Author: NZRacingDesk

Progressive sprinter Twain (NZ) (Per Incanto) added another victory to his burgeoning record when he dominated his rivals in the Tauranga Hardware & Plumbing (1200m) at Tauranga on Saturday. The John Bell-trained four-year-old had opened his account at the Bay of Plenty venue back in July and quickly followed up with a second win at Te Rapa shortly afterwards. A pair of placed finishes followed without a lot of luck, however, in Saturday’s seven-horse rating 75 contest he looked a strong prospect and so it proved as he tracked tearaway…

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Former Kiwi galloper Nikau Spur continues to provide Toowoomba trainers Corey and Kylie Geran with huge thrills and the momentum continued when scoring a last-stride victory in the Listed New Zealand Bloodstock Beauford (2300m) at Newcastle on Saturday. The eight-year-old son of Proisir was the winner of the Listed Queensland Cup (2400m) two starts back and relished the solid tempo on Saturday as he landed the thick end of the A$300,000 purse. Ridden by Tim Clark, Nikau Spur narrowly got the better of Herman Hesse, with Naval College a luckless…

The Paul Preusker-trained Torranzino has come from near last to score a narrow victory in the A$500,000 Hyland Victorian Country Cups Final (2000m) at Caulfield on Saturday. The five-year-old son of Tarzino was the first emergency and gained a start care of the scratching of You Betcha Woo. Going back from the widest barrier of 15, Torranzino carried 52kgs with Celine Gaudray’s claim, and worked into the race at the right time, coming widest to defeat Charterhouse and the game Arran Bay. Torranzino has been in work since May and…

After going into the New Zealand Cup Carnival without any black-type victories to her name, Mehzebeen leaves Riccarton with two of them including Saturday’s time-honoured Gr.3 Martin Collins 161st New Zealand Cup (3200m). This has been a career-changing week for Mehzebeen, who showed bright promise with a Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) placing as a three-year-old but has alternated between disappointing and unlucky through the 18 months since. The first sign that Mehzebeen might be turning a corner came on the first day of the carnival last Saturday, where she…

Riccarton’s Listed Lindauer Stewards’ Stakes (1200m) is a special race on the calendar for local trainers Michael and Matthew Pitman, who won the $140,000 sprint showpiece again on Saturday with a remarkable performance from a rising star. Mystic Park became the Pitman stable’s sixth Stewards’ Stakes winner in the last 17 years, joining Coup Bloomsbury (2007), Coup Align (2009 and 2010) and El Chico, who won it as a seven-year-old in 2011 and again as an 11-year-old in 2015. With those previous winners along with Group One speedsters like Enzo’s…

A perfect ride by Nash Rawiller has aided Harlow Mist to record her fourth career victory for trainer John Sargent when successful in the Bella Group Midway Handicap (1600m) at Newcastle on Saturday. The four-year-old mare by Contributer was back in the winner’s circle for the first time in just over 12 months, having campaigned in elite company as a three-year-old. Group Two placed in the Wakeful Stakes (2000m) last spring, Harlow Mist had been building towards a win with a good fifth in the A$500,000 Four Pillars (1500m) at…

Promising mare Bella Waters indicated she is on the right path to success in some of the upcoming major summer feature events when she came from last to secure victory in the Gr.2 Gartshore Tauranga Stakes (1600m) at Tauranga. Carrying the colours of Cambridge Stud principals Brendan and Jo Lindsay, who bred and race her, the Moira and Kieran Murdoch-prepared five-year-old was having just her second start in a new campaign after signing off her four-year-old season with success in the Listed Rotorua Cup (2200m) back in May. A decent…

The emerging rivalry between exciting fillies Alabama Lass and Captured By Love swung back in Captured By Love’s favour with an outstanding performance in Saturday’s Gr.1 Barneswood Farm 52nd New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton. The Matamata-trained stars clashed for the first time in the Gr.2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) on their home track in February, where Captured By Love beat Alabama Lass by a length and three-quarters. That was the only defeat from the first five career starts for Alabama Lass, who went on to string together three…

Apprentice Sima Mxothwa would have had his heart in his mouth with 250m to run in Saturday’s Laser Plumbing Waihi Beach (1400m) at Tauranga. Trainer Allan Sharrock entrusted the four kilogram-claiming apprentice with the ride on race favourite Sumi in the open 1400m contest and up until the closing stages of the contest Mxothwa had done most things right on the seven-year-old mare. Having let the daughter of Atlante find her rhythm towards the back of the field, Mxothwa began to track up behind runners approaching the home bend. Sumi…