Category: Featured

The early spring has tended to bring the very best out of Quintessa, and that trend continued at Ellerslie on Saturday with a spectacular last-to-first performance at $36 odds in the Gr.1 Proisir Plate. The $400,000 weight-for-age triumph came almost exactly a year after the Te Akau Racing mare’s last win, which was a first-up victory in the Gr.3 Cockram Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on August 31 last year. Another 12 months before that, she kicked her three-year-old season off with back-to-back successes at Taupo and in the Gr.3 Gold…

Lollapalooza went into Saturday’s Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) at Ellerslie as a maiden, but she came out of it as one of the leaders of her generation and the clear favourite for the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m). The $150,000 three-year-old fillies’ feature was the El Roca filly’s fourth start. She had finished third on debut at Ellerslie in February behind Lucy In The Sky and Miss Ziggy, then struck bad luck in the straight when eighth in the Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m) in her only other two-year-old…

A booming late run out wide on the track has carried promising stayer Crouch to an eye-caching victory in the first run of a new campaign as he took out the feature race at Otaki on Saturday, the Cavallo Farms and Chris Rutten Bloodstock Handicap (1400m). The Mike Breslin-prepared six-year-old rounded out his last campaign with a fourth in the New Zealand St Leger (2500m) at Trentham in March, a track where he performed with distinction by finishing runner up to Wolfgang in the Gr.3 Wellington Cup (3200m) two months…

Trainer Pam Gerard had been confident of a good showing from her lightly raced three-year-old Affirmative Action and that’s exactly what she got when the showy gelding upset the applecart at a Fixed Odds quote of $91 when taking out the Listed Sir Colin Meads Trophy (1200m) at Ellerslie. The son of the 2019 Everest (1200m) winner Yes Yes Yes had finished third behind To Bravery Born over 1100m at Taupo last month and improved markedly for Saturday’s first stakes race on the Ellerslie card as punters ignored his claims…

Promising gelding Have A Crack retained his unbeaten New Zealand record with a gritty performance to take out the Rich Hill Stud (1200m) at Ellerslie on Saturday. The five-year-old son of Zoustar made his way to Chad Ormsby’s Matamata stable after losing his rider during his only start in Australia last year for trainer Simon Zahra. Ormsby has worked hard on improving the manners of the horse and a trial win at Avondale over 1000m in June indicated he had plenty of ability. Taken to the synthetic track at Cambridge…

Ruakaka stayer Bosch took his best form over the Brynderwyn Hills on Saturday and scored his first Ellerslie victory in the Dunstan Horsefeeds 2200. The Pentire gelding headed into the $75,000 race with five wins to his name, all of them at his home track. His six previous visits to Ellerslie had produced a fourth, a fifth, two sixths and two ninths. It was a different story on Saturday as Bosch produced a relentless front-running performance. Ridden by Samantha Collett for trainer Michelle Bradley, Bosch drew the second to outside…

Saltcoats (NZ) (Ardrossan) delivered trainer Chris Waller his ninth Wyong Cup (2100m) victory when narrowly prevailing in the Listed feature from locally-trained Salt Lake City. The son of Ardrossan was ridden by James McDonald and heavily supported as he landed his fifth career victory from 18 starts, with a further eight placings. McDonald tracked eventual third Glory Daze (Cotai Glory) into the race and came off his back upon straightening to claim the prize. Victory in the Wyong Cup also makes the former Kiwi galloper eligible for the A$3 million…

Smart three-year-old Street Artist notched his first victory in impressive style when leading throughout to defeat a strong maiden field over 1000m at Mornington on Friday by nearly five lengths. The Anthony and Sam Freedman-trained son of Super Seth has recently been gelded after showing raw ability but wayward tendencies at his first two starts as a colt, including a third placing behind stakes performer Express Call and subsequent Group Three winner Ferivia at Sandown on July 30. “If you could have scratched a horse for behavioural issues before a…