Author: NZRacingDesk

There was a time when Darryn Weatherley wondered if Mali Ston (NZ) (El Roca) would ever return to a racecourse, but patience and perseverance paid off when the talented gelding kicked off his season with a powerful second in Saturday’s Gr.2 Foxbridge Plate (1200m). The Group Two-winning son of El Roca was underrated in the sprint contest, jumping a $39 chance with Sacred Satono and Skew Wiff as the favoured horses in a competitive running of the Te Rapa feature. Settling back near the tail throughout the race, Mali Ston…

Stylish debut winner Public Attention (NZ) (Written Tycoon) will progress his campaign towards the Gr.1 Caulfield Guineas with a barrier trial at Cranbourne on Monday.  The Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr-trained three-year-old scored at the final meeting of the 2023-24 season at Caulfield with Price immediately setting his sights on the stallion making race over 1600m at Caulfield in October.  Public Attention is set to trial over 800m on Monday in preparation for his return in the Listed McKenzie Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on September 7.  Price took advantage of taking Public Attention to Moonee Valley last…

A convincing victory by Diamond Jak (NZ) (Jakkalberry) in the $50,000 Savabeel 2100 capped a special hour at Te Rapa on Saturday for Matamata brothers Peter and Mark Brosnan.  The two trainers collected wins in back-to-back races on the Te Rapa card, starting with Ima Wonder’s triumph for Peter Brosnan and his wife Jessica in the Bridges Insurance Services Pakuranga Hunt Cup (4800m).  Mark Brosnan followed suit 40 minutes later, saddling Diamond Jak for a richly deserved success in the day’s 2100m open handicap.  Diamond Jak headed to Te Rapa…

Promising three-year-old Suit Yourself (NZ) (Savile Row) honoured the memory of the late Kevin Hickman in perfect fashion when he scored a special victory at Te Rapa on Saturday.  The Pam Gerard-trained colt is a son of Savile Row, one of the many tremendous horses bred and raced by Hickman who passed away on Friday after a lengthy illness.  Hickman developed his Valachi Downs Stud into an internationally respected thoroughbred nursery, with Savile Row one of the many Group One performers bred and raced from the Matamata-based operation.  Suit Yourself…

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New Zealand import Trosettee (NZ) (Jimmy Choux) collected a long-overdue first Australian victory with a come-from-behind win in Saturday’s A$130,000 Ladbroke It! Handicap (1600m) at Moonee Valley. The Jimmy Choux gelding was a five-time winner from 12 starts in New Zealand for his Opaki owner-trainer Grant Nicholson. The most recent of those victories was the Egmont Cup (2100m) at Hawera in October of 2021. Nicholson then sent him to Victoria to join the stable of Patrick Payne. Although he went winless in his first 11 races on that side of…

New Zealand-breds fought out a thrilling finish to Saturday’s A$80,000 Dr Bernard Clarke Memorial Handicap (2040m) at Moonee Valley, with Lauding digging deep to score a narrow win over Lincoln Rocks. Road to Rock gelding Lincoln Rocks went into the race as a $3.30 favourite on the strength of his last-start win at the same venue on August 10. Lauding had been unplaced in his two previous appearances in this campaign, but was unbeaten in two starts at The Valley and had blinkers on for Saturday’s race. Lauding was drawn…

John and Karen Parsons have had a lot of success with the progeny of their talented race mare Arietta (NZ) (Falkirk), which continued at Riccarton Park Synthetic on Saturday with La Bella Nera (NZ) (Sweynesse) collecting top honours in the Christchurch Casino 27th South Island Racing Awards – 13th September Rating 80 (1200m). Based out of Balcairn, the Parsons prepared a pair of runners to contest the open sprint event in La Bella Nera and More Than Words (NZ) (Sweynesse), with the former rated a hot-favourite at $1.80, ahead of…

Previously a stakes winner at the ages of two, three, four and five, Bonny Lass (NZ) (Super Easy) kicked off her six-year-old season on a perfect note when she defeated a star-studded field in Saturday’s Gr.2 Waikato Stud Foxbridge Plate (1200m) at Te Rapa. The high-class daughter of Super Easy has taken her connections on a special ride over the last few seasons, beginning with a victory in the Gr.2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) as a two-year-old in February of 2021. Bonny Lass added the Gr.3 Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes (1200m)…

The New Zealand thoroughbred industry has lost one of its most influential figures of the last two decades with the passing of Kevin Hickman after a long illness. Tributes to the Valachi Downs principal have flowed from around New Zealand and Australia, including from Gareth Downey, who was Valachi’s general manager from 2020 to its closure in 2022. He now has a management role with leading Australian stable Lindsay Park Racing. “It really is a huge loss, and it’s the end of what’s been a very difficult journey in recent…