorua last month.Dr...

Meet the Breeder - Fraser Auret

This week in Dunstan Horsefeeds Meet the Breeder, we catch up with Fraser Auret of Grandmoral Lodge Racing who bred and sold the latest Hong Kong sprinting sensation, Ka Ying Rising. We managed to do a couple of Q&As with Fraser's 11yo son Milton who is NZTBA's youngest member!Tell us the story of Ka Ying Rising?We trained the mother, Missy Moo, to win five races.  She was a talented racehorse, but didn’t reach her full potential due to soundness issues in the back leg.  Upon her...

Proisir gelding Hong Kong-bound

Bloodstock agent Andrew Williams won a spirited bidding battle to secure a well-related Proisir gelding for $650,000 on the opening day of the NZB Ready to Run Sale at Karaka on Wednesday.Offered by Riversley Park, the gelding was catalogued as Lot 79 and is out of the unraced Carlton House mare Miss Vegas. That makes him a full-sister to this season’s Gr.3 Northland Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) fourth placegetter Vegas Queen, while Miss Vegas is a half-sister to the dam of emerging Australian s...

Stakes victory a tonic for Hennessy

The past year has been a tough one for Matamata horseman Gary Hennessy, but he got plenty of satisfaction out of watching Mystic Park take out Saturday’s Listed Stewards’ Stakes (1200m) at Riccarton.Hennessy bred the five-year-old gelding, who is by his five-time Group One winner and Gr.1 Cox Plate (2040m) hero Ocean Park, and out of unraced Dubawi mare Spirit of Karlu.“It was terrific. I have followed him all the way through, and I have his dam set to foal any day to Ocean Emperor,” Hen...

Ka Ying Rising breaks the clock at Sha Tin

Kiwi-bred sprinter Ka Ying Rising’s (Shamexpress) irresistible surge towards Group One glory continued at Sha Tin on Sunday when David Hayes’ emerging champion sprinter powered to victory in the Gr.2 BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint (1200m), breaking Sacred Kingdom’s long-standing track record.Clocking 1m 07.43s despite being eased down over the last 100m by Zac Purton, Ka Ying Rising improved his overall record to eight wins and two seconds from 10 starts and took a stranglehold o...

Pencarrow continue strong record at Riccarton

Riccarton Park has become a happy hunting ground for graduates of Cambridge thoroughbred nursery Pencarrow Stud, which was further enhanced last week through the deeds of Mehzebeen (Almanzor).The daughter of Almanzor kicked off New Zealand Cup week with victory in the Listed Metropolitan Trophy (2600m) before backing up seven days later to take out Saturday’s Gr.3 New Zealand Cup (3200m).“It was a real thrill to win a race like the New Zealand Cup, which is still one of the iconic races...

Winning roll continues for quality mare Niance

Classy sprinting  mare Niance (Swiss Ace) has proved a revelation since crossing the Tasman and joining the  stable of Cranbourne trainer Grahame Begg.The five-year-old daughter of Swiss Ace has won five of her six starts in Australia and dominated her rivals when defying the pattern of the day to lead throughout and land the Gr.3 How Now Stakes (1200m).Leaders on the day had been thwarted by a strong northerly breeze, but connections elected not to alter the preferred racing styl...

Nikau Spur claims NZB Beauford

Former Kiwi galloper Nikau Spur (Proisir) continues to provide Toowoomba trainers Corey and Kylie Geran with huge thrills and the momentum continued when scoring a last-stride victory in the Listed New Zealand Bloodstock Beauford (2300m) at Newcastle on Saturday. The eight-year-old son of Proisir was the winner of the Listed Queensland Cup (2400m) two starts back and relished the solid tempo on Saturday as he landed the thick end of the A$300,000 purse.Ridden by Tim Clark, Nikau Spur n...

Mystic Park all class and courage in Stewards’ Stakes

Riccarton’s Listed Lindauer Stewards’ Stakes (1200m) is a special race on the calendar for local trainers Michael and Matthew Pitman, who won the $140,000 sprint showpiece again on Saturday with a remarkable performance from a rising star.Mystic Park (Ocean Park) became the Pitman stable’s sixth Stewards’ Stakes winner in the last 17 years, joining Coup Bloomsbury (2007), Coup Align (2009 and 2010) and El Chico, who won it as a seven-year-old in 2011 and again as an 11-year-old in 2...

Bella Waters on target for summer features

Promising mare Bella Waters (Sacred Falls) indicated she is on the right path to success in some of the upcoming major summer feature events when she came from last to secure victory in the Gr.2 Gartshore Tauranga Stakes (1600m) at Tauranga.Carrying the colours of Cambridge Stud principals Brendan and Jo Lindsay, who bred and race her, the Moira and Kieran Murdoch-prepared five-year-old was having just her second start in a new campaign after signing off her four-year-old season with succes...

Mehzebeen completes carnival double with Cup romp

After going into the New Zealand Cup Carnival without any black-type victories to her name, Mehzebeen (Almanzor) leaves Riccarton with two of them including Saturday’s time-honoured Gr.3 Martin Collins 161st New Zealand Cup (3200m).This has been a career-changing week for Mehzebeen, who showed bright promise with a Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) placing as a three-year-old but has alternated between disappointing and unlucky through the 18 months since.The first sign that Mehzebeen might b...

Kiwi Chronicles - Not my last bid

Immediately prior to the 2023 NZB Karaka Yearling Sale The Oaks Stud’s Rick Williams was thrown a curveball. Instead of looking at buying a nicely bred f illy, owner Dick Karreman caught Williams a little off-guard: “What about a Savabeel colt, a future sire prospect?” If the purchase was to happen, Williams was keener on a filly. Williams has been in this game for a few years and knows the odds of finding a potential stallion as a yearling. The odds are miniscule but he set about looking ...

Deserved Riccarton reward for Kopua

Kopua (Shocking) attended to unfinished business in style on the middle day of the New Zealand Cup carnival at Riccarton when he produced an irresistible finish to claim top honours in the main event on the card.The son of Shocking had finished a luckless sixth in the Gr.3 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile (1600m) 12 months ago and successfully turned his fortunes around in Wednesday’s feature, now renamed the TAB Mile.Kopua further added to the long list of Riccarton successes of his trainer Ke...