Sword Of State’s promising start at stud received a major boost last Saturday when Warwoven (Sword Of State) became his first Group One winner with victory in the Gr.1 Golden Rose (1400m).

The Cambridge Stud stallion has made an encouraging start with his first crop, which has already produced four stakes performers, headed by Warwoven and Listed Debutant Stakes (1000m) winner Torture.

Warwoven has led the charge, winning five races and more than A$1.16 million, including the Golden Rose, Gr.2 Run To The Rose (1200m) and Gr.3 Pago Pago Stakes (1200m).

Sword Of State’s early results prompted Cambridge Stud to lift his service fee from NZ$20,000 to NZ$50,000 plus GST for the 2026 breeding season, and Cambridge Stud chief executive Henry Plumptre believes Warwoven’s breakthrough is an important milestone.

“It’s the ultimate goal for any stallion to get a Group One winner in the spring with their first three-year-old crop. It’s incredibly important,” Plumptre said.

“They had a very frustrating season with Warwoven last year. He was scratched from the Magic Millions, then came down to Sydney and had a bit of bad luck in the lead-up to the Golden Slipper.

“He managed to win the Pago Pago, but then had to run in the Slipper a week later, which wasn’t ideal. But you could see he was a horse with plenty of promise.”

Plumptre believes the depth emerging among Sword Of State’s first crop is equally encouraging.

Along with Warwoven and Torture, State Of Valour finished third in the Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m), while Sword Of Stars has also earned black-type.

“The more important thing is to look around at what other stock is coming through for the stallion, and there is considerable depth in his three-year-old crop,” Plumptre said.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if we got to Christmas and he had another two or three stakes winners to go alongside that Group One winner.”

Warwoven will have further opportunities to enhance his sire’s profile, with his connections indicating the Gr.1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) is next on the agenda, while the Gr.1 Cox Plate (2040m) is also under consideration.

“That will keep Sword Of State fresh in everybody’s mind,” Plumptre said.

Cambridge Stud has deliberately managed Sword Of State’s books, preferring to focus on quality rather than chasing large numbers.

“His numbers are good. We keep his book tight because he wasn’t overly fertile in his first season, but he has improved every year,” Plumptre said.

“We don’t overtax him. We’re not tearing around trying to get to 200 mares or anything like that. That’s not our game anyway.

“On behalf of the shareholders we’ve got in the horse, it’s important that we’re not going to the sales with 30 or 40 of them and competing with our client base.

“I think it’s better to keep the numbers tight and keep the quality of the mares up.”

Plumptre said Cambridge Stud would also be reluctant to entertain approaches from Australian studs should Sword Of State’s profile continue to rise.

“It wouldn’t be an obvious choice for them to buy a horse out of New Zealand unless he had a record like Super Seth, who had three Group One winners in that first crop,” he said.

“You’ve got to amass that sort of CV to get someone interested in the horse. Would we sell him if we got an offer? I think it’s very unlikely.

“We’ve got a very loyal group of people who have supported Almanzor, Hello Youmzain, Sword Of State, Chaldean and Charyn. They’ve come into every single horse we’ve brought into New Zealand, and we owe it to them to look after them.

“What’s the point of selling a horse after the first crop of three-year-olds? You can have money in the bank forever, but it doesn’t get you a good racehorse.”

Cambridge Stud also has several Sword Of State youngsters it believes can add to his emerging record, including two-year-old Divine State and three-year-old Joyeuse, who was narrowly beaten on debut at Te Rapa.

“Divine State is a very smart, early type of filly,” Plumptre said.

“We’ve also got a very nice three-year-old filly called Joyeuse. She’s with Graham Richardson and ran very well at Te Rapa on debut.”

Plumptre also pointed to a pair of Sword Of State three-year-olds in the care of Lance Noble as horses capable of progressing through the grades.

“Lance has got a couple that will win races,” he said. “Whether they get to black type, I’m not sure, but I think they’ll be Saturday-class horses.”

