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Thoroughbred racing industry opening their doors for National TB Week Jess de Lautour, LOVERACING.NZ 7 November 2025 The public will be given a backstage pass to New Zealand’s horse racing industry this month, with the inaugural National Thoroughbred Week taking place from 20th to the 24th of November. Each year, the Australasian spring carnivals in Melbourne, Sydney and New Zealand, particularly the global spectacle that is the Melbourne Cup, bring forward anti-racing activists, scrutiny and misconception more than any other period on the calendar.   The heightened public interest brings forward questions about welfare in our breeding system, racehorses competing on the track and life after racing, and now, those seeking answers have the opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes view of a thoroughbred’s life and career.   “The week is strategically placed around Melbourne Cup, and even our New Zealand Cup Week, as this is when racing is put under a microscope,” New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing’s Head of Welfare Catlyn Calder said.   “As a whole, the idea behind National Thoroughbred Week, is to invite those that have no knowledge of racing whatsoever to get behind the scenes, seeing the care that is taken and showcase how seriously the industry takes the welfare of our horses.”   Following suit from Vicky Leonard’s Kick Up for Racing organisation in Australia, New Zealand have more than 20 facilities opening their doors to the public, with the Kiwi-based project led by Calder.   “The idea stemmed from the UK’s National Racehorse Week, as well as Open Farms here in New Zealand, which both Cambridge Stud and Byerley Park participated in last year,” Calder said.   “Vicky Leonard and her team at Kick Up in Australia have created something special that I believe everyone associated with racing should get involved with. NZTR has taken the opportunity to sponsor the initiative and there has been a tremendous amount of work from some passionate volunteers to get it off the ground.”   From major stud operations, to trainers, clubs and aftercare facilities, each venue will offer a unique insight across the country.   “We have been really impressed with feedback from trainers, clubs, and studs and their eagerness to be involved. It’s a busy time of year for everyone but this is so important to the sustainability of our industry, and we are grateful for those who have put their hand up.” Calder said.   Not only is the week a great opportunity to showcase our trainers and breeders but also offers educational opportunities for families who could one day become participants and enthusiasts.   “The events are designed to be family friendly. For those horse-mad kids NZTR will have its premier racehorse simulator available, along with the opportunity to meet foals and off the track thoroughbreds thriving in their new careers.”     National Thoroughbred Week ambassador, Gracie Hitchcock, with her family at Trelawney Stud. Photo credit: Cooper Foreman   “Each event is designed and managed by the individual stud or stable, so they will all have their unique vantage point.”   Calder encourages industry participants to play their role, if not having an event, then bringing along five ‘non-racing’ people as a part of the ‘Five Mates Challenge’. It is targeted towards those who only know racing from television, social media or what they’ve heard from the outside, without having a real look in.   “This time of year, there is ample misinformation being spread online about racing. The only way to combat this is to educate and be as open and transparent as possible,” Calder said. “Each host has the ability to tell their own story and may even convert a few to ownership or a career in racing, if done well.”   While host registrations are now closed for this year’s event, those interested can still get involved as volunteers or share with a friend who may be curious about racing.

By Jordyn Bublitz  Tracy Cadwallader has never made any secret of how much The Big Bang means to her, and at Palmerston North on Thursday the lightly raced gelding rewarded her patience in memorable fashion.  The four-year-old son of Sweet Lou stepped up in the Join The Turbos Syndicate Mobile Pace, scoring the first win of his career in only his second race day appearance. The victory was particularly special for Cadwallader, who not only trains The Big Bang but also bred him.  “I foaled him myself, he’s been with me since the day his eyes opened,” she said, “he’s got a gorgeous nature, the best of any horse I’ve ever come across.” Cadwallader has taken her time getting the gelding to the races, choosing to wait until his four-year-old season before stepping him out.  “He’s not a very big horse, and he’s just a bit immature in his brain, I don’t like to rush my horses and he needed the time.” The meeting was part of the two-day Palmerston North programme, with The Big Bang making his raceday debut on Monday. That first outing didn’t go quite to script, with the gelding finishing sixth after getting things wrong heading into the final lap.  Cadwallader wasn’t surprised.  “It’s hard work trying to get a horse to the races down here. They can be really green because there’s not a lot of horses and often we don’t get to work with company. I had a funny feeling a few things were going to go wrong on debut, he’d never been around that many horses. He got checked and then just blew apart.” Second-up on Thursday, he showed what he was capable of. Drawn two off the mobile, driver Michael Hay used the gelding’s natural speed to roll to the top before settling into a rhythm.  Despite racing greenly, he travelled strongly enough in front to control the tempo and never looked like folding, holding his rivals at bay and winning by a length with Hay barely having to chase him. Even with the result well in hand, Cadwallader admitted she was a nervous spectator.  “It was scary even watching him, shying at all of the shadows, I almost couldn’t watch, I nearly had a heart attack,” she laughed. For Cadwallader, the biggest reward is seeing her horses develop the right way.  “He’s got a tonne of ability, for me it’s less about winning, I’m always more concerned with both horse and driver getting around in one piece. It is always a bonus when they do everything right and get the win. He’s still doing a lot wrong, and he’ll learn more the more he races.” With natural speed, heart, and now a confidence-boosting win under his belt, The Big Bang will look to step out again at the next Palmerston North meeting. View the full article

