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Ballyhane Stud and the Irish European Breeders Fund (Irish EBF) announced the seventh renewal of their sponsorship of the Irish EBF Ballyhane Stakes, the richest race staged at Naas Racecourse. The race will be run on Bank Holiday Monday, August 3. The €200,000 median auction contest has established itself as a popular and highly competitive fixture on the Irish racing calendar since its inauguration in 2020. Last year's renewal was won by the Ger Lyons-trained Howd'yadoit, further highlighting the race's strong appeal to leading owners, trainers and breeders. In addition to renewing their support, Ballyhane Stud have announced the introduction of a Breeders' Raffle, an exciting new incentive for 2026. Two breeders of two-year-olds entered at the initial entry stage on March 4 will be randomly selected to receive a free nomination to one of Ballyhane's stallions, Magnum Force or Sakheer. The nominations will be usable during the current breeding season. Ballyhane's Joe Foley said, “The Irish EBF Ballyhane Stakes has been a tremendously exciting race to sponsor and we're delighted to continue our support for 2026. Introducing a breeders' raffle this year is something we are particularly pleased about, as it offers a tangible reward for breeders this season while adding another layer of interest at the early entry stage.” Nessa Joyce, Irish EBF manager, added, “The continued partnership between Irish EBF and Ballyhane Stud reflects a shared commitment to supporting connections at every level of the sport. The Irish EBF Ballyhane Stakes has established itself as an important race for EBF-eligible two-year-olds whose sire has achieved a median auction price of €75,000 or less. The welcome addition of the breeders' raffle further enhances the race's value and appeal.” The post Irish EBF and Ballyhane Stud Renews Sponsorship as Breeders’ Raffle Launched appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Ka Ying Rising has been crowned Timeform's 2025 horse of the year. David Hayes' sprinting superstar became Timeform's highest-rated horse in training when achieving a rating of 135 for a facile victory on his return to action this season in the Chief Executive's Cup, where he gave multiple Group race-winning sprinters significant amounts of weight. The son of Shamexpress also received a second award, being named Timeform's Champion Sprinter. Following his reappearance in September he went on to land the global sprint showpiece, The Everest, at Randwick in October before returning to Sha Tin to defend his Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint crown at the Hong Kong International Races. On receiving the award at Sha Tin, David Hayes said, “It's been a perfect season for Ka Ying Rising. He keeps stepping up and improving, he just absorbs so much pressure so easily and puts the race away – he's a freak. “He has a massive stride and how fast he can go just takes other horses out of their comfort zone mid-race, it just blows them out and then he is able to extend away like no other horse I've ever trained. “He's the best I've ever trained. I'm a massive Black Caviar fan, she's an out and out champion and the best I've ever seen – for me, he is comparable to her and that's incredible to have a horse capable of that.” Calandagan was named Timeform's Champion Middle Distance performer following a standout campaign, where he was beaten only twice before notching four consecutive Group 1 victories across France, England and Japan. Francis Graffard's son of Gleneagles finished the season with a Timeform rating of 133, achieved with his win in the Group 1 Qipco Champion Stakes, before becoming the first European-trained winner of the Japan Cup since 2005. Graffard said, “Calandagan has really blossomed mentally and physically after we decided to stay at home for the Grand Prix de Saint Cloud in June. The partnership between Mickael (Barzalona) and the horse is working very well now, he has a lot of confidence in him and he's an incredible horse. He's very smart and well balanced, everything comes very easy for him. “The Japan Cup was a special day. We were the only foreign horse in the race, and he delivered an incredible performance. He broke the track record, beating a very good Japanese horse after a long journey – I don't think I will live that again! He is a champion and he never lets us down.” Meanwhile, Field Of Gold was crowned champion miler, Minnie Hauk landed the prize for champion filly and mare and Trawlerman was the top stayer. The post Ka Ying Rising named Horse Of The Year at Timeform Awards appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

any idea of the entrance money and the catering profits?

The wording is beautiful, isn't it. From mid-January ... How is the disparity between stake money and on-course turnovers for the two clubs explained away?

