Author: NZRacingDesk

Last year’s Gr.1 Sistema Railway (1200m) winner Waitak (NZ) (Proisir) has showcased his versatility and class this autumn with a dominant double over 1600m and 2100m. The son of Proisir was a three-length winner of the Gr.2 Japan Trophy (1600m) at Tauranga on March 15, and on Saturday he stepped up over even further and won the Gr.2 City of Palmerston North Awapuni Gold Cup (2100m) at Trentham with similar ease. Waitak has joined a rare club, becoming only the second horse to win both the Railway and the Awapuni…

Fresh off her first stakes placed performance when running third in the Gr.3 Cuddle Stakes (1600m) last weekend at Trentham, talented mare Electron (NZ) (Turn Me Loose) gave her open class rivals a beating when easing to a comfortable victory in the feature event at Te Aroha, the NZTBA Mile (1600m). Purchased by Cambridge trainer Sam Mynott for just $1,000 off gavelhouse.com back in November 2023, the four-year-old daughter of Windsor Park resident stallion Turn Me Loose hasn’t looked back since breaking her maiden status in October last year, registering…

Last season’s boom two-year-old Velocious made her raceday return after a tie-back wind operation in stunning fashion when she stormed home from a clear last on the home bend to take out the Manco 1150 (1150m) at Te Aroha. The Stephen Marsh-prepared daughter of Written Tycoon had been off the scene since finishing near last in the Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) at Hastings in September where she was immediately operated on to alleviate her breathing issues. Given a long and slow build-up that saw her trial on three occasions…

After a series of highly creditable performances against some of the best of his age group, Kiwi Skyhawk (NZ) (Contributer)broke through for his first feature-race success in Saturday’s Gr.3 Higgins Concrete Manawatu Classic (2100m) at Trentham. The Contributer gelding was a third placegetter on debut at Te Rapa on July 27 last year, then scored a 1400m maiden victory at the same venue a fortnight later. Kiwi Skyhawk had gone winless through the seven months since then, but ran third in the Gr.3 War Decree Stakes (1400m), fourth in the…

Northern-based hoop Courtney Barnes returned to her hometown of Wingatui on Friday where she recorded the biggest highlight of her career when riding home five winners on the 10-race card. All five runners are trained by her former employers Brian and Shane Anderton, which further added to the occasion for Barnes. “I have only won three before (in a meeting), so to get five today was great,” Barnes said. “It means even more doing it for BJ and Shane, they were massive supporters of mine when I was starting out,…

When Feroce (NZ) (Super Seth) took out the Gr.1 Australian Guineas (1600m), giving him his first elite-level win as a trainer, Dom Sutton was nonetheless more than happy to share the limelight in terms of publicity with Collingwood coach Craig McRae, who has a share in the horse. And he is hoping it will be a case of same again after the Gr.1 Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington on Saturday with the three-year-old gelding. Sutton wasn’t surprised that McRae’s part-ownership in Feroce stole the headlines because, since arriving in Australia,…

Danny O’Brien can find enough reasons to assess his hardy galloper Young Werther (NZ) (Tavistock) as ‘a blowout chance’ in Saturday’s Gr.1 Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington. “He’s got enough good runs at the track and distance at Group One level to say he’s in the mix,” O’Brien said of his $61 chance with Sportsbet, who will be ridden by Daniel Stackhouse. He also finished third in the 2023 Champions Stakes, with the only time he didn’t fire coming in last year’s Australian Cup, when he finished seventh but pulled…

Go Racing’s Group One darling Atishu will be offered for sale at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale on the Gold Coast in May. The daughter of Savabeel was set to go through the auction ring last year, however, her ownership group voted to extend her racing career, which paid dividends last spring where she went on to win the Gr.1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) and place in the Gr.1 Might and Power (2000m) and Gr.1 Champions Stakes (2000m). Initially purchased by Go Racing out of Waikato Stud’s 2019 New…

Two years after buying Alabama Lass from a Melbourne yearling sale, Matamata trainer Ken Kelso is retracing those steps to find out how the brilliant filly measures up across the Tasman. Alabama Lass will have her first Australian start in Saturday’s A$500,000 Listed HKJC World Pool Sprint Classic (1100m) at Flemington. She is the highest-rated runner in the field, and under the set weights and penalties conditions of the race, carries 2kg below the 59kg topweight. She is the TAB’s $2.70 favourite and will be ridden by Craig Williams. “This…

Cambridge trainer Stephen Marsh heads to Trentham on Saturday with an opportunity to move ahead of arch-rivals Te Akau Racing in terms of Group and Listed wins in New Zealand this season. The Te Akau team of Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson holds a clear premiership lead over Marsh with 97 wins to 68, but the two powerhouse stables are deadlocked with 13 black-type victories apiece. No other trainer has more than Robbie Patterson’s nine. Remarkably, Marsh has collected nine of those 13 features since New Year’s Day alone –…