Month: June 2024

Haunui Farm will again welcome four-time Group One winner and two-time Champion Miler Ribchester back in 2024 for his fifth season at stud in New Zealand. Ribchester has been well supported by New Zealand broodmare owners and the mating results have seen yearlings from each crop reach six figures in the auction ring. Racetrack results have been solid, despite small crops, and his winners to runners ratio for his four-year-old crop is 80% and 56% for his three-year-old crop, while his stakes runners to winners operate at 11%. “We’re please…

Seaton Park’s Scott Eagleton has been buoyed by inspections both on-farm and at Karaka on Tuesday ahead of Thursday’s New Zealand Bloodstock National Weanling Sale. The Morrinsville vendor will present eight weanlings on behalf of clients at the one-day sale, with positive feedback on the diverse draft which features a slew of in-vogue sires. Among them are weanlings by reigning champion sire Proisir, Satono Aladdin, Almanzor, Ardrossan and Blue Point in addition to a quality colt from the first crop of Cambridge Stud’s Group One winning son of Snitzel, Sword…

Russell Warwick has been appointed by the NZTR Board as Chairman at today’s June Board meeting. Taking effect immediately, Warwick will replace current Chairman Cameron George following his announcement to step down at the end of the current racing season, 31 July. Russell Warwick brings a wealth of industry knowledge and administrative experience to the appointment. As the General Manager of Westbury Stud, Warwick’s ability to lead one of NZ’s elite breeding and racing programmes made him an excellent candidate for the NZTR Chair. “The industry has made excellent headway…

Recent racetrack results have delivered a series of boosts to the catalogue for this week’s NZB National Weanling Sale at Karaka. The names of numerous notable performers from the last few weeks feature in the pedigrees of weanlings going through the Karaka sale ring on Thursday. There are relatives to Group One heroes I Wish I Win (NZ) (Savabeel) and Bois D’Argent (Toronado), along with more than a dozen other recent stakes winners or placegetters. Lot 47 comes from the draft of Highline Thoroughbreds and is a filly by first-season sire Noverre (NZ) out of Love Sophia (NZ) (Pins).…

Buyers have access to a high-quality and varied selection of bloodstock on Gavelhouse Plus this week, made up of an annual reduction sale by Elsdon Park and a unique dispersal of the Dewar Partnership. “It’s a two-fold sale this year,” Elsdon Park’s general manager Kerrie Cox said. “Part of it is made up of Elsdon Park’s annual reduction of broodmares and weanlings. We have a number that we want to try to stick to with our broodmare band, and it can grow quite quickly when you’re buying mares and have…

Matamata trainer Paul Richards will head north to Pukekohe on Wednesday with just the one runner, but he is hoping that is enough to add to his season haul of six victories. Waikato Stud-bred and raced filly Rhythm ‘N’ Spice (NZ) (Ardrossan) will make her debut in the First Weanlings By Sword Of State 1200, and takes winning trial form into the race. The daughter of Ardrossan has had four trial outings, winning her most recent trial over 950m on the Cambridge Synthetic last month. Richards was pleased with her…

Ashburton trainers Sarah and Matthew Smith are looking forward to heading to Oamaru on Thursday where they will line-up a trio of runners. Daphne Dior (NZ) (Shamexpress) will make her southern return in the Paul Richards 65 (1200m) after venturing to Ellerslie in March to tackle the Entain – NZB Insurance Pearl Series Final (1400m). While she finished last in the nine-horse field, her trainers said she benefited a lot from the trip away and they are looking forward to getting her back to the track after enjoying some time in…