Month: August 2020

Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman will roll out some of their highly regarded unraced three-year-olds as well as a few proven stars at Taupo on Wednesday, while they wait to finalise plans for an Australian-bound contingent. The Cambridge trainers have accepted eight horses, including five debutantes, at the well-patronised Taupo meeting and beforehand they will have six runners in the two open trials, including The Chosen One (NZ) (Savabeel) and Quick Thinker (So You Think), the stable’s main prospects in Australia. “The Chosen One and Quick Thinker are both qualified…

The construction of the Cambridge Jockey Club’s synthetic track is back on target. Civil works for the track are nearing completion and the club was waiting upon the expertise of Australian-based company Martin Collins to be able to mix and lay the track surface. The Martin Collins cavalry is now set to arrive with the Cambridge Jockey Club’s application for a travel exemption granted last week. “We are now in the process of just finalising their visas for them to come over,” Cambridge Jockey Club chief executive Mark Fraser-Campin said.…

Brighthill Farm stallion Eminent has welcomed his first foal with the birth of a colt out of High Chaparral mare Rose Meer at Cambridge Stud on Saturday. “I went to Cambridge Stud and couldn’t be happier with him,” Brighthill Farm principal Nick King said. “He is a smart, strong correct colt with a lovely head and a bit of presence about him. It’s certainly exciting to have the first foal on the ground safely and leaving a good impression.” Before retiring to stud, Eminent won three of his 14 career…

The inaugural National Breeding Awards, to be held in Cambridge later this month, will be sponsored by Hamilton based Ebbett Volkswagen as part of a new partnership agreement with the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders Association. To be known as the Ebbett VW NZTBA National Breeding Awards, the event will honour the Sir Patrick and Justine, Lady Hogan Breeder of the Year, the Eight Carat Broodmare of the Year sponsored by Arion Pedigrees and the three Champion stallion trophies – Dewar (Australasian earnings), Centaine (Worldwide earnings) and Grosvenor (New Zealand earnings)…

Brent Cooper’s Social Racing syndicates will be represented by a trio of runners at Taupo on Wednesday, including a debutant for punting group Boys Get Paid. Four-year-old mare Graciano (NZ) (Tavistock) will make her race debut in the Waikato Stud Maiden (1100m) for trainer Stephen Marsh and while Cooper isn’t expecting much on Wednesday, he believes the daughter of Tavistock has a bright future. “I have done a couple of syndicates with Boys Get Paid now, this is the third,” Cooper said. “We were responsible for the first win in…

There was an echoed sigh of relief in Waikato today with a handful of trainers receiving travel exemptions for their staff to fly to Australia. Cambridge trainer Tony Pike, who also heads the New Zealand Traniers’ Association, was one of the recipients of the good news and he has already booked flights for two of his employees to head across the Tasman. “It (travel exemption) came through at about lunchtime today,” Pike said. “We got clearance to send some staff over, so at this stage I have a couple of…

Breeze Up dates for NZB’s Ready to Run Sale of Two-Year-Olds have been adjusted and will now take place on Monday 12 and Tuesday 13 October at Te Rapa Racecourse, with all prospective buyers welcome to attend. With the recently released trial and racing programs announced for October, the decision was made to move the dates forward slightly to better fit with the industry’s wider schedule. Timing for the Breeze Ups will remain the same, commencing at 10am both days. Each Breeze Up heat will be filmed and timed, with extensive video…