Month: July 2024

Te Akau Racing gelding Baronet (NZ) (Contributer) continued his winning form in the I.C.I.B Financial Independence 1200 on Sunday at Tauranga, aided by a well-rated ride by Wiremu Pinn. After scoring a front-running victory in the opening race with Night Warrior, Pinn was assertive early with designs on the lead aboard Baronet, controlling the tempo through the mid-stages and as the challengers started to level, he pulled away to stretch the field early in the home straight. Storming clear at the 300m, Baronet had the victory all sealed up and…

Royally bred three-year-old Twain (NZ) (Per Incanto) couldn’t have been more impressive on debut at Tauranga on Sunday, winning the Saddlery Warehouse Cambridge & Tauranga (1200m) for John Bell. The son of Per Incanto is out of high-performing race mare Fleur de Lune, who had a glittering career on the track highlighted by her victory in the Gr.1 Railway Stakes (1200m) in 2013. In the shades of his star dam, Twain was eye-catching when successful at the trials before kicking off his career on Sunday, where his pedigree and prior…

Northern apprentice jockey Joe Nishizuka experienced the highs and lows of race riding at Tauranga on Sunday and fortunately finished the meeting on a high with his first winning double. Partnering Stephen Ralph’s filly Ride Sally Ride in the opening event, Nishizuka settled in behind the speed but clipped heels with eventual winner Night Warrior near the 1000 metres, resulting in the young hoop falling from his mount.  “It was just an unlucky situation, my greenness didn’t help when Wiremu (Pinn) made a decision and I wasn’t quick enough to…

Rising ten-year-old Interllectus (Intello) showed there was still plenty of fight left in the old dog as he refused to yield over the closing stages when capturing the Taumarunui Racing @Te Rapa 27/7 Steeplechase (3900m) on Saturday. A maiden winner on the flat back in August 2019, the Kevin Myers-prepared son of Intello has found his niche over jumps since winning at his hurdling debut back in 2020. Good enough to place fifth in the 2022 Great Northern Hurdle (4200m), Interllectus made a successful switch to the bigger fences last…

Rugged Taranaki visitor Liquid Les (NZ) (Echoes Of Heaven) showed just what he is capable of when given a clear run in front as he led all the way to capture the John F Grylls Memorial Classic (1400m) at Te Rapa on Saturday. The seven-year-old son of Echoes Of Heaven relishes wet tracks and had been given two runs to fit himself for Saturday’s challenge by trainer and part-owner Craig Williamson. Sent straight to the lead by rider Matt Cameron, Liquid Les set up a steady gallop before slipping a…

Lightly raced filly Cornelia (NZ) (Swiss Ace) made a return to the winner’s circle at Te Rapa on Saturday with an impressive display in the Jack & June Stewart Memorial (1200m). A daughter of Swiss Ace trained by Simon & Katrina Alexander, Cornelia made a successful debut in late December and was spelled after finishing close-up at her first test out of maiden grade. Returning at Tauranga last month, she made up late ground to finish second which saw her in demand second-up, closing a $3.60 favourite behind Bella Timing…