Talented mare Bedtime Story (NZ) (Per Incanto) will be out to add to her recent black-type status at Arawa Park on Saturday, lining up in the Gr.3 Rotorua ITM Stakes (1400m). Patiently handled by Guy Lowry and Leah Zydenbos, the four-year-old mare has headed to the races 14 times, with fourth placings in the Gr.2 Wellington Guineas (1400m) and Listed Flying Handicap (1400m), capped off by a last-start third in the Listed ANZAC Mile (1600m). The Wanganui feature was Bedtime Story’s first attempt over the mile distance and Lowry couldn’t…
Author: NZRacingDesk
Hezashocka gunning for second Gosford Gold Cup
New Zealand bred gelding Hezashocka (NZ) (Shocking) is on the verge of making history by aiming for consecutive victories in the Listed Gosford Gold Cup (2100m) on Saturday, a feat not achieved in over five decades. The last horse to secure back-to-back wins in this race was Dark Diamond in 1971 and 1972. Trained by Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, Hezashocka showcased his prowess on heavy tracks by clinching the 2024 edition of the race, held at Newcastle due to renovations at Gosford Racecourse. Despite trailing leader Sir Lucan…
Consistent Medatsu heads Waller’s Cup quintet
Chris Waller will saddle up to five runners in his quest for a fourth win in the Listed Gosford Gold Cup (2100m) but in a rare position for the champion trainer, all are set to start at double-figure odds. Waller has First Light (Dubawai) ($101), Etna Rosso (Decorated Knight) ($26), Scarlet Oak (Kermadec) ($15), Medatsu (NZ) (Staphanos)($13) and Mr Waterville (Camelot) ($41) in Saturday’s 2100m feature and confirmed the market’s top pick of his quintet, Medatsu, would back up from his fourth in last Friday’s Listed Wagga Cup (2000m). The gelding settled worse than midfield in the country feature and made late ground, Waller hoping…
Kennedys double-up at Ellerslie
Barbara Kennedy was delighted to score her first winning double on New Zealand soil at Ellerslie on Wednesday, with her husband Warren guiding both Matzden and Hero Of War in consecutive races. In the fourth on the mid-week card, Matzden was among the favoured runners for the Auckland Co-Op Taxis 1400 after performing gamely on debut in heavy track conditions at Pukekohe. Back on an improving soft surface, the gelding still had to contend with the extreme outside draw, eventually forced to settle three-deep near the tail of the field.…
Regally-bred filly scores at Ellerslie
Well-related filly Paravane (Merchant Navy) broke through for her maiden win in pleasing fashion at Ellerslie on Wednesday when taking out the Join TAB Racing Club 1200 in the hands of senior hoop Vinnie Colgan. The daughter of Merchant Navy jumped well and was taken straight to the front by Colgan, who set a good tempo upfront, and the pair were never tested, with Paravane running out a comfortable 2-1/2 length victor for trainers Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson. Out of Group Two performer In The Vanguard, Paravane is a…
Gavelhouse the gift that keeps on giving for Sharrock
It would be hard to find a bigger fan of Gavelhouse.com than Gavin Sharrock, with the Taranaki horseman producing yet another winning graduate of the online auction platform at Hawera on Tuesday. Sharrock purchased Spandeedo (NZ) (Ferrando) out of Rogerson Bloodstock’s 2024 New Zealand Bloodstock Online Yearling Sale draft on Gavelhouse Plus for $5,000, and he more than repaid his purchase price when taking out the Aquashield Roofing Two-Year-Old Maiden (1100m) on Tuesday. The two-year-old son of Ferrando has shown a lot of promise for Sharrock, however, it hasn’t been…
Stakes winner set to bounce back in Cup
Well-performed mare Our Jumala (NZ) (Zed) is back to her best following a recent hiccup and is in the right order to add to her black-type record. The six-year-old will head north for the Listed Campbell Infrastructure Rotorua Cup (2200m) on Saturday with jockey Craig Grylls to continue his association with the Robbie Patterson-trained representative. Grylls guided Our Jumala to victory in the Gr.3 Cuddle Stakes (1600m) three runs back before they finished in behind the major players in the Gr.3 Manawatu Breeders’ Stakes (2050m) and Gr.2 Travis Stakes (2000m).…
Tyler team chasing hometown spoils
Kelvin Tyler was unstoppable on his home track over the Easter weekend, and he’ll be hoping for more of the same with a big team lining up at Riverton on Friday. Tyler won six races across the two-day carnival, including four when combining with Central Districts apprentice jockey Amber Riddell. The rising hoop will travel to the deep south again to partner a number of Tyler’s representatives, including the ever-consistent mare Go Lotte in the Doug Horrell Contracting/Ricki Egerton Dagging Handicap (1600m). The pair won the Francolin Stakes (1400m) at…
Turner holds strong hand at home meeting
It was a case of always the bridesmaid and never the bride for Riverton trainer Ebony Turner at her local Easter meeting, but she is hoping to turn those tables when she returns to her home track on Friday with a septet of runners. Whiny Meow and Tommy Perfect were two of those Easter placegetters, and they will be hoping to go one better in the Otautau Farmlands/Uncle Bucks Second Hand Shop Handicap (1400m). Turner has been particularly impressed with the form of Whiny Meow over the last few months,…
Warmonger focus turns to Cups
After a luckless end to his Sydney campaign, the focus for talented stayer Warmonger (NZ) (War Decree) is firmly on the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups. Co-trainer Michael Kent Jnr said the rising five-year-old gelding has been sent for a quick break before he returns to work to be set for the spring majors. The runaway winner of the 2024 Gr.1 Queensland Derby finished second in the Listed Randwick City Stakes (2000m) behind Alalcance, before running 10th in the Gr.1 Tancred Stakes and 13th in the Gr.1 Sydney Cup. Kent Jnr…