A huge crowd flocked to Waipukurau on Sunday as the Central Hawke’s Bay course hosted its first race meeting in six years, and Tauranga visitor Enright (NZ) (Power) emphatically broke a drought of his own in the DMAK Electrical Waipukurau Cup (2100m). The $35,000 country feature was the first win since October of 2022 for Enright, who has now had 43 starts for four wins, 13 placings and $179,300 in prize-money. He is trained by Stuart Manning, who co-bred and part-owns the Power gelding along with Kaye Durrant. The capacity crowd was treated to an exciting spectacle as the Cup field charged into the back straight at a frenetic pace. My Alibi, Duncan Creek and Tukituki all pressed forward and piled on the pressure, sapping their energy in the process and fading out of contention by the point of the home turn. Enright and in-form comeback jockey Erin Leighton had taken up a midfield position behind that early action, racing three wide but with cover. When the leaders began to tire coming down to the outside, Enright swept up around them and soon took command. He drew away down the straight, winning by two and a quarter lengths from Danjuro and the brave topweight Sailor Jack. “It was a bloody awesome day,” said Leighton, who also picked up a second win on Sunday’s card aboard Pepeha (NZ) (Darci Brahma). She has now won seven races this spring in a remarkable return following an injury-enforced absence of three years. “It was honestly one of the coolest days I’ve experienced on a New Zealand racetrack. It was incredibly well run. I think Kirsty Lawrence sold the place out, and they were all having a great time. She also provided plenty of iceblocks for the jockeys, which we appreciated! It was an amazing day, and to win the Cup was icing on the cake and a real thrill. “We had a terrible draw. We ended up caught three wide, but I managed to get a bit of cover. It started to get a bit scruffy inside me from the half-mile, they were bunching up and I was hearing a bit of shouting. That was when I decided to hook out, and he just trotted past them and went on to win easily. I thought it was a hugely impressive performance.” Enright is a son of the Zabeel mare Katy O’Beel, who herself won three races. Her dam Katy Keen was a star performer for Manning and Durrant between 2007 and 2010, winning 10 races and almost $500,000 in stakes headed by the Gr.2 Travis Stakes (2000m), Gr.3 Rotorua Cup (2170m), Listed Manawatu Breeders’ Stakes (2000m) and Listed New Zealand St Leger (2500m). The Waipukurau Cup was the fifth leg of the inaugural Prezzy Card Northern Country Cups Bonus Series. A new initiative from New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) and the Taupo Racing Club, the Northern Country Cups Series will see seven Country Cups staged across the North Island from October to December, with horses earning points for top-four finishes and required to contest at least three races, including the $100,000 Harcourts Taupo Cup (2000m). Sponsored by leading prepaid gift provider Prezzy Card, the series is designed to encourage participation, create a competitive narrative between regional racedays, and culminate in a high-stakes finale on Harcourts Taupo Cup Day on December 28. The Harcourts Taupo Cup itself has received a $15,000 stakes uplift from last season. The series began with Pacheco’s victory in the Poverty Bay Turf Club Cup (2600m) at Taupo on October 10 and Agera’s Listed Matamata Cup (1600m) success on October 17. The third leg was the Waverley Cup (2200m) on October 19, which was won by Just Charlie, and then Agera scored his second win of the series in the Feilding Cup (2050m) on November 1. View the full article

