Month: January 2024

A day after winning the battle for a highly rated Kingman colt with a $650,000 price tag, the Hong Kong Jockey Club and bloodstock agent Craig Rounsefell struck again at Karaka on Monday and came away with another yearling that was near the top of their wish list. Rounsefell went to $620,000 to secure Lot 409 from the draft of Waikato Stud. The colt is by eight-time champion New Zealand sire Savabeel out of the winning O’Reilly mare Simply You. That makes him a full-brother to the dual Melbourne Group…

The Karaka sale ring provided countless major winners for Jamie Richards during his tenure at Te Akau Racing, and the four-time champion New Zealand trainer has returned to the same recipe for his fledgling stable in Hong Kong. Richards, who trained 35 winners in his first Hong Kong season in 2022-23 and has added another 16 so far in 2023-24, has made his presence felt across the first two days of the 2024 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale on Sunday and Monday. His two purchases on Sunday included a…

Ciaron Maher is wary of getting ahead of the game with emerging former Kiwi galloper Jimmysstar (NZ) (Per Incanto), but the country’s leading trainer admitted he, too, was looking forward to the horse’s return at Caulfield this Saturday. As a 77-rater there are any number of horses in Maher’s immense stable with far higher credentials, but few are spoken of more than Jimmysstar, who has been most impressive in two winning starts with Maher after being sold to Australian clients. “He’s a ratings horse at the moment, but you’d think…

It might’ve been a Sunday meeting at Geelong, but it seems a smart horse has emerged in the form of United Kingdom (NZ) (Almanzor), who caught the eye winning on debut. The Almanzor colt, who was smashed in betting and jumped the $1.35 favourite in the 1506-metre maiden, settled at the rear of the field but let down brilliantly to easily reel in his rivals. The performance was so impressive that the TAB has installed the colt as equal fourth favourite ($15) for the Australian Derby at Randwick in April.…

Feature races in Australia are on the agenda for star two-year-old Velocious (Written Tycoon) following her brilliant win in Saturday’s Karaka Million 2YO Classic. Speaking after purchasing Velocious’ Dundeel half-sister at Karaka on Monday, Go Racing’s Albert Bosma said the Stephen Marsh-trained filly has bounced through her win at Ellerslie on Saturday. The Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m) at Ellerslie in Marsh looms as her next start before a decision is made about whether she campaigns in Sydney. A spring campaign in Melbourne is also on the radar later in 2024.…

Te Akau Racing’s extraordinary reign in the Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) was broken at Ellerslie on Saturday, but David Ellis has been on a mission at Karaka this week to return to the top of the podium. Between 2017 and 2023, seven consecutive winners of the million-dollar juvenile feature were bought by Ellis and trained in Te Akau’s Matamata stable – Melody Belle (NZ) (Commands) (2017), Avantage (Fastnet Rock) (2018), Probabeel (NZ) (Savabeel) (2019), Cool Aza Beel (NZ) (Savabeel) (2020), On The Bubbles (Brazen Beau) (2021), Dynastic (NZ) (Almanzor) (2022)…

Progressive Awapuni mare La Bella Grande (NZ) (Per Incanto) will make the journey north to Te Rapa on Wednesday with a potentially lucrative goal in mind. Following a hotly contested running of the $350,000 Remutaka Classic (2100m) at Trentham a fortnight ago, the second of newly-instated innovation races will be run on Legends Day at Te Rapa on February 10, with the $350,000 Sir Patrick Hogan Karapiro Classic (1600m). La Bella Grande, an impressive maiden victor two starts back at Wanganui, is eligible under the MAAT conditions, however, after the…

Queensland raider Beau Dazzler (NZ) (Ardrossan) is enjoying the lush green paddocks of Waikato Stud for the next month before returning to Australia where he will be aimed at a Group One target over the winter carnival. Purchased by trainers Tony and Maddysen Sears, in partnership with bloodstock agents Paul Moroney and Catheryne Bruggeman, for $85,000 out of Mapperley Stud’s Karaka yearling sale draft last year, Beau Dazzler was the sole Australian representative in last Saturday’s $1 million TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m). The son of Ardrossan had previously been…

The good times are rolling for Roger James and Robert Wellwood and further feature race success beckons the duo at Te Rapa on Wednesday. Fresh off Orchestral’s (NZ) (Savabeel) stunning victory in the TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m) at Ellerslie on Saturday, the Cambridge trainers are looking forward to Zabmanzor (NZ) (Almanzor) stepping out over more ground in the Gr.2 Legacy Lodge Waikato Guineas (2000m). In between times, they have been busy scouring Karaka for fresh talent during New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale and secured four youngsters during the…