Sally McKay Nikki Blatch Robert Dennis Terry Kennedy

Do you think this announcement might have slightly upset @Reefton? Meeting News Waverley 28 January Stakes to $25,000 The Waverley twilight meeting on Wednesday 28 January will run for stakes of $25,000 for all eight races. This brings it in line with all twilight Wednesdays from mid-January through to the end of March. So the ONLY Wednesday meeting this year that didn't get twilight funding was ??? And to make matters worse, Reefton on a weekday with industry funding did oncourse turnover of $132k. The following Sunday, ATR (feature meeting at Ellerslie qith 460k stakes) just managed 100k.

Self-interest rules always.

the government passed legislation that created the legal process for the tab to enter into the agreement with entain. . The nz government never put any money in when the entain deal occured. the nz government provided a support package/bail out for the nz tab/racing industry board around 2020 to the tune of around $70m because the tab had been so poorly run.It was around covid time,but nothing to do with covid.That was a one off to keep the racing industry here afloat. nz government do not fund nz racing anually. never have. once harness have spent their share of the entain money,they have to rely on wagering to cover their stakes. as 've i mentioned previously,fortunately thats not just wagering on nz harness,if it was things would look very dire,but it still appears hrnz are happily spending,without understanding of exactly how much income they will be funded by entain. Entain don't even know,they're also guessing until they have had a year of the geo blocking. as to victoria. victorian harness overspent. So the victorian government came to an agreement where they said,we'll wipe your debt to us,but we're taking your asset worth over 100m, the spare land they around melton. tabcorp has a longer term guaranteed funding agreement with wictorian harness. Nz only has 2 more years guaranteed funding. i've worked for a giovernment department and understand what gamma was saying. They get funded x amount of money each year,then when they get near the end of that finacial year the departments look at what they were allocated and if they haven't spent it all theygo on a bit of a spending spree as that way they can say to the govt,this is waht we spent last year so you need to fund us at least the same this year.Thats totally irrelevant to nz racing as its not governmant funded

The TAB got bailed out by the government after the Covid BS and now Entain with the $900m and it will nit be happening again! The fact that they have not invested the money wisely is very disappointing and going to be a kick in the guts for harness racing in my humble opinion.

of course i'm referring to nz.

maybe this post illustrates why you don't understabnd what we are saying. because what you've just posted has no relevance as far as i understand things,because racing does not get any annual allocation of funds from the governent, that they have to spend within a certain time frame. Never has..

