Month: September 2021

The David Greene-trained debutant Empress El (NZ) (El Roca) made the best possible start to her racing career when she downed a handy field of maiden gallopers over 1200m at Tauranga on Sunday. The El Roca three-year-old dented a few reputations when she produced a strong finishing burst to register a telling statement as Greene considers the possibility of a Group One target for her later in the season. Settled in midfield by rider Sam Spratt, Empress El tackled the pacemaking duo of Ceasar (NZ) (Proisir) and Ayreon (Panzer Division)…

Progressive galloper Bari (NZ) (Proisir) opened his spring campaign in similar style to how he finished off his three-year-old season when he trounced a handy field of rating 74 rivals over 1200m at Matamata. The strapping son of Proisir won two of his last four starts to round out last season and thrived during a six-week break away from the track. Fitted for his resumption on Saturday with a handy performance over 950m at the Cambridge trials earlier this month, the Margaret Falconer-trained four-year-old maintained his unbeaten fresh-up record with…

We speak with Lexington-based Kiwi Michael Wallace who is the Chief Operating Officer of China Horse Club. The respected bloodstock advisor celebrated from afar as valuable Snitzel colts Wild Ruler (Gr.1 Moir Stakes, 1000m) and In The Congo (Gr.1 Golden Rose, 1400m) landed elite-level victories on Friday night and Saturday respectively. The future stallion prospects are raced by a syndicate headed by Newgate Bloodstock and China Horse Club, with Masterton-native Wallace sharing in the ownership of In The Congo, while his brother David has shares in both. Michael, what a…

Spraying weeds and doing some maintenance work around his Wairarapa property on Sunday afternoon was a far cry from the excitement that businessman and thoroughbred owner and breeder David Wallace had experienced over the previous 48 hours. Wallace, the son of well-known Central Districts trainer Jim Wallace and brother of the Chief Operating Officer of China Horse Club, Michael Wallace, was still coming to terms with being involved in the ownership of not one but two individual Australian Group One winners. Wallace is a shareholder, along with his brother, in…

A quiet weekend on the domestic front for trainer Jamie Richards provided him with the opportunity to focus on the Australian-based members of his Matamata operation, who performed with credit despite not managing to bring up a victory in either Melbourne or Sydney. First cab off the rank was last season’s Gr. 1 Sistema Stakes (1200m) winner Sword Of State (Snitzel) who made his Australian debut in the Listed Heritage Stakes (1100m) at Randwick, finishing in midfield after a torrid passage in the running under his 60kg topweight. “I thought…

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