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Stud’s top staying mare Aquacade retired

Multiple Group-winning mare Aquacade will begin the next phase of her career later this year.Time has been called on the racing days of Dundeel’s daughter with the five-year-old to become a valuable addition to Cambridge Stud’s broodmare band.Trained at Karaka by Lance Noble for breeder-owners Brendan and Jo Lindsay, Aquacade performed up to the highest level with seven victories and six placings and only twice missed a top five finish from 19 appearances.“She has been fantastic and that�...

Oaks heroine gives Ormsby a different kind of Group One

Almost two decades after riding Creil to victory in the Gr.1 Avondale Cup (2200m) as an apprentice jockey, multi-talented horseman Chad Ormsby climbed the same mountain in a different way when Pulchritudinous (Wrote) won the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand Oaks (2400m) at Trentham on Saturday.Ormsby now trains a small team at Cambridge, saddling eight winners so far this season including Pulchritudinous in the Oaks and Gr.2 Lowland Stakes (2000m), along with Master Fay in the Gr.3...

Major prize for Grail Seeker at Trentham

Australian hoop Kyle Wilson-Taylor has made his first visit to New Zealand a memorable one by guiding promising filly Grail Seeker (Iffraaj) to a hollow victory in the Gr.2 Life Direct Wellington Guineas (1400m) at Trentham.The Queensland-based rider struck up a friendship with trainers Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott when he rode trackwork for the pair during the Queensland winter carnival last year, and was quick to take up an invitation to ride members of their team at Trentham inclu...

Cuddle Stakes delivers milestones for connections

Saturday’s Gr.3 Wentwood Grange Cuddle Stakes (1600m) at Trentham delivered multiple milestones for the connections of Taranaki mare Hi Yo Sass Bomb (Complacent).The underrated five-year-old became the first stakes winner for her New Plymouth trainer Kim Reid, who also co-bred and part-owns the daughter of Complacent. Hi Yo Sass Bomb was ridden to her Cuddle Stakes success by Irish jockey Joe Doyle, who notched up his 100th win in New Zealand.It was also a well-deserved turn at the top of...

Group Three triumph for Ribchester mare

Ultra-consistent four-year-old mare Red Card (Ribchester) landed her biggest prize to date when running out a comfortable winner of the Gr.3 Maurice McCarten Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill on Saturday for trainer James Cummings.Beginning brilliantly from an inside draw, Red Card comfortably found the lead under Adam Hyeronimus and controlled proceedings throughout.A daughter of Haunui Farm stallion Ribchester, Red Card’s Group Three victory enhances her CV further, having landed the Listed De...

South Island victory in Lightning Handicap

Southern sprinter Our Echo (Echoes Of Heaven) showed his northern rivals just how good he can be when he sat wide throughout before holding off a host of challenges to win Saturday’s Listed Lincoln Farms Lightning Handicap (1200m) at Trentham.Prepared by Danny Frye at Balcairn, the seven-year-old came into the race off a last start victory at Wingatui which gave him a vital confidence boost leading into the contest.Rider Tegan Newman followed instructions to the letter by allowing the son...

Pride Of Jenni proves she’s an All-Star

Elite front-running mare Pride Of Jenni triumphed in a captivating edition of the A$3.75 million All-Star Mile (1600m) at Caulfield on Saturday for trainer Ciaron Maher and regular rider Declan Bates.The dual Group One winner is known for being able to sustain a strong tempo for longer and once she found the lead within the first furlong for Bates, the pair set a building pace that had several of her rivals gasping a long way from home.The Trelawney Stud-bred Pride Of Jenni kicked off the turn a...

Group One winner Maven Belle for sale on Gavelhouse Plus

Maven Belle (NZ) (Burgundy) is following in some famous Te Akau Racing footsteps, becoming the fifth Group One-winning mare from the stable to be offered for sale on Gavelhouse Plus.Te Akau Racing has previously sold Avantage (Fastnet Rock) for a world-record price of $4.1 million, followed by Entriviere (NZ) (Tavistock) for $900,000, Amarelinha (NZ) (Savabeel) for $1.1 million and Belle En Rouge (NZ) (Burgundy) for $800,000.Like Belle En Rouge, Maven Belle was bred by Te Akau’s David Ellis an...