Haunui Farm Managing Director Mark Chitty is eagerly looking forward to Karaka 2026 for a multitude of reasons. The sale marks 100 years of National Yearling Sales in New Zealand and while the third-generation stud master is proud to present a 40-strong draft across Books 1, 2 and the Summer Sale, it is also an opportunity to reflect on the journey. “It’s a milestone for New Zealand, in terms of the thoroughbred industry,” Chitty said. We were recounting the other day, the first Haunui associated yearling went through the ring in about 1957, and it was not long after that that we actually vended as a farm through the Trentham sales. “Obviously, I wasn’t part of that, but certainly to carry it on, to see the move from Trentham to Karaka has been wonderful. “The major sale of the year has always been at the end of January. When everyone else is at the beach we’re hammering down, preparing the crop that fundamentally, two and a half years ago, people decided what they were going to breed their mares to, and this is the result. “It is always a time where you’re proud to present your draft, but you’ve also got trepidation with regards to how the market is going to receive the horses that you present.” The New Zealand National Yearling Sales moved from Trentham Racecourse in Wellington to the purpose-built sales complex in Karaka, Auckland, in 1988, with Haunui Farm these days within 15 minutes of the complex. Chitty said Sir Patrick Hogan’s methods had been a game-changer for the New Zealand sales. “What Sir Patrick Hogan did with elite stallions, hospitality and in the presentation of yearlings was certainly a game-changer. “I never worked for Patrick, but you certainly recognise his expertise and attempted to carry it off in your own particular way. “It is a horse sale, it’s a point in time and you just hope that you’re part of the acceptance of the market.” Chitty doesn’t have to look far in the rear-view mirror for Karaka highlights, having sold a full sister to Orchestral for a sale-topping $2.4 million last year, but says he gets a great thrill out of seeing graduates across all budgets going on to racetrack success. “The filly last year was massive, but I probably reflect on possibly going into this Karaka Millions 3YO race, where we could have five graduates, and they range from $30,000 to $825,000,” he said. “We’ve never stood the elite stallion, but we’ve had good yearlings go through, and especially after moving to Karaka in 2010. We’ve had some really nice horses come off the property. “You reflect on a mare like Melody Belle. She only made $57,500 going through the ring but went on to become a 14-time Group One winner. “You love to sell the high priced yearlings but you also want them to go on and perform. Orchestral made $625,000, and she went on and became a champion of her year. “I think it’s just a mix of emotion, you want all parts of the market to be successful. You want people to go in and try their luck at the low end, and you want the guys that pay really good money to have great success too.” Chitty is also Deputy Chair of Auckland Thoroughbred Racing and is looking forward to another bumper Ellerslie card on the popular six-race Karaka Millions twilight meeting on Saturday week. “New Zealand Bloodstock should take a lot of credit for the development of the Karaka Millions meeting and where it’s got to now,” he said. “It is a great event and I’m just a very small part of the cog in the wheel with Auckland Thoroughbred Racing. With the development of the StrathAyr track, what you’re seeing is the subsequent confidence in racing from our stakeholders, not only the trainers, but also the owners. “We are trying to put a bit more back in with regards to stake money through a change in direction. There’s still a lot to be done, but certainly, I’m proud to be a part of it, and I’m sure there are further things in store.” With the opening yearling sale of the year at the Gold Coast off to a positive start, Chitty said that despite selling a completely different product at Karaka, it still shows a good appetite for buying horses. “Even though we don’t have the volume of high-end stallions, we can certainly breed a horse,” he said. “The success of the New Zealand bred horse in Australasia over the last 12 to 24 months has been very good, and I think anyone thinking about buying yearlings has certainly got Karaka on the shopping list.” With a snappier format that will see Book 1 (567 lots) and Book 2 (281 lots) take place over three days (January 25-27) before the new Karaka Summer Sale (161 lots) on the Thursday (29th), Chitty is pleased to have all his Book 2 horses on the complex. “Having all Book 1 and Book 2 yearlings on-site at Karaka logistically will be great and an opportunity to showcase those horses, which is pleasing,” he said. Lots to Watch: Lot 556 Anamoe x Moet Belle colt “I’ve got a very even draft of horses. Our Book 1 draft are predominantly by proven stallions. The horse that is not is a colt by Anamoe out of Moet Belle. This is her third foal. She’s a half-sister to Melody Belle and also from the family of Romanoff, who won the 2000 Guineas last year. “He’s a colt that’s just kept improving in the prep. He’s a really nice medium-sized individual, and he’ll meet with nice approval from a family that’s currently been doing quite a lot in the last five to six years.” Lot 459 Proisir x Gracehill filly “I can’t not mention the half-sister to Crocetti. I’m lucky enough to be vending her on behalf of Daniel Nakhle. It’s a family that Daniel has developed very well through the likes of Irish Colleen, Crosshaven, Killarney, and Crocetti, who has won a Railway (Gr.1, 1200m) and 2000 Guineas (Gr.1, 1600m). She’s a November foal, but you wouldn’t think it. I think the guys from the New Zealand Bloodstock team are quite surprised with where she’s got to now. She’s a lovely filly going forward into the sale, and got that real residual value.” Lot 220 Hello Youmzain x Viscountess filly “We talk about Sir Patrick Hogan and celebrating 100 years of the sale. We’re lucky enough to be presenting a filly from the Eight Carat family out of a great-granddaughter of Marquise, a Hello Youmzain filly out of an unraced, a Franch mare called Viscountess. “It’s the mare’s first foal and she’s a lovely, strong filly. We’ve got three Hello Youmzain fillies in the sale, and they’re all nice physical types and should meet with good demand.” View the full article

