Author: NZRacingDesk

A week after pulling off a first-up masterstroke with the veteran Ata Rangi (NZ) (Haradasun) at Ellerslie, John Bell is hoping to see another bold return to racing this weekend – this time from one of the most exciting up-and-coming talents in his Cambridge stable. Monday’s Waihou Tavern (1150m) at Te Aroha will mark the first raceday appearance in 152 days for Twain (NZ) (Per Incanto). The well-related son of Per Incanto and the Gr.1 Railway (1200m) winner Fleur De Lune is raced by his breeders Elizabeth and Peter Martin…

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Exciting New Zealand-bred mare Niance (NZ) (Swiss Ace) has bounced back from a serious injury and picked up right where she left off last spring, collecting her third consecutive black-type win in Saturday’s A$175,000 Listed Bel Esprit Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield. The five-year-old Swiss Ace mare has now had 11 starts for seven wins, a placing, and A$449,467 in prize-money. She announced her arrival on the big stage in Melbourne last spring with victories in the Listed Alinghi Stakes (1100m) in October and Gr.3 How Now Stakes (1200m) in November…

Well-related Trelawney Stud filly Madiyya (NZ) (Super Seth) signed off her three-year-old season with a third straight win, this time over 1600m in the A$150,000 Rod Griffiths Handicap at Caulfield on Saturday. The Ben, Will and JD Hayes-trained Madiyya has made a big impression in a four-race campaign this autumn. She made her debut with a second placing over 1200m at Pakenham in late March, followed by wins in a 1400m maiden at Sale on April 20, a 1400m three-year-old handicap at Caulfield on May 10, and Saturday’s victory over…

A two-race North Island campaign has ended on a career-defining high for Ears Back (NZ) (Jakkalberry) and her Rangiora trainer John Blackadder, who scored their first black-type win in Saturday’s Listed AGC Training Stakes (1600m) at Wanganui. Bad luck has been a recurring theme throughout the career of the Jakkalberry mare, including a check in the straight when beaten by only 2.7 lengths in the Gr.3 TAB Mile (1600m) at Riccarton last November, along with a close fifth after a less-than-perfect run in the Listed Rangitikei Cup (1600m) at Trentham…

Promising New Zealand-bred stayer Campaldino (NZ) (Ghibellines) passed his biggest test with flying colours at Eagle Farm on Saturday, stepping up to stakes company and adding the A$200,000 Gr.3 Living Turf Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2400m) to his winning sequence. The lightly raced four-year-old gelding headed to Brisbane as the winner of his last two starts, having taken out the Orange Cup (2100m) on April 11 and a Benchmark 78 over 2400m on Randwick’s Kensington track two weeks later. Those performances made enough of an impression for Campaldino to start…

Progressive three-year-old Whiskey ‘N Roses (NZ) (Belardo) bounced back to winning form with a courageous effort to take out the Captain Compost Landscape Supplies (1400m) at Te Rapa on Saturday. The son of former Haunui Stud-based stallion Belardo made a red-hot start to his racing career, winning two of his first three starts before finishing second to subsequent Group One winner Savaglee (NZ) (Savabeel) in the Gr.2 James & Annie Sarten Memorial (1400m) in October last year. He continued to race primarily against the best of his age group with…

Owner-trainer-breeder Kylie Little believes she might have a promising stayer on her hands with Eagle Rock (NZ) (El Roca), who left maiden ranks with an emphatic performance in Saturday’s Matt Edwards-Lime Group Mile (1600m) at Te Rapa. The $20,000 race was the third career start for the three-year-old gelding, who had finished second at Pukekohe and Wanganui in his two previous appearances on April 23 and May 11. Eagle Rock was given a perfect run on Saturday by jockey Bridget Grylls, who slotted him into fourth spot along the rail…

Punters were licking their lips after promising mare Ima Brazen One (NZ) (Brazen Beau) landed a huge betting plunge by fighting doggedly on the fence to take victory in the Dawn Eales-Baldwin Memorial Open (1200m) at Wanganui. The Mike Breslin-prepared four-year-old was punted in to start a $2.80 Fixed Odds favourite after opening at more than $10 earlier in the week, and with apprentice Toni Davies making good use of her 3kg claim to ride the mare at a featherweight 51kgs, the daughter of Brazen Beau looked a top prospect.…

Late-season black type is on the radar for Platinum Diamond (NZ) (Hello Youmzain) after an impressive upset victory in Saturday’s Full Circle Appearance Medicine 2YO (1200m) at Wanganui. Platinum Diamond was a late foal, born on the 4th of December in 2022, and has been patiently handled by her Awapuni trainer, Lisa Latta. The Hello Youmzain filly’s first and only trial produced a second placing over 1000m at Foxton on April 15, followed by a fourth at Hawera on her raceday debut three weeks later. Platinum Diamond was an overlooked…