Meanwhile, Cambridge Stud is preparing to commit its sale draft to next year’s New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale at Karaka rather than splitting its yearlings between New Zealand and Australia.

“Brendan and Jo are very patriotic about New Zealand,” Plumptre said.

“I’ve always said to them that with a thoroughbred country like New Zealand, you haven’t got a national identity if you don’t have a strong national sale.

“Of the 80 yearlings we could sell, we’re probably going to keep 12 or 15 for Brendan and Jo to race.

“We want our strongest draft of the year to be at Karaka. If we start taking horses to Magic Millions and Easter, we end up with a lukewarm offering for Karaka.

“That’s not what we’re about. We need to have a strong draft on home soil.” - NZ Racing Desk

Distance test awaits She’s A Dealer

Trainers Roger James and Robert Wellwood are looking forward to stepping She’s A Dealer (NZ) (Ace High) up over further ground following her bold third placing in last Saturday’s Gr.1 Howden Insurance Mile (1600m) at Hastings.

The Group One-winning daughter of Ace High carried owner-breeder Rich Hill Thoroughbreds’ colours to a thrilling three-way finish with Waitak and Tuxedo, ultimately conceding to the pair by the barest of margins.

James was proud of his mare’s effort and is now looking forward to returning to Hastings with her on Saturday week to contest the Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m).

While She’s A Dealer has competed over ground in Australia, running fifth in both the Gr.1 Queensland Oaks (2200m) and Gr.3 JRA Plate (2000m), she has yet to run further than a mile in New Zealand.

“She was very brave and it will be interesting to see her go 2000m next start,” James said. “She has only had three runs further than a mile. I am looking forward to seeing her go 2000m.

“The two big boys that beat her home last time are going to be very hard to beat again, but I think it comes down to those three again.”

The TAB’s futures market matches James’ assessment, with Tuxedo and Waitak heading the market at $2.50, while She’s A Dealer is the second elect at $6.

She’s A Dealer’s aptly named stablemate Excite (Wootton Bassett) also competed at Hastings last weekend, finishing seventh in the Gr.2 Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m) following a tardy beginning.

The son of Wootton Bassett showed plenty as a juvenile last season, winning the Listed Waikato Equine Veterinary Centre Stakes (1400m) and running fourth in the Gr.1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m), but barrier manners have hindered his first couple of starts as a three-year-old.

“His barrier manners have let him down in both of his last two starts,” James said. “If we can get them right, he is still in the hunt. I see he ran the quickest last 600m of the race, but he has got into a bit of a naughty habit in the barriers, so I think we are going to have to do some work on that to see if we can remedy it.”

Following Saturday’s run, Excite has drifted to $10 for the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton in November, and James and Wellwood are currently contemplating their next steps to get him to the southern Classic.

“We are not certain where we a going to go with him yet,” James said.

Meanwhile, the stable will have a quiet week at the races, with just the one runner at Cambridge and Matamata on Wednesday and Saturday respectively.

Last season’s $4 million The NZB Kiwi (1500m) runner Zivou (NZ) (Bivouac) will resume in the Nems Medical 970, where he will get the benefit of apprentice jockey Abinith Simon’s four-kilogram claim.

“He’s fresh-up and it is probably a little bit short for him, but he has got enough pace to think that he can be competitive,” James said.

Stablemate The Precursor (St Jean) will take his next step towards the Gr.3 Martin Collins New Zealand Cup (3200m) at Riccarton in November when he heads to Matamata on Saturday, where the son of St Jean is nominated for three races, including the Listed Fairview Matamata Kaimai Stakes (1600m).