With a global reputation built up through 100 years of high-quality graduates, there should be no shortage of reasons for buyers to flock to Karaka later this month for the NZB National Yearling Sale. But if anyone needs any extra convincing, there are some lucrative incentives to make it well worth getting involved during Karaka 2026. Karaka Millions Series Dual Karaka Millions heroine Probabeel (NZ) The most established of these incentives is the Karaka Millions Series, which was launched with the inaugural running of the Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) back in 2008. The Karaka Millions Series is New Zealand’s richest racing series, offering graduates of NZB’s sales the opportunity to compete for a share in over $3.5m. Just 12 months after yearlings make their sale ring debut, nominated horses can compete in the lucrative $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m), which is run at Ellerslie on the eve of the following season’s National Yearling Sale. Another 12 months later, they are able to contest the $1.5m TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m) on the same star-studded raceday. Graduates are also eligible for the NZB Mega Maiden Bonus Series, with $1m in bonuses up for grabs across 40 maiden races each season. In an additional boost for the newest section of the National Yearling Sale, the Karaka Summer Sale, NZB has announced a $200,000 Karaka Millions bonus. For the first Karaka Summer Sale graduate home in both the 2027 TAB Karaka Millions 2YO and the 2028 TAB Karaka Millions 3YO, $100,000 will be split evenly between the vendor and purchaser. Karaka Millions trophies The Karaka Millions 2YO carries a prize of $550,500 for the winner. The 18 previous winners of the race were purchased for an average price of $139,250. The highest-priced winner was the mighty Probabeel (NZ) (Savabeel), who was bought by David Ellis for $380,000 and won the race in 2019 before scoring four Group One triumphs in Australia. The lowest-priced was the 2016 winner Xiong Feng (NZ) (Iffraaj) at just $30,000. The Karaka Millions 3YO is worth $795,750 for the winner. The eight previous winners were sold for an average price of $334,375, with 2019 winner Long Leaf (Fastnet Rock) the most expensive at $750,000 while 2018 winner Scott Base (NZ) (Dalghar) was the cheapest at $70,000. All yearlings and weanlings purchased at Karaka are eligible for the Karaka Millions Series. To nominate your purchase following a sale, email finance@nzb.co.nz or call +64 9 298 0055. Entry deadlines apply, check the Terms & Conditions for the relevant sale for which the horse was purchased from. The NZB Kiwi NZB Kiwi trophy Any horse purchased at Karaka is also eligible to be selected to represent a slot in the southern hemisphere’s richest three-year-old race, the NZB Kiwi (1500m). The NZB Kiwi was added to the New Zealand calendar last season and has become one of the centrepieces of the Champions Day meeting at Ellerslie in early March. It was run for an introductory stake of $3.5m in 2025, which has risen to $4m for 2026 and will increase again to $4.5m in 2027. The inaugural winner of the NZB Kiwi, Damask Rose (NZ) (Savabeel), was bought by David Ellis for $200,000 from Book 1 of Karaka 2023 and has turned that into more than $2m in stakes. On top of the base prizemoney of the NZB Kiwi, an additional $1m in bonuses is available each year to the winners of selected feature three-year-old races leading into Champions Day. To be eligible for a share in the bonus pool, a horse must win one of the various Bonus Eligible races, then run a top-three placing in the NZB Kiwi. The bonus pool is then divided into $600,000 for the winner, $250,000 for second and $150,000 for third. Karaka 2026 will take place at the Karaka Sales Centre from January 25 to 29, with Book 1 on January 25 and 26, Book 2 on January 27 and the new Karaka Summer Sale on January 29. View the full article