El Vencedor lives up to early prediction

A prophecy made about El Vencedor by his trainer Stephen Marsh in 2021 appears to be coming true.Back then when the horse was an unraced two-year-old, Marsh told his long-term Wellington-based clients Mark Freeman and David Price that this would be the best horse they would ever race.That would have been music to the ears of the young horse’s breeders, who had bought his granddam, the Star Way mare Take Silk, in the late 1990s.Now as a five-year-old, the son of Shocking is enjoying a breakout ...

Rebecca Donovan - Sunline Management Scholarship Blog 1

Hello everyone! It’s hard to believe, but my first four weeks in Ireland have flown by, and it's time for my first blog update. I would like to start by saying, I have so far really enjoyed my opportunity to work in the Northern Hemisphere. Before boarding the plane to Ireland, I was given a piece of advice that continues to resonate with me: "Make the most of it, take every opportunity, and ask every question". I have endeavoured to follow this piece of advice every day since I arrived, and i...

Meet the Breeder - Stewart Hume

This week in Dunstan Horsefeeds Meet the Breeder, we catch up with Queensland breeder Stewart Hume, whose interest in the thoroughbred started in country Queensland and whose love for the middle-distance staying type of horse has given him many highlights throughout his journey in thoroughbred breeding.Tell us the story of Lekvarte?Yea so that was exciting on the weekend (winning the Gr.3 Mostyncopper Aspiration Quality). I bought the mare ‘Plumm’ off the track, she hadn’t won a race, but ...

Belle Of The Ball and Never Forgotten for sale on gavelhouse.com

The latest fortnightly auction on gavelhouse.com gives buyers access to a pair of blue-blooded broodmare prospects that have recently been retired from the Te Akau Racing stable.The first of these high-class offerings is the black-type performer Belle Of The Ball (NZ) (Savabeel).Bred by Waikato Stud, she is by super-sire Savabeel out of two-time winner and Melbourne Group Two placegetter Lady Tatia (Duke Of Marmalade). Belle Of The Ball’s second dam is a sister to Group One winners Shogun Lodg...

Don Goodwin on Weigh In

Weigh In's Emily Bosson catches up with breeder Don Goodwin on the recent passing of his champion mare, Verry Elleegant....

Posthumous Group One honour for grand producer

El Vencedor’s career-best performance at Ellerslie to triumph at Group One level was tinged with a bittersweet note for breeder-owners David Price and Mark Freeman.The Stephen Marsh-trained son of Shocking added to the Wellington pair’s success with the family when he capped off a lucrative campaign with victory in Saturday’s Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m) under Irish jockey Joe Doyle.“It was off the charts really, you don’t go there expecting to beat what is probably the best ...

Von Hauke comes of age in Shaftesbury Avenue

Promising New Zealand-bred Von Hauke (Savabeel) took his career to new heights with his first black-type victory in Saturday’s A$200,000 Gr.3 Furphy Shaftesbury Avenue Handicap (1400m) at Flemington.The Savabeel gelding had made only one previous appearance in stakes company, finishing fifth in the Listed Paris Lane Stakes (1400m) over the same course and distance back in October.But the four-year-old had caught the eye with a strong finish in his resuming run over 1100m at Caulfield on Februa...

El Vencedor causes massive upset in Bonecrusher Stakes

An inch perfect front running ride by Irishman Joe Doyle paved the way for outsider El Vencedor (Shocking) to upset the applecart in the Gr.1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m) at Ellerslie.Despite a consistent form-line with a win and three placings along with a last-start fourth in the Gr.1 Otaki-Māori Weight For Age Classic (1600m), the five-year-old son of Shocking was overlooked by punters as he closed at $21 on the Fixed Odds market.All the smart money was on class four-year-old ...

Deserved stakes win for Eternal Flame

Luckless in feature races in her two previous starts, Eternal Flame (Sacred Falls) turned things around and collected a deserved first black-type victory in Saturday’s A$200,000 Gr.3 Matron Stakes (1600m) at Flemington.The New Zealand-bred daughter of Sacred Falls was already a three-time winner, but her previous appearances at stakes level had produced a sixth in the Gr.2 Angus Armanasco Stakes (1400m), sixth in the Gr.2 Kewney Stakes (1600m), fifth in the Listed Black Pearl Stakes (1200...