“He is on a New Zealand Cup mission, and he is doing everything we had hoped for at this stage,” James said. “We will have a look at those noms and try and place him as best we can. He will probably have one more run before he heads down for the Metropolitan (Listed, 2580m) and then the Cup.” - Joshua Smith LOVERACING.NZ News Desk

Didham duo to clash in Spring Sprint

The Peter and Trent Didham-trained pair of War Princess and Omega Boy are set to clash for the first time when they head to Hastings on Saturday week for the Gr.3 Timberspan Spring Sprint (1400m).

War Princess (NZ) (U S Navy Flag) has shown plenty of ability since winning on debut as a juvenile last year, adding six further wins to her record, including last season’s Gr.3 Eulogy Stakes (1600m).

She has come of age this season, winning her first two starts at Hastings, including the Heretaunga Hastings Premier (1300m) last Saturday, and the Didhams are hoping she can extend her winning streak at the track to three next week.

“She has just strengthened with a bit of time, but she has always had ability,” Peter Didham said. “She tries hard and you can put her where you want and it makes life a bit easier.

“She has come through Saturday’s run really well. We are probably happier with her this week than we were after the first win. She was perky this morning and went for a swim.

“At this stage, we will run her next Saturday in the Group Three (Spring Sprint).”

She will likely be met by her Group Two-winning stablemate Omega Boy (NZ) (Time Test), who has had just the one run this preparation, finishing 12^th in the Gr.3 Metric Mile (1600m) at Trentham earlier this month, and Didham expects a bolder showing from his gelding second-up.

“He has just been a bit slower coming up in condition, being another year older, and he will probably go to the same race as War Princess,” Didham said. “He will be a little bit fitter than Trentham.”

Meanwhile, stablemate Lucullan (Rich Enuff) was a convincing winner of his 850m trial at Waipukurau on Tuesday, beating dual stakes winner Bona Sforza by a length.

“He has only had three gallops and it was just an 850m (trial) to bring him on, but he really jumped and ran today,” Didham said. “He was probably a bit more forward than I thought he was.

“He is carrying a fair bit of condition, and he is about three or four weeks away.”

The five-year-old gelding has won four and placed in three of his 13 starts date, and while looking forward to getting him back to the races, Didham said they will try and steer clear of Trentham.

“He hasn’t had that many starts and he is an above average horse,” Didham said. “Funnily though he doesn’t like Trentham. We have tried him three times at Trentham down the straight and he has gone horrible every time, and we thought he would win every time. We have then taken him somewhere else and he has won a few in a row.”

Looking ahead to the weekend, the stable will be represented by just the one runner at Hawera – Subtle Image (NZ) (Nadeem) in the Weir Tours Egmont Cup (2100m).

“We just didn’t get a line on him at Hastings last start, he had no luck, so we thought we would go one more just to see where we are at,” Didham said. - Joshua Smith LOVERACING.NZ News Desk

Puntin dances his way to Randwick

New Zealand-bred gelding Puntin (NZ) (Super Seth) has earned himself a shot at a major payday after securing eligibility for the A$3 million Listed Big Dance (1600m) with victory in Sunday’s Dubbo Gold Cup (1600m).

A model of consistency in Saturday Benchmark 78 company in Sydney, the Bjorn Baker-trained five-year-old was sent to the country for the A$150,000 feature, with the race carrying eligibility for the Big Dance at Randwick on November 3.

Punters expected Puntin to make the most of the opportunity and he duly delivered as favourite under Adam Farragher.

Farragher took the son of Super Seth straight to the front and controlled proceedings throughout before Puntin kicked strongly in the straight to score by a length and a half.

The victory continued an excellent return on investment for connections, with Puntin having been secured for just $60,000 from Haunui Farm’s Book 1 draft at the Karaka Yearling Sales.

Bjorn Baker Racing and Clarke Bloodstock combined to purchase the gelding, who has now won five of his 18 starts and been placed on another seven occasions, with his career earnings climbing beyond A$400,000.

The Listed Big Dance, worth A$3 million, will be run over 1600m on November 3 and is restricted to horses that have earned eligibility through designated country cups across New South Wales. - NZ Racing Desk

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