Month: April 2023

Stella Splendida (NZ) (Zoustar) resumed in winning fashion at Hawera on Wednesday when taking out The Bold One @ Grangewilliam Stud 1200. It was the Zoustar filly’s second career victory from four starts and Mark Walker was pleased to see her lead home a stable quinella, with Baronet (NZ) (Contributer) one length in arrears. “It was great to see her return to racing the way she did today and she won very comfortably,” Walker said. “I think she’s a filly that could go right through the grades as a four…

Leading into the 2023 breeding season we reflect on the volume of mares covered by a stallion with 10+ mares in 2022.

Promising filly Flamebird (NZ) (Shooting To Win) will be out to add some valuable black-type to her record when she heads to Te Rapa on Saturday. The daughter of Shooting To Win will contest the Gr.3 Inglis Sales Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) and trainer Lance Noble is confident of a bold showing. Flamebird takes a strong form line into the race, having won first-up at Pukekohe last month before finishing runner-up at the South Auckland track. “Her last two starts have been pretty solid. Her win was good, she blew…

Three stallion service nominations, including one to headlining shuttle sire Satono Aladdin, have been donated for auction at the 2023 New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame Inductee Dinner in Hamilton on Sunday, May 7. Since the inaugural NZRHOF dinner in 2006, 37 horses from racehorses to stallions and broodmares, and 47 people – including trainers, jockeys, owners, breeders and administrators – have been inducted to the elite list that honours New Zealand’s highest achievers in the thoroughbred sphere. Another group of 10, comprising six people and four horses, will be…

As one door has closed at The Oaks Stud with the retirement from commercial duty of farm stalwart Darci Brahma another has remained wide open with U S Navy Flag to return to the Cambridge nursery. Danehill’s son Darci Brahma has successfully led the lineup at the Dick Karreman-owned operation with a stallion career to compliment his glittering record on the track, which featured Group One victories as a two, three and four-year-old. At the other end of the scale, former crack European short course performer U S Navy Flag…

Trainers Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott are hoping it will be third time’s a charm with Waitak when he lines-up in the Gr.2 Queensland Guineas (1600m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday. The son of Proisir has raced over a mile on two previous occasions, where he was runner-up behind Sharp ‘N’ Smart and Prowess in the Listed Champagne Stakes (1600m) and Gr.2 Auckland Guineas (1600m) respectively. Both horses have gone on to win at elite-level in Australia and Waitak’s connections are hoping he can bring that form this weekend. Waitak…