Month: July 2024

With 168 wins to their name this season, Te Akau Racing’s Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson have already sealed the trainers’ premiership, and they already have their eye on continuing their dominance into next term. The Matamata-based training partnership took a 17-strong team to Avondale’s trials on Tuesday, with many tipped to feature prominently in the spring. Juvenile Cool ‘N’ Fast was the hype horse of the summer, carrying the weight of expectation of punting group Boys Get Paid into the TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) at Ellerslie in January…

Wexford Stables’ well-performed pair of Waitak (NZ) (Proisir) and Dragon Leap (Pierro) are progressing well toward new season targets. The Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott-trained duo furthered their preparations with quiet trials over 800m on a heavy track at Avondale on Tuesday. “Most likely, they will both go straight into the Foxbridge Plate (Gr.2, 1200m) and they will also go to Hastings for the Tarzino Trophy (Gr.1, 1400m),” Scott said. The stable is undecided whether they will return three weeks later for the Gr.1 Arrowfield Stud Plate (1600m) on the…

Nominations for the Property Brokers National Breeding Awards, to be held at the Don Rowlands Event Centre in Cambridge on July 27, have been announced. There will beawards for the Sir Patrick and Justine Lady Hogan Breeder of the Year, the Small Breeder of the Year, Eight Carat Broodmare of the Year, premiership-winning stallions, as well as the Entain Personality of the Year, Mary-Lynne Ryan Young Achiever, and the Seton Otway Horse of the Year. The breeders of all 25 individual Group One winners throughout the season will also be…

Michelle Bradley had to settle for second in her hometown feature over the weekend and she’s hoping to go one better with capable mare Sulabella (NZ) (Proisir) at Pukekohe Park on Wednesday. The Ruakaka-based trainer was represented by last year’s winner Bosch (NZ) in the Whangarei Gold Cup Stayers’ Final (2100m) on Saturday, where the Pentire gelding finished a game second to Fly My Wey (NZ) (Sweynesse), with the fastest closing 400m and 200m sectionals of the event. “I thought it was a really good run, he was travelling really…

There has been a changing of the guard at the New Zealand Equine Academy (NZEA). Previously led by Donavan Mansour, the Skill NZ NZQA Level 2 course runs out of Byerley Park in Kingseat while the Level 3 and Apprentice Jockey Academy, powered by Entain, operate out of the satellite campus in Cambridge. “Donavan has really put the New Zealand Equine Academy on the map as a career pathway provider since it was established in 2021,” NZEA director Daniel Nakhle said. “While we are sad to see Donavan go to…