New Zealand
Less than a month after winning a maiden hurdle at Te Aroha, Hill Of Kings (NZ) (Time Test) returned to the same venue on Sunday and landed a much bigger prize – the $60,000 Pakuranga Hunt “Vale Lamu” Hurdle. The son of Time Test was bought for just $600 off
Racing
Group Two winner Cognito (So You Think) snapped a 22-month win drought in emphatic style in Saturday’s $50,000 Join TAB Racing Club Open (1580m) at Riccarton. The son of So You Think won three races as a three-year-old headed by the Gr.2 Wellington Guineas
Racing
Emerging filly Platinum Diamond (NZ) (Hello Youmzain) sparkled again in Saturday’s Listed HS Dyke Wanganui Guineas (1200m), completing an unprecedented treble of winter age-group features. The daughter of Cambridge Stud shuttle stallion Hello Youmzain became the first horse to win the Castletown Stakes (1200m), Ryder Stakes (1200m) and
Racing
Saturday’s NZ Horse Ambulance Winter Appeal 3YO (1000m) continued the Te Akau stranglehold over the three-year-old spring opener at Riccarton, but not with the horse that most expected. Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson took out the $40,000 age-group sprint in 2023 with the next-start
Racing
Sterling Express (NZ) (Shamexpress) stepped up to Group level for the first time in Saturday’s Gr.2 Waikato Stud Foxbridge Plate (1200m) at Te Rapa, and a stunning last-to-first performance showed that he belongs. Gloria Macrae and Brian McKeagg’s homebred son of Shamexpress had already racked
Racing
Dorothy’s Daughter and Verry Flash (NZ) (Zed) delivered a winning double for Wanganui stables in the two jumping races at Hawera on Saturday. The first cab off the rank was the Niall Quinn-trained Dorothy’s Daughter (NZ) (Roc de Cambes), who brought up her first win over jumps
Racing
The maiden three-year-old race on Foxbridge Plate Day at Te Rapa is developing a reputation for unveiling bright talent, and a superb debut by Quantum Legend (Castelvecchio) on Saturday suggested he could be heading for the top of that list. The Banquo 3YO (1200m) has been part of
Racing
A smart first-up performance by In Haste (Snitzel) at Taupo on Sunday has set up an exciting spring for the more than 10,000 members of the TAB Racing Club. The TAB Racing Club, which shares ownership of In Haste with the filly’s breeders SF Bloodstock and Newgate,
Racing
A visit to Wanganui last spring put To Bravery Born (NZ) (Snitzel) on a path towards elite age-group competition, and the son of Snitzel is set to follow a similar formula after another first-up success at Taupo on Sunday. To Bravery Born took out the first two-year-
Racing
Less than 24 hours after losing one in the inquiry room, Sam O’Malley officially brought up the first win of his training career when Landman (NZ) (Hello Youmzain) took out the Buckley Contracting (1100m) at Woodville on Sunday. The former Group Two-winning jockey has gone into partnership this
Racing
The Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) has often been the one that got away for Shaune Ritchie, but Tajana’s (NZ) (Darci Brahma) superb first-up performance at Ruakaka on Saturday has the Cambridge trainer dreaming of a breakthrough in the Riccarton classic. A last-to-first triumph
Racing
Apprentice jockey Gareth Lahoud has formed a potent partnership with Cleat (NZ) (Rios) this winter, and the pair mastered the murky conditions at Ruakaka on Saturday to collect another victory in the Accurate Books (1100m). Lahoud has now ridden nine winners in his career, with three of those successes coming