Author: NZRacingDesk

Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson will head to Champions Day at Ellerslie on Saturday with a number of leading prospects, and the country’s leading trainers are looking forward to being a part of the monumental meeting. The 10-race card will include eight stakes races, three at Group One level, and the inaugural running of the $3.5 million NZB Kiwi (1500m), and Bergerson said it will be a landmark day for New Zealand racing. “It is a ground-breaking day in terms of the history of New Zealand racing,” he said. “It…

Stephen Marsh has given the high flying El Vencedor the nod as his best chance of landing a winning blow at Ellerslie on Saturday. The Cambridge trainer is well-represented in the Champions’ Day features but finds it hard to go past the in-form son of Shocking in his bid to add the Gr.1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m) to his record. El Vencedor is chasing his third top-flight title on the bounce following successes in the Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) and the Gr.1 Otaki-Maori WFA Classic (1600m). “I think…

It has been almost a year since Ayrton (NZ) (Iffraaj) last raced, but after a long and steady build-up the gelding is set to run at Flemington.  Ayrton lines up in the Group 3 Shaftesbury Avenue Handicap (1400m) on Saturday having not raced since finishing seventh in last year’s edition of the All-Star Mile which was held at Caulfield.  The Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr-trained galloper was in work and being prepared for a spring campaign last year but did not come up as expected and was turned out for a break.  Kent Jnr said the…

Two-year-old colt Kilman (NZ) (Super Seth) made a strong first impression with a debut win at Warwick Farm on Wednesday in the Chase The Dream Handicap (1100m) for trainer Chris Waller. The son of Super Seth settled towards the rear before coming with a well-timed finish under jockey James McDonald to score by just under a length. Purchased for $360,000 at the 2024 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale by Waller Racing and Mulcaster Bloodstock, Kilman races in the colours of owners Neville Morgan and David Devine and had trialled…

Talented filly Dream Of The Moon got her three-year-old season back on track at Riccarton Park on Wednesday, saluting fresh-up in the Book A Suite For Autumn Racing 65 (1200m). The daughter of All Too Hard has scaled far greater heights than her mid-week assignment, placing in the Gr.2 Wakefield Challenge Stakes (1200m), Listed Canterbury Belle Stakes (1200m) and Gr.3 Barneswood Farm Stakes (1400m). After sustaining an injury, Dream Of The Moon was ruled out for the remainder of the spring and summer period, but had indicated she was ready…

Trainer of Ceolwulf, Joe Pride, chats about the superstars return in the Canterbury Stakes and which of his horses to follow this weekend. CLICK TO PLAY AUDIO

The question on all punters lips after the Avondale Guineas is Willydoit? Get a behind the scenes look into how it unfolded on Guineas Day and the latest from Shaun Clotworthy ahead of the Derby.

Slot holder Daniel Nakhle has a key chance for the locals in Saturday’s $3.5 million NZB Kiwi (1500m), but his focus will also lie much earlier on the card on Champions Day, with his star sprinter Crocetti (NZ) (Zacinto) contesting the Gr.3 Haunui Farm King’s Plate (1200m). The Auckland businessman is the breeder-owner of Zacinto gelding, the Group One-winning three-year-old who earned his stripes at four with an emphatic last-gasp victory over Alabama Lass in the Gr.1 Railway (1200m) on Karaka Millions Night at Ellerslie. Nakhle reflected fondly on that…

Wexford Stables’ long-held plan for an all-out assault on The NZB Kiwi (1500m) at Ellerslie has come to fruition, with a quartet of in-form contenders to do battle on Saturday. Trainers Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott will be represented by Checkmate (NZ) (Mongolian Khan), Sought After (NZ) (Tivaci), Sethito (NZ) (Super Seth) and Hankee Alpha (NZ) (Proisir) in the inaugural running of the $3.5 million Champions’ Day feature. “It’s certainly been a massive team effort and at the beginning of the season we had a number of three-year-olds that were…

Evergreen galloper Pep Torque (NZ) (Nadeem) will return to the races after more than a year off the scene at New Plymouth on Saturday. An 11-year-old by Nadeem, Pep Torque has been an incredibly consistent campaigner for trainer and part-owner Kirsty Lawrence, collecting 10 wins and 24 minor placings, and accumulating more than $328,000 in stakes earnings. He earned a deserved stakes victory when winning the 2022 Listed Fielding Gold Cup (2100m) and had continued that form into the following season, before finishing third in the Wairoa Cup (2100m) last…