Jimmysstar (NZ) (Per Incanto) may be heading off for his summer break, but rival camps could soon have another headache to deal with as his younger brother goes public for the first time on Monday. In’kantosstar (NZ) (Per Incanto) is also trained by Ciaron Maher and is listed for his first jumpout at Cranbourne over 800 metres on Monday morning to begin a much-awaited racing career on the back of Jimmysstar’s incredible two years of racing in Australia. “Jimmy’s going out and he’s playing tag-team with his little brother In’kantosstar,” part-owner Ozzie Kheir said on Sunday. “We’re very much looking forward to seeing what he can do. It’s of course unlikely he could reach the heights of his brother, but he’s coming along nicely.” The group went to $260,000 to secure Jimmysstar’s younger brother at the 2024 Sydney Easter Yearling sales. The timing was certainly on their side as the still-emerging Jimmysstar was only twice listed-race placed at the time of the sale. The six-year-old is now a three-time Gr.1 winner with more than $6.6 million in earnings. Kheir said that while Jimmysstar’s autumn campaign was still at the discussion stage, there was a chance the horse could rise in distance to 1600 metres at some stage in the autumn before a likely second tilt at The Everest over 1200 metres at his following spring campaign. View the full article

Te Akau Racing collected a race-to-race double at Tauranga on Saturday, including a highly satisfying return to winning form by When Stars Align (NZ) (Zoustar) in the Stonewood Homes 1200. A well-related son of Zoustar bought by David Ellis for $400,000 as a yearling at Karaka in 2023, When Stars Align showed bright promise in the early stages of his career. He was a debut winner at Trentham as a two-year-old, then contested the Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) in only his second start. He returned at three to place behind star colt Savaglee at Taupo, followed by a third in the Gr.3 Barneswood Farm Stakes (1400m) at Ashburton. But he pulled up lame when finishing at the tail of the field in Savaglee’s Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m), prompting trainers Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson to send him for a spell and have him gelded. On Saturday, on the anniversary of that 2000 Guineas disappointment, When Stars Align was right back at the peak of his powers. Sent straight to the lead by jockey Corentin Berge, When Stars Align dominated the $40,000 Rating 65 sprint from the front and kicked away in the straight to win by a length and a half. “It’s great to see him back in the winner’s circle,” Walker said. “It’s not that he’s lacked ability, but it took a bit of time after he was gelded to return to form and the owners have been really patient with him. “Winning his first run back as a four-year-old is a good sign and hopefully he will gain confidence from the win and he can go on to a higher level.” In the very next race on the card, stablemate Charmrose (NZ) (Charm Spirit) repeated the dose with a front-running victory of her own in the Tauranga Hardware & Plumbing 1200. The daughter of Charm Spirit was a last-start winner of a Rating 65 sprint at Ellerslie on October 18, and she stepped up to Rating 75 grade on Saturday and went back-to-back. Bred and raced by Dave and Nicky Hurst, Charmrose has now had 11 starts for three wins, five placings and $93,705 in stakes. “It was another really good win by the mare and good to keep the winning streak going for Dave and Nicky,” Walker said. “She was very well rated in front by Wiremu (Pinn) and she’s come of age as an older mare. She can be a handful in track work, but our riders have got her well under control and she’s in great form.” Ellis noted that the Hursts are long-standing clients of the Te Akau stable. “Dave and Nicky have been such loyal supporters of Te Akau for many years and they’ve bred a really up-and-coming mare in Charmrose,” he said. “The first syndicate they came into was King’s Chapel, who won the equivalent race that is now the Karaka Millions (1200m), the 2000 Guineas (1600m), Telegraph (1200m), three Group One races, and was New Zealand Horse of the Year before standing at stud. “They were also in one of our champion two-year-olds, Maroofity, who also won three Group One races, and Costa Viva who won the 1000 Guineas (1600m) and was named New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year.” View the full article

