Year: 2020

New Plymouth trainer Gary McBeth is looking forward to lining up his pride and joy Hi I’m Nikkita in the South Taranaki Club Egmont Cup (2100m) at Hawera on Saturday. The five-year-old mare finished runner-up in the Road To The Jericho (3210m) at her home track last start and McBeth said if she had found clear racing room she may have booked her ticket across the Tasman for the marathon feature. “The jockey (Hazel Schofer) said they were three strides too late in getting out,” McBeth said. “She has come…

Champion jockey Opie Bosson is confident his season can kick into gear when he takes seven rides at Matamata on Saturday. The star hoop has taken longer than he would like to shed the last few kilos to get him back to racing trim following a winter break. But after 19 rides for three winners from a restricted pool of heavyweight rides thus far this season, Bosson feels like he is getting back to the form that saw him snare 11 Group One victories last season, five of which were…

Mo’unga (NZ) (Savabeel) is a name sports fans were cheering long before the unbeaten horse of the same name, who is one of the leading fancies for Saturday’s Gr.1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m), hit the racetrack. Richie Mo’unga is a hero to many rugby-mad New Zealanders due to his deeds with the All Blacks, who will be in action against the Wallabies in the Bledisloe Cup on Sunday. He burst onto the scene around the same time a son of Savabeel and the O’Reilly mare Chandelier, who has All Black connections,…

Leading European sprinter Hello Youmzain has been retired and will begin his stallion career in France at Haras d’Etreham before shuttling to Cambridge Stud in New Zealand next year. Purchased by Haras d’Etreham and Cambridge Stud during the autumn of his three-year-old season, the talented son of Kodiac went on to win the Gr.1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes (1200m) at Royal Ascot in the colours of Cambridge Stud earlier this year. A winner on debut over 1200m, Hello Youmzain concluded his juvenile season with victory in the Gr.2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte…

The New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association (NZTBA) are calling for applicants for next year’s Irish National Stud scholarship. The NZTBA are seeking a passionate, motivated individual who would like to travel internationally to further their career in the New Zealand thoroughbred industry. The successful applicant will gain an all-expenses paid scholarship to the internationally renowned Irish National Stud, based in Kildare in Ireland and will attend a five-month Diploma of Breeding Course that will commence in January 2021. The course is mainly of a practical nature and is designed to…