High-class filly Bellatrix Star (Star Witness) displayed her versatility when usurping the Gr.3 Scarborough Stakes (1200m) at The Valley on Friday night on a Good4 surface. The Mark Walker-trained three-year-old was sent out a $9.50 chance by punters with her previous Listed Cap D’Antibes (1100m) victory at Flemington coming on a rain-affected surface. Jockey Michael Dee was able to get Bellatrix Star into a stalking position just off the leader in the three-year-old fillies contest before swooping in the home straight to score a comfortable three-quarters of a length victory from…
Author: NZRacingDesk
Pride Of Jenni dazzles in Feehan
Star Trelawney Stud-bred mare Pride Of Jenni (Pride Of Dubai) put on yet another stunning front-running display to prevail in a thrilling Gr.2 Feehan Stakes (1600m) at The Valley on AFL Grand Final eve. The Ciaron Maher-trained mare was brilliantly ridden by Declan Bates who enabled her to skip to her customary lengthy lead before she withstood the late challenge of Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) who was as gallant as ever in defeat. New Zealand breeders supplied the trifecta, with Antino (NZ) (Redwood) also brave in third. Maher was thrilled…
Livamol locked in for Snazzytavi
Snazzytavi has booked her ticket south to Hastings next month to contest the Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m) following an eye-catching victory at Te Rapa on Friday. The Group Three-winning daughter of Tavistock was second-up in the BCD Group Mile (1600m) after finishing ninth in the Gr.1 Tarzino Trophy (1400m) at Hastings earlier this month, and trainers Graham Richardson and Rogan Norvall were hoping for a confidence-boosting result. Snazzytavi was backed into $1.90 favouritism and duly delivered for punters. Jumping from the ace barrier, she followed a blistering pace set by…
Suit Yourself too strong at Te Rapa
Bloodstock agents are circling exciting three-year-old Suit Yourself following his win in the SJC Foundation 3YO (1200m) at Te Rapa on Friday. The son of Savile Row was fair away from his ace barrier and settled in midfield for jockey Ryan Elliot. The pair tracked up on the inner behind the leaders down the straight before Elliot presented his charge through a gap at the 200m mark and Suit Yourself quickly accelerated to take the lead and held on for a long neck victory over a fast-finishing Domain Ace. “He…
TAB Racing Club adding the experience of ownership
The experience of racehorse ownership is just a click away for TAB customers following the official launch of the TAB Racing Club (TRC) today. The club, which is modelled on a similar club operated by Entain through its Ladbrokes brand in Australia, offers TAB customers the chance to opt in to becoming a member of the club, and experience the joys of ownership without spending a cent. The club’s purpose is to drive awareness and support for getting involved in racing ownership. TAB customers who are logged into their accounts…
Entain Edition – September 2024
The release of the 2023/24 Report of the New Zealand Pattern Committee last week highlighted to us the need for ongoing change in relation to our thoroughbred racing calendar. The Pattern plays an incredibly important role in the broader thoroughbred ecosystem, and we share the concern of the Pattern Committee in relation to the seven Group 1 races that enter the 2024/25 season with a ‘Warning’ status. With the elevation of the late January TAB Karaka Millions day over recent years (and rightly so), we believe there does need to be…
Lord Donovan to resume at Hastings
John Wheeler will mix flat and jumping assignments with his in-form stable this weekend, including the return of progressive galloper Lord Donovan at Hastings on Saturday. The son of Lord caught plenty of attention during New Zealand Cup Week when winning a race at each of the three meetings, and continued to perform in premier Rating 75 company through the remainder of the season. Returning for a new campaign towards the Riccarton carnival, where he currently holds a nomination for the Gr.3 TAB Mile (1600m), Lord Donovan will contest the…
Te Akau building spring momentum in the South Island
Spring racing in the South Island has been a happy hunting ground for Te Akau Racing throughout the last couple of decades, and that trend is set to continue with another strong team of seven runners at Riccarton Park on Saturday. New Zealand’s leading trainers Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson won 63 races in the South Island last season, and they have continued in much the same vein with a dozen winners through the first two months of 2024-25. Perhaps the highest-profile of those is the three-year-old Savabeel colt Age…
Talented pair bring Surgenor back to the Bay
Several years have passed since Joanne Surgenor last competed in a Hawke’s Bay Spring Carnival, but the Ardmore Lodge trainer is heading back to Hastings on Saturday with a pair of well-credentialled runners. Surgenor has trained 55 winners in a career that started during the 2006-07 season, and according to New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing statistics, she has saddled a total of four runners at Hastings that have all been unplaced. That includes two shots at the Listed (now Gr.3) Spring Sprint (1400m) with Black Panther, who finished a close seventh…
Hastings key to Poetic Champion’s immediate future
Poetic Champion’s performance on Saturday will determine the future direction of his three-year-old season. The son of Super Seth will head into unfamiliar distance territory when he bids for a successful return visit to Hastings in the Gr.2 AHD Animal Health Direct – Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m). Off the back of a promising juvenile campaign, Poetic Champion was a dashing winner off the front when he resumed in the Listed El Roca – Sir Colin Meads Trophy (1200m) on the opening day of the Hawke’s Bay carnival. “Obviously, he got…