Late charge lands Aspiration Quality for Lekvarte

Classy New Zealand-bred mare Lekvarte (Reliable Man) collected her second stakes win of the season with a brilliant late burst in Saturday’s A$250,000 Gr.3 Mostyncopper Aspiration Quality (1600m) at Randwick.The five-year-old was sent out as a warm favourite for the fillies and mares’ feature on the strength of her recent form, which included a win in the Gr.3 Belle of the Turf Stakes (1600m) at Gosford two starts back and a strong finish for fifth in the Gr.2 Millie Fox Stakes (1300m) ...

Lowland win starts Ormsby’s big weekend on a high

This weekend is set to be one of the biggest in Chad Ormsby’s career, and the Cambridge trainer kicked it off in style with Pulchritudinous (Wrote) winning Friday’s Gr.2 Little Avondale Lowland Stakes (2000m) at Taupo.The three-year-old fillies’ feature was run less than 24 hours out from tomorrow’s Gr.1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m) at Flemington, in which Ormsby will saddle his unbeaten star sprinter Master Fay.“You can’t really ask for a better way to kick off the weekend,” Or...

Meet the Breeder - Lou Weatherley

In this week's edition of Dunstan HorseFeeds Meet the Breeder, we chat with Lou Weatherley, who along with husband Darryn and good friend Barry Wright, have enjoyed incredible success from their mare, La Vitesse.Tell us the story of Maria Farina?We owned her mother La Vitesse, she was lightly raced and retired from a raceday injury, so we decided to breed from her. Her first foal was La Velocita who won 3 races.  One morning on a drive to Cambridge for work, I was on the phone to Michael Hu...

Seachange still playing a starring role

Champion mare Seachange was a flagship performer for The Oaks Stud and her legacy continues to be felt on both sides of the Tasman.Bred and raced by the Cambridge nursery, the two-time New Zealand Horse of the Year landed seven Group One titles during her decorated career and the daughter of Cape Cross’ influence remains current.Seachange features prominently in the pedigrees of The Oaks Stud’s Gr.1 New Zealand Derby (2400m) runner-up Antrim Coast and farm graduate Drakaina, successful in th...

Stud continuing to celebrate with top families

Waikato Stud celebrated trans-Tasman success at the weekend with female representatives of two of their leading families and the nursery is well-placed to continue reaping future rewards.The Matamata farm’s colours were carried to victory by Savabeel filly Certainly in the Gr.3 Mufhasa Stakes (1400m) while their champion stallion also sired homebred Gr.2 Blamey Stakes (1600m) winner Atishu.Australia now beckons the Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson-trained Certainly, a retained daughter of the Pin...

Extraordinary Orchestral makes Derby history for James

Roger James is now the most successful trainer in the history of the Gr.1 Trackside New Zealand Derby (2400m), but even that enormous achievement was overshadowed at Ellerslie on Saturday by the new superstar of his Cambridge stable.Orchestral (Savabeel) became the sixth Derby winner for James, following on from Tidal Light (1986), Roysyn (1995), Zonda (1997), Hades (1999) and Silent Achiever (2012). Saturday’s win took him one ahead of the great Colin Jillings, who had previously shared ...

Drakaina dominates NZB Airfreight Stakes

Drakaina’s (Ace High) commanding victory in Saturday’s Listed NZB Airfreight Stakes (1400m) at Wingatui completed a remarkable rise to prominence for a filly that was bought for just $3,000.The daughter of Ace High caught the eye of her trainer and part-owner Ebony Turner on Gavelhouse last year. She was unplaced on debut at Ascot Park in November, then won at $50 odds at Gore on December 24 before finishing fourth in the Listed Gore Guineas (1335m) and second in last month’s Listed Dunedi...

Maria Farina shines in King’s Plate

Underrated mare Maria Farina (Contributer) outsprinted several of the country’s top gallopers to secure Saturday’s Gr.3 Haunui Farm King’s Plate (1200m) at Ellerslie.The daughter of Contributer has flown relatively under the radar this season, despite having accumulated six career victories, including the Listed Lightning Handicap (1200m), and Listed Stewards’ Stakes (1200m) during New Zealand Cup Week in November.Maria Farina lined up in both the Gr.1 Railway (1200m) and Gr.1 Teleg...