Year: 2021

The Roger James and Robert Wellwood-trained Apostrophe broke maiden ranks in style on Wednesday, coming from off the speed to triumph over 1400m. The four-year-old daughter of Tavistock had been luckless at her previous start when stopped in her tracks at Te Aroha. “It was a very nice win. She is a mare that has always shown a little bit of ability but had quite a bad injury at three,” Wellwood said. “She had a long time off the scene and was very luckless at Te Aroha. She put it…

Squid Game made the perfect start to his racing career when winning on debut at Sandown on Wednesday. Purchased by trainer Patrick Payne out of Inglewood Stud’s 2020 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 1 draft for $150,000, the son of Shooting to Win made easy work of his rivals in the 1200m contest winning by a comfortable 1.25L margin. Jockey Michael Dee was impressed with the effort and credited Payne with having Squid Game on point for his first trip to the races. “He has had a few trials and looks…

Promising three-year-old Rosberg impressed at Tauranga on Wednesday when scoring his maiden victory in the Katy Laidlaw Property Management 1400. The son of Reliable Man was having his fourth raceday start, having placed in two of his previous outings. The gelding was positive out of the gates for jockey Ashvin Goindasamy, settling just behind the speed. Goindasamy navigated his charge five-wide turning for home where he was able to comfortably reel in his rivals and run away to win by a long neck over Principessa, with a further length back…

Cambridge trainers Emma-Lee and David Browne will be represented by handy stayer Border Leicester (NZ) (Redwood) in Sunday’s A$300,000 Jericho Cup (4600m) at Warrnambool, the longest flat race in Australasia. Restricted to Australian and New Zealand-bred horses, the Jericho is the brainchild of philanthropist and historian Bill Gibbins to commemorate a three-mile race held in the desert in Palestine during World War I. The Brownes have enjoyed a fruitful spring in Victoria with their quartet of raiders, with Elephant (NZ) (Shocking), Rhinoceros (NZ) (Vadamos) and Bifrost (NZ) (Turn Me Loose)…

Group One performer Hypnos (NZ) (Reliable Man) is in fine fettle ahead of the Gr.3 Eagle Technology Stakes (1600m) at Te Aroha on Saturday according to trainers Roger James and Robert Wellwood. The six-year-old son of Reliable Man has drawn well in gate six in an 11-horse field, with Group One winner Royal Performer at the top of the book in the set weights and penalties feature. Hypnos heads into the race in good form, having placed in two of his three starts this preparation, including a last start runner-up…

The curtain is likely to come down on Unusual Culture’s (NZ) (Unusual Suspect) brief New Zealand career when she takes on a competitive age group line-up in the three-year-old feature at Otaki on Thursday. Off the back of a lead-up trial placing, the Fraser Auret-trained filly overcame a slow start to score effortlessly when she made her debut on the course earlier this month. That performance saw prominent owner Ozzie Kheir come calling and she will carry his colours in the Gr.3 Lucia Valentina Wellington Stakes (1600m). “She has been…

While Cromwell’s annual two-day meeting ‘Racing In The Vines’ won’t have the same carnival atmosphere as it usually does as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, Riverton trainer Kelvin Tyler is looking forward to heading north this week nonetheless. Normally it’s a chance for Tyler and his hardworking Southland team to let their hair down with a typically student-based crowd celebrating the end of their university exams. However, with the region still under Level 2 restrictions, there will be no General Admission this year, putting a dampener on what is usually…