Classy mare Mary Shan (NZ) (Almanzor) has black-type targets on her agenda after bouncing back to winning form in Saturday’s Happy Hire Cup (1400m) at Tauranga. The daughter of Almanzor was close up in elite three-year-old competition two seasons ago, finishing second in the Gr.2 Soliloquy Stakes (1400m) and Eight Carat Classic (1600m), fourth in the Gr.1 Levin Classic (1600m) and fifth in the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m). She added another two black-type placings to her record in last season’s Listed Aotearoa Classic (1600m) and Matamata Cup (1600m). Mary Shan kicked off her current season with a bold first-up victory at Wanganui on August 30, hinting that her five-year-old season might be her best yet. But she was brought undone by a testing Hawera track in her second-up assignment in the Gr.3 Taranaki Breeders’ Stakes (1400m), beating only one runner home as the $3 favourite. Trainer Andrew Forsman was hoping to get Mary Shan back on track in Saturday’s $50,000 open handicap on a Soft5 surface at Tauranga, and he got exactly what he was looking for. Ridden by Wiremu Pinn, Mary Shan settled into a good rhythm in fourth along the rail. When the front-running Leroy Brown rolled off the fence at the top of the home straight, Pinn and Mary Shan needed no second invitation. They dashed through and quickly took command, kicking away to win by a length and a half from Gospodin, You Say D’Orsay and Leroy Brown. “It was really good to see her bounce back yesterday,” Forsman said. “She obviously got tripped up by a very heavy track at Hawera the start before. She won very nicely at Tauranga to get the campaign back on track, and hopefully it’ll give her a bit of a confidence boost. “I don’t really have any firm plans in mind for her from here, but it’s all going to be about trying to add black-type to her pedigree page. There’s a few nice options coming up. “She could potentially back up for the Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (Gr.2, 1400m) at Pukekohe next Saturday, although there’s the prospect of some rain around, so we won’t rush into a decision on that. “We could wait until the following Saturday, where there’s a nice set weights and penalties race at Ellerslie (Gr.3 Great Northern Challenge Stakes, 1600m). And then we head into December, where races like the Cal Isuzu (Gr.2, 1600m) might really suit her. So there’s a few races that we can choose from, and we’ll just take things as they come and pick out what suits her best.” Forsman Racing paid $180,000 to buy Mary Shan from Prima Park’s draft in Book 1 of Karaka 2022. She has now won four of her 21 starts and placed in another six, earning $413,290 for owners Jackie Rogers and Gerald Shand. View the full article

Karaka graduate Patch Of Stars (All Too Hard) lived up to expectations in the feature Class 2 Lukfook Jewellery Cup Handicap (1200m) and boosted his Four-Year-Old Classic Series prospects with a smart win for Manfred Man and Zac Purton on an eventful day at Sha Tin on Saturday. Purton, who bagged a treble to extend his championship lead to 22 wins, spoke cautiously about Patch Of Stars drawing a tricky barrier nine in the build-up to the race. But in the event, he was able to manoeuvre the All Too Hard gelding into the box seat before letting down strongly to put away a handy field. Patch Of Stars was sold through the Riversley Park draft at the 2023 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale for $800,000 to owner Yeung Kin Man. The win sealed a raceday double for Man, after Hollie Doyle had earlier ridden Double Win (NZ) (Burgundy) to victory in the Class 4 Lukfook Jewellery Love Is Beauty Collection Handicap (2000m), increasing the veteran conditioner’s seasonal total to 13. “I think 1200 metres is good for him, because in the Class 3 1400 metres, he was favourite twice and was only fourth and fifth,” Man said. “Back at 1200 metres, he won a Class 3 and was promoted (to Class 2) today and won again, so I think it’s the best distance for him.” On The Lash (NZ) (Savabeel) held off fast-finishing rivals in the Class 5 Lukfook Jewellery Wedding Collection Handicap (1800m) to deliver trainer Pierre Ng’s first victory in four meetings. The win provided Luke Ferraris with another valuable win in his bid for LONGINES IJC qualification, as he held on by a nose from Richard Kingscote surging late on Cool Blue. Trainer Cody Mo’s Bucephalas (NZ) (Savabeel), whose odds plunged to 7/1 moments before the flag dropped, sliced through the field of the Class 4 Lukfook Jewellery Miss Hong Kong Love Yourself Collection Handicap (1400m) to claim his first Hong Kong win at his sixth attempt under Matthew Chadwick. View the full article

Zambardo is one of the most improved horses in the country with a Gr.1 Mackinnon Stakes placing at Flemington. Michael Kent (junior) says It wasn’t all plane sailing when he arrived in their care from NZ. Michael Kent Jnr 14.11.25 – Racing HQ with Steve Hewlett – Apple Podcasts View the full article

Join Guy Heveldt, Emily Murphy and Jayne Ivil as they dissect the racing from Riccarton as NZ Cup Week comes to a close. National Thoroughbred Week gets under way, and we talk to Vicky Leonard to find out what we need to know about this great initiative. Weigh In, November 16 View the full article