The progeny of New Zealand’s top stallions consistently make their mark across Australasia and Hong Kong, and there is no better place to secure this season’s crop of their yearlings than Karaka 2026. ALMANZOR Almanzor Cambridge Stud’s Almanzor has been in incredible form in recent weeks, with four new Group winners since November 22 including his latest Group One winner. Having previously made his mark as a classic sire through the deeds of Group One Victoria Derby (2500m) winner Manzoice, Almanzor has shown a different kind of influence through these last few weeks. First Five (NZ) triumphed in the Group One Telegraph (1200m) at Trentham and the Group Three J Swap Sprint (1400m) at Te Rapa, while Qali Al Farrasha (NZ) took out the Group Two Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1400m), Lux Libertas (NZ) won the Group Two Manawatu Challenge Stakes (1400m) and Mary Shan (NZ) captured the Group Three Great Northern Challenge Stakes (1600m). Almanzor has sired 29 stakes winners overall among a total of 347 winners from 653 runners. He has become a regular presence among the top half-dozen on the New Zealand sires’ premiership, including a career-best third spot in 2024-25 with 41 winners and $2.88m in stakes. Almanzor has sired 81 winners in Australia, seven of them at black-type level, and there have been four winners from only nine runners in Hong Kong. Almanzor had a total of 35 yearlings sold at Karaka 2025 for an average of $151,214. His yearlings have sold for up to $675,000 in the Karaka sale ring. The catalogues for Karaka 2026 feature 24 yearlings by Almanzor in Book 1, nine in Book 2 and two in the Summer Sale. Lot 74 is a three-quarter-sister to Almanzor’s Victoria Derby winner Manzoice. Lot 114 is a full-brother to Mary Shan, who prior to her recent Group Three victory had placed in the Group Two Eight Carat Classic (1600m), Group Two Soliloquy Stakes (1600m), $1m Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic (1600m) and Listed Matamata Cup (1600m). She also ran fourth in the Group One Levin Classic (1600m). Lot 500 is a half-brother to the Group One Doomben 10,000 (1200m), Kingsford-Smith Cup (1300m) and Canterbury Stakes (1300m) winner (The) Bostonian (NZ) (Jimmy Choux). Lot 534 is a half-brother to promising two-year-old Harvey Wallbanger (NZ) (Home Affairs), who has followed his impressive debut victory with black-type placings in the Group Two Eclipse Stakes (1200m) and Listed Counties Challenge Stakes (1100m). Lot 236 is a half-brother to the promising two-year-old Spellbound (NZ) (Per Incanto), who has placed in the Listed Counties Challenge Stakes (1100m) since the catalogue went to print. Their dam Xpression (NZ) (Showcasing) was herself a Group Two winner and Group One placegetter and has produced two stakes performers from three foals to race. Lot 243 is out of Group One Queensland Oaks (2400m) placegetter Zenella (NZ) (Zabeel) and is a half-brother to the Listed winner Miss Ella (NZ) (Iffraaj). CONTRIBUTER Contributer A significant void was left in New Zealand’s stallion ranks when Mapperley Stud announced the untimely death of Contributer in September 2024 at the age of 15. The son of High Chaparral retired to Mapperley after an eight-win racing career that was headed by Group One triumphs in the Group One Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) and Ranvet Stakes (2000m). Contributer has sired 131 winners from 222 runners, with 12 stakes winners including Lion’s Roar (NZ) in the Group One Randwick Guineas (1600m) and Campionessa (NZ) in the Group One Zabeel Classic (2000m). Campionessa also won four Group Two races including the Peter Young Stakes (1800m) at Caulfield. Contributer’s progeny have been stakes winners over distances ranging from 1200 metres (Maria Farina (NZ) in the Listed Stewards’ Stakes) to 2500 metres (Campionessa in the Listed Metropolitan Trophy). Yearlings by Contributer averaged $123,750 in Book of Karaka 2025, and they have sold for as much as $260,000 in previous years. Nine yearlings from Contributer’s final full-sized crop will go through the ring in Book 1 of Karaka 2026. There are also six of his progeny in Book 2. Lot 306 is a full-sister to Contributer’s Group One-winning daughter Campionessa and is also a half-sister to the Listed winners Leedox (NZ) (Time Test) and Tennessee (NZ) (Per Incanto). Lot 468 is a colt out of a three-quarter-sister to the five-time Group One winner and high-class sire Pierro. OCEAN PARK Ocean Park Himself a $150,000 yearling purchase from Karaka 2010, Ocean Park (NZ) went on to win five Group One races including the Cox Plate (2040m) before retiring to stud at Waikato Stud. He has continued his excellence in that new career, with 363 winners from 600 runners including 25 at stakes level. Ocean Park has sired Group One winners from 1400 to 3200 metres, headed by Tofane (NZ) with her quartet of triumphs in the All Aged Stakes (1400m), Stradbroke Handicap (1400m), Tattersall’s Tiara (1400m) and