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A comprehensive victory against the older horses at Ellerslie on Saturday is likely to result in three-year-old Vladivostok taking his place in the Gr.1 Vodafone New Zealand Derby (2400m) in a fortnight. If confirmed, it would see trainer Andrew Campbell and the colt’s ownership group, headed by breeder Tommy Heptinstall, with three distinct chances in […]View the full article

While rugged Queenslander Alligator Blood may have taken out the first skirmish with classy New Zealand contender Catalyst, Kiwi trainer Clayton Chipperfield is confident his star can still win the war when the pair clash again in the Gr.1 Australian Guineas (1600m) in a fortnight. In an enthralling length-of-the-straight battle, which more than lived up […]View the full article

Promising three-year-old Lightning Jack made it back-to-back victories at stakes level when he produced a gritty effort to take out the Listed ILT Ascot Park Hotel Southland Guineas (1600m) at Invercargill. The Per Incanto gelding had broken his maiden status at Riverton over 1400m two starts back and then scored in a blanket finish to […]View the full article

Group Three winner Sheezallmine will attempt to get back into winning form at Ellerslie on Saturday when she lines-up in the Dunstan Feeds 1200. The daughter of Super Easy finished unplaced last start in the Gr.1 Telegraph (1200m) and trainer Daniel Miller said the mare just didn’t settle down in Trentham. “She just sulked from […]View the full article

Stephen Marsh has Group Three winner Scorpz just where he wants him for this month’s Gr.1 Vodafone New Zealand Derby (2400m) at Ellerslie. Marsh will saddle the Charm Spirit colt in Saturday’s Gr.2 Jamieson Park Avondale Guineas (2100m) at Ellerslie, looking for a bold run ahead of the Derby two weeks later. Scorpz has already […]View the full article

Things may not have gone Concert Hall’s way in the Gr.3 City Of Auckland Cup (2400m) at Ellerslie last start, but her connections are hopeful she can bring home another cup from the Auckland track on Saturday. The Roger James and Robert Wellwood-trained five-year-old will contest the Gr.2 Joe McDonald Avondale Cup (2400m) and her […]View the full article

South Auckland trainer Lance Noble has been spoilt with a quality crop of three-year-old fillies this season and he was delighted to see one of them extend their winning record at Te Rapa on Saturday. Meghan secured her second consecutive win on the weekend in the SVS Veterinary Supplies 2100, which has set her on […]View the full article

Leading central districts jockey Lisa Allpress ventured south on Saturday and rode a Riccarton double for local trainer Terri Rae. Allpress guided Wekaforce to a runaway victory in the NZB South Island Sale 17 April Open Handicap (1000m), then won the Racecourse Hotel & Motor Lodge Rating 65 (1600m) on the smart Capodanno. Allpress and […]View the full article

Winning Saturday’s Gr.2 Legacy Lodge Waikato Guineas isn’t a critical element of Dragon Leap’s campaign, according to Matamata trainer Lance O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan, who trains the rising star Pierro three-year-old in partnership with Andrew Scott, has made it clear that this month’s Gr.1 $1 million Vodafone New Zealand Derby (2400m) at Ellerslie is the first of […]View the full article

It’s hard to believe that outstanding galloper Te Akau Shark does not have a Group One win to his name, but the striking chestnut with a cult-following is strongly favoured to put that misnomer to bed on Saturday at Te Rapa. The Jamie Richards-trained gelding is set to commence a new campaign in the Gr.1 […]View the full article

Group One-winning miler Wyndspelle has been retired after suffering an injury while preparing for a tilt at the Gr.1 Haunui Farm WFA Classic (1600m) later this month. Prepared at Otaki by Johno Benner and Hollie Wynyard through the latter half of his career, Wyndspelle was a model of consistency, netting connections close to $700,000 in […]View the full article

Not many trainers can say half of their racing team are Derby contenders, but that’s the case for Andrew Campbell. The Cambridge conditioner still has five three-year-olds nominated for the Gr.1 Vodafone New Zealand Derby (2400m) with four being realistic chances of making the field. Campbell, who privately trains for a group of owners including […]View the full article

The combination of John & Karen Parsons and rider Tina Comignaghi completed a clean sweep of the stakes races at Wingatui on Saturday when they scored in the day’s feature event, the time-honoured Gr.3 White Robe Lodge Weight For Age (1600m). Riding former North Island galloper Killarney, Comignaghi repeated the front-running tactics that saw her […]View the full article

Yearlings by four-time Group One winner Preferment were offered at Karaka for the first time this week and it was apt that three were purchased by Guy Mulcaster. The prominent bloodstock agent bought the Brighthill Farm stallion as a yearling at Karaka in 2013 for $190,000 and he went back to the same well to […]View the full article

Cambridge trainer Stephen Marsh still has five fillies in contention for March’s Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld New Zealand Oaks (2400m) at Trentham and will have a better line on two of them after racing at New Plymouth on Saturday. Marsh will produce Elisa Carolina and Heart Of The Ocean in the Listed Fasttrack Insurance Oaks […]View the full article

Ngaire Fraser reckons she’ll never lose her association with grand galloper Westminster, even as she prepares to saddle a two-year-old in a stakes race some 30 years later. The Cambridge trainer will produce Il Cavallo filly Alice Tinker in Saturday’s Gr.3 Woburn Farm Classic (1200m) at New Plymouth, the $11,000 Book 3 Karaka purchase winning […]View the full article

Platinum Invador will take a step closer to his Gr.1 Barfoot and Thompson Auckland Cup (3200m) aspirations when he lines-up in the Gr.3 Powerworx Taranaki Cup (1800m) at New Plymouth on Saturday. The Central Districts stayer put in an eye-catching run to win the Gr.3 City of Auckland Cup (2400m) by 2-3/4 lengths at Ellerslie […]View the full article

Per Incanto’s strong record in Hong Kong didn’t go unnoticed by Hong Kong interests on the first day of New Zealand Bloodstock’s Book 2 sale at Karaka on Wednesday. The Little Avondale Stud sire has accrued an impressive strike-rate of 72 percent winners-to-runners in the Asian racing jurisdiction and that success led to plenty of […]View the full article

Matamata nursery Waikato Stud continued their dominance of recent years at the National Yearling Sale at Karaka, taking out the leading vendor title for the seventh consecutive year. Powered by the progeny of champion sire Savabeel along with the excitement of debuting youngsters by first season sire Tivaci, the raw numbers make solid reading. The […]View the full article

It took nearly all day to reveal the sale topping yearling for day two of New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale but when it was unveiled the wait was well worth it. Lot 454, the Savabeel colt form Fastnet Rock mare Bayrock had been confidently predicted to attract plenty of attention from the assembled buying […]View the full article

There was an air of expectation in the sale auditorium at Karaka on Monday prior to lot 449 entering the sale ring. Charlotte Chittick, daughter of Waikato Stud principal Mark Chittick, was preparing to lead her very first yearling through the ring, marking a historical moment in the farm’s history. Chittick admitted to being nervous […]View the full article