Day: 16 April 2024

Regally-bred colt Magice (NZ) (Savabeel) has plenty of pressure to live up to his family name, but he will begin that challenge when he makes his debut in the Arawa Park Hotel 2YO 1150 at Rotorua on Wednesday. Bred by Waikato Stud, Magice is by the farm’s champion stallion Savabeel and out of Group Three winner Magic Dancer, making him a full-brother to Group One winner Noverre. Purchased by Te Akau Racing principal David Ellis out of Waikato Stud’s 2020 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 1 Yearling Sale draft for $800,000,…

New Zealand’s reigning Champion Jumper, West Coast (NZ) (Mettre En Jeu), is set to resume at Waverley on Thursday and trainer Mark Oulaghan has a plethora of options ahead of him this season with the eight-year-old gelding. The son of Mettre En Jeu is yet to miss a placing in his 14 jumping starts to date, including seven steeplechase victories and a sole Hurdle triumph. His jumping prowess was on full display last year when he won his maiden Hurdle in May before going on to secure four prestige jumps…

Joanne Surgenor had plenty of success a couple of seasons ago with multiple Group Two winner Showoroses, and now she is set to unveil a close relative that she believes has just as much talent. Showoroses was a standout for Surgenor, winning five of her 20 career starts, including the Gr.2 Cal Isuzu Stakes (1600m), Gr.2 Rich Hill Mile and Gr.2 Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m), and also placed in the Gr.2 Eight Carat Classic (1600m), Gr.3 Bonecrusher Stakes (1400m), Cal Isuzu Stakes and Auckland Thoroughbreds Breeders’ Stakes. She was…

Epee Beel’s  (Epaulette) victory in Saturday’s Listed NZB Insurance Stakes (1400m) at Riccarton was a welcome result for breeder Monovale Farm. The three-year-old daughter of Epaulette became the first stakes winner out of Group Two performer Pipi Beel, who was bred by the late Paul Smithies, father of farm principals Joe and Max. Smithies senior sold Pipi Beel as a yearling for $75,000 to Murray Baker at Karaka 2013, for whom she went on to win three and place in three of her seven starts, including runner-up in the Gr.2…

Jim and David Wallace are savouring the best of both worlds with their Ardsley Stud homebred War Machine (NZ) (Harry Angel). While they failed in two attempts to sell the son of Harry Angel at Karaka, father and son are now enjoying the three-year-old’s burgeoning racing career as part-owners of the last-start Listed Bendigo Guineas (1400m) winner. War Machine had fallen short of his $100,000 reserve at both New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale and Ready to Run Sale when offered by Ardsley. “Everybody thought he was too small, I…

Dominic Sutton will give his two youngsters who have given him a flying start to his training career one more run each before they are spelled ahead of spring. After only saddling up his first starter on March 8, Sutton has made a spectacular start to his training career with Feroce (NZ) (Super Seth) winning at Pakenham and then Caulfield and filly Khadime scoring at Sandown last week. Both horses will now head to feature races at the end of the month, with Feroce to head to Flemington to run…

Punters don’t have to do too much drilling to find the right form lines for New Zealand stayer Good Oil (NZ) (Dalghar) when he starts in Saturday’s A$300,000 Listed Mornington Cup (2400m). At his most recent start, Good Oil finished second in the Auckland Cup to Mahrajaan, with subsequent impressive Roy Higgins Quality winner Mark Twain third. Trainer Andrew Forsman has taken the stayer to his Flemington stables so he can tackle the Mornington Cup on Saturday and the Andrew Ramsden at Flemington on May 18. Both races have significant…

With countless highlights throughout its 100-lot catalogue, the 2024 NZB National Online Yearling Sale gives buyers access to a quality selection of yearlings that would not have been out of place in the Book 1 or Book 2 sessions at Karaka earlier in the year. There are 16 siblings to black-type performers, along with half a dozen progeny of stakes-performed mares. Top-class families feature prominently throughout many of the catalogue’s pedigree pages. Below is just a small selection of some of the highlight lots that will be available for purchase…