CF Orr Stakes (1400m). Others to win at the elite level include Kolding (NZ) in the Epsom Handicap (1600m), All Aged Stakes and George Main Stakes (1600m), along with Kovalica (NZ) in the Queensland Derby (2400m). The latest additions to that stakes-winning list are three-year-old fillies Tellum (NZ) and Ohope Wins (NZ). Tellum scored an impressive front-running triumph in the Group Two Eight Carat Classic (1600m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day, while Ohope Wins powered home from off the pace for an emphatic victory in the Group Two Sir Patrick Hogan Stakes (2000m) at the same venue on New Year’s Day. Another exciting prospect is the Allan Sharrock-trained four-year-old Komocean (NZ), who improved her career record to three wins from four starts with a four-length runaway at New Plymouth on December 31. Ocean Park’s progeny averaged $113,889 in Book 1 of Karaka 2025. His yearlings have sold for up to $450,000 at Karaka. Five yearlings by Ocean Park will go through the ring in Book 1 of Karaka 2026, followed by another five in Book 2 and one in the Summer Sale. Lot 222 is a full-brother to Kovalica, who has turned his $110,000 purchase price at Karaka 2021 into more than A$4.37m in prize-money. His seven wins include the Queensland Derby, the Group Two Q22 (2200m) and the Group Two Queensland Guineas (1600m), and he has twice placed in the Group One Doomben Cup (2000m). Lot 418 is a three-quarter-brother to the triple Group One winner and A$6.6m earner Kolding, who himself was purchased for $170,000 from Karaka 2017. PER INCANTO Per Incanto Little Avondale Stud’s Per Incanto has saved some of his very best results for Australia, where he has been represented by multiple Group One-winning sprinters Jimmysstar (NZ) and Roch ‘N’ Horse (NZ), along with fellow Group One stars Gringotts (NZ) and Little Brose. Per Incanto has sired a total of 460 winners from 694 runners, with 35 individual black-type winners including nine at Group One level. Another emerging talent who looks close to joining that Group One list is Evaporate (NZ), who has had 19 starts for six wins, eight placings and A$2.76m in stakes. His wins include the Group Two Stutt Stakes (1600m) and Group Three Carbine Club Stakes (1600m) and Sandown Stakes (1500m), while he has run second in the Group One Toorak Handicap (1600m), third in the Group One Caulfield Guineas (1600m), third in the Group One CF Orr Stakes (1400m), second in the $3.5m NZB Kiwi (1500m) and third in the A$10m Golden Eagle (1500m). Per Incanto had 22 yearlings sell during Karaka 2025 last January, averaging $158,864 with a top price of $375,000. His yearlings have previously sold for up to $500,000 at Karaka, while two of his two-year-olds sold for $750,000 and $700,000 at the NZB Ready to Run Sale in November. Karaka 2026 features 22 yearlings by Per Incanto in Book 1, along with eight in Book 2 and one in the Summer Sale. Lot 100 is a half-brother to the dam of Evaporate. The colt is also a full-brother to the Group Three winner Belluci Babe (NZ) (Per Incanto). Lot 296 is a filly out of an unraced Savabeel mare who is a half-sister to multiple Group One winner and sire Grunt (NZ) and full-sister to the Group Two winner Zayydani (NZ) (Savabeel). Lot 425 is out of the Group One Railway Stakes (1200m) winner Fleur De Lune (NZ) (Stravinsky). This filly is a full-sister to this season’s Group Three Sweynesse Stakes (1215m) winner Twain (NZ) (Per Incanto). Lot 466 is a half-brother to four winners including the seven-race winner Running Glory (NZ) (Kermadec), who finished second in Hong Kong’s Group Three Centenary Vase (1800m). PROISIR Proisir The last few years have seen progeny of Rich Hill Stud’s Proisir play a starring role both on racetracks and in the sale ring, where there have been price tags of $1.6m, $1.1m, $850,000 and $700,000 for his yearlings at Karaka 2024 and Karaka 2025. Proisir was added to the Rich Hill Stud stallion roster in 2015 at an introductory service fee of $7,000, and his remarkable rise has seen that figure soar to $70,000. He is the sire of 253 winners from 405 runners, with 23 individual stakes winners including Group One stars Levante (NZ), Legarto (NZ), Waitak (NZ), Prowess (NZ), Dark Destroyer (NZ) and Pier (NZ). Legarto, Prowess and Dark Destroyer were all themselves purchased from Karaka as yearlings. Proisir is the only stallion not named Savabeel to finish at the top of the New Zealand premiership in the last decade, taking top honours in 2022-23. He finished second to Savabeel in the both of the two following seasons, and he currently holds top spot again so far in 2025-26. Karaka 2026 features a bumper contingent of Proisir yearlings, with 54 in Book 1 and nine in Book 2. Lot 28 is a colt out of the multiple Group Two winner and Group One placegetter Our Abbadean (NZ) (Lookin At Lucky). Trelawney Stud offers Lot 94, a colt that is a half-brother to dual Group One winner and sire Grunt (NZ) along with Group Two winner