Category: Featured

A busy time on-farm and a lack of suitable races has prompted Waverley trainer Joanne Moss to send her stable star Doctor Askar (NZ) (Derryn) across the Tasman to join champion trainer Chris Waller. The five-year-old gelding has won seven of his 22 starts, with a further seven placings, with the Gr.2 Thorndon Mile (1600m) victory in January a career highlight to date. Doctor Askar is the sole horse in training for Moss, who along with partner Isaac Lupton, operates a dairy farm in South Taranaki alongside their horse interests.…

A fresh and raring to go Jimmysstar (NZ) (Per Incanto), taking on a classy field of sprinters – including a hard-fit Jigsaw (Manhattan Rain) in career-best form – it looks a mouthwatering William Reid Stakes on Saturday. Jimmysstar is a triple G1 victor, a winner of five first-up efforts from seven, and was super behind the world’s best sprinter, Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress), at his last go over 1200m in the Everest. At $1.90, the son of Per Incanto is the market’s clear top pick and another positive for…

Sending Warwoven (Sword Of State) into the Golden Slipper on a seven-day back-up has never been Plan A, but the forecast for rain in Sydney has trainer Bjorn Baker warming to the challenge. Two horses have won the race on a quick turnaround in recent years, Kiamichi (Sidestep) in 2019 and Shinzo (Snitzel) three years ago, and should Rosehill be wet on Saturday, Warwoven’s race fitness could become an advantage. The colt, who has barrier 14, was a $7 chance on Wednesday, while stablemate and pre-draw equal favourite Paradoxium (Extreme…

Promising filly Summer Schemer (Dirty Work) will have the opportunity at Pukekohe to press her claims for a crack at an upcoming elite-level prize. She will step out in Friday’s trackside.co.nz (1200m) off the back of an impressive debut victory with trainers Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray keen to then raise the bar with the youngster. “If she runs well, she’ll go on to the Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr.1, 1400m), but she would obviously need to win or be unlucky not to win and come through the race well…

For decades the magic waters of Karioitahi Beach on Auckland’s south-west coast have done wonders in reviving the careers of racehorses. Now they’re being put to the test with proven performer Habana (Zoustar), who is set to have his first start for Waiuku trainers Moira and Kieran Murdoch in the Nikau Contractors 1400 at Pukekohe Park on Friday. Karioitahi Beach gained fame as far back as the 1960s, when Clyde Conway put the crashing breakers and black sand to fruitful use with champion jumper Smoke Ring and a string of…

Pride Of Jenni (Pride Of Dubai) has taken a step closer to her second-up assignment with a gallop at Caulfield. Ciaron Maher took advantage of taking a small team of horses away from Cranbourne for gallops at Caulfield on Tuesday morning. One of those horses was evergreen Trelawney Stud bred mare Pride Of Jenni who is building towards a start on Saturday week. Maher indicated the Gr.1 Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington was the likely next assignment for Pride Of Jenni while the Gr.1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m)…

Trainer Jamie Richards hopes Karaka graduate Storming Dragon (Star Turn) can turn his consistency into a hard-earned win when he tackles the Class 3 Hydrangea Handicap (1200m) at Happy Valley on Wednesday night. “He’s running really well,” Richards said. “He just costs himself at the start and he doesn’t travel very well for the first half of the race. “It looks like he wants to go further, but when you step him up in trip, he lets you down a little bit. He just needs everything to go perfectly for…

New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) has confirmed that it will recognise and support the enforcement of key traceability provisions within the Australian Rules of Racing relating to broodmare returns and foal ownership declarations. Some time ago, Racing Australia amended its Rules of Racing to prohibit any horse from racing unless both a Mare Return and a Foal Ownership Declaration have been lodged in accordance with the Australian Rules. These rules are now being actively enforced, and horses that have not complied with the requirements are being prohibited from being registered…

With a view to what the long-term future holds for Saturday’s feature Tauranga winner Omega Boy (NZ) (Time Test), the Gr.2 Awapuni Gold Cup (2100m) will be next on his schedule to assess his middle-distance potential. Off the back of a Rating 75 1400m win a fortnight before at Hawera, trainers Peter and Trent Didham made a well calculated move to step their rapidly improving five-year-old up to Group Two northern company in the Ultimate Mazda Japan Trophy (1600m). Ridden by Cambridge apprentice Sam McNab, Omega Boy proved right up…

Entries for NZB’s 2026 National Weanling Sale are now open, with the Sale set to be held at the Karaka Sales Centre on Thursday 25 June. Continuing as a dedicated weanling only format, the Sale is a happy hunting ground for those searching for their next pinhook success story or racetrack star. The Sale also offers breeders an attractive platform to sell their young stock to a strong international and domestic audience, with the added bonus of Karaka Millions eligibility. The weanling session in 2025 returned more than $2.5 million…