Category: Gallops

The unreserved dispersal of highly respected horseman Hec Anderton’s estate has led to five members of an enormously successful South Island family being up for sale on gavelhouse.com. All five descend from the mainland marvel Princess Mellay (Mellay), whose 18 wins included the New Zealand Oaks (2400m) and two editions of the New Zealand Cup (3200m). Princess Mellay went on to be a significant influence at stud, with five winning foals headed by the 19-race winner and triple Group One winner Prince Majestic (NZ) (Noble Bijou). Countless other descendants have…

Promising filly Sweet Talkin Gal got Hollie Wynyard’s week off on the right foot as she readies proven mare Archaic Smile for a stakes assignment at Riccarton on Saturday. The Cambridge trainer ventured to New Plymouth on Wednesday with high hopes for Sweet Talkin Gal, a daughter of Anders who had placed in all three of her raceday starts including third last time out behind Gr.1 Barneswood Farm New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) contender Belle Cheval. The market shared her faith backing the filly into $1.60 favouritism and she got…

Expat Kiwi jockey James McDonald will once again represent his homeland in next month’s LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC), which will take place at Happy Valley Racecourse in Hong Kong on Wednesday, December 10. The LONGINES IJC is the most prestigious jockey challenge in the world and the most lucrative for the winning rider, with the four contested races worth a combined $1.7 million in prizemoney. The total prize fund of $227,000 in bonus money for the most successful riders will be split three ways, with the winner set to…

A team of four will defend Te Akau’s crown in the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m), claimed 12 months ago by Captured By Love, who will bid to return to winning form on the Riccarton undercard. Mark Waker and Sam Bergerson’s Classic hopes in the Barneswood Farm-sponsored feature rest with Cool Aza Rene (Cool Aza Beel), Belle Du Monde (Zoustar), Origin Of Love (Snitzel) and Belle Cheval (NZ) (Savabeel), while last year’s heroine takes on the Gr.3 Windsor Park Stud Canterbury Breeders’ Stakes (1400m). Captured By Love (Written Tycoon)…

Matamata trainer Graham Richardson views Saturday’s Gr.1 Barneswood Farm New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) as a wide-open contest and is hoping Lollapalooza (NZ) (El Roca) can be right in the thick of the $600,000 prize. The El Roca filly announced herself as a key contender for the Riccarton showpiece when taking out the Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) early in the spring, then went down by a nose to Tajana in the Gr.3 Sunline Vase (1400m) a fortnight later. Tajana and Lollapalooza went head-to-head for the second time in the…

Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) is much closer to the end of his career than he is the start, but Ben Hayes sees no reason why the Lindsay Park mainstay can’t land another Champions Mile at Flemington this Saturday. The eight-year-old heads to the $3 million Group 3 off a gutsy second placing in the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on October 18, which has him primed for back-to-back Champions Mile wins. It is a return to the scene of his third-straight Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes…

Robbie Patterson unveiled a star three-year-old at Wednesday’s New Plymouth meeting last year, and 12 months down the track, another daughter of Derryn made a sparkling debut on his home track. That filly was Leica Lucy, who won six of her seven starts, five of those at Group level, for Patterson including the Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) before joining Chris Waller’s barn in Sydney. This spring she added placings in the Gr.1 Toorak Handicap (1600m) and Gr.1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) to her burgeoning record. This year, it was…

Champion trainer Chris Waller will have a rare runner in the Gr.1 VRC Oaks (2500m) at Flemington on Thursday when he saddles second-favourite The Pearls (NZ) (Proisir) in the fillies feature. The daughter of Proisir brings strong Sydney form to Flemington after a game effort when third in the Gr.1 Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) behind Attica and Shangri La Boy, having previously been runner-up in the Gr.3 Gloaming Stakes (1800m). The Pearls will clash with hot favourite Getta Good Feeling, who took out the Gr.2 Wakeful Stakes (2000m) last Saturday…

Tony Pike couldn’t have wished for a smoother lead-up with Cream Tart (NZ) (Hello Youmzain) ahead of the filly’s sternest challenge at Riccarton. The Cambridge trainer can’t fault the daughter of Hello Youmzain’s condition or form going into Saturday’s Gr.1 Barneswood Farm New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m). “This is the race we targeted and her preparation couldn’t have worked out better, I think she’s peaking at the right time,” Pike said. She is one of a trio of runners the stable will line-up on the opening day of the New…

Group One performer Jaarffi (NZ) (Iffraaj) will be seeking a breakthrough stakes victory at Pukekohe on Saturday when she contests the Listed Legacy Lodge Sprint (1200m). The six-year-old daughter of Iffraaj was in fine form earlier this year when runner-up in the Gr.2 Rich Hill Mile (1600m) at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day before returning to the Auckland track on Champion’s Day in March to fill the same position in the Gr.1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m). She returned this spring with a first-up seventh placing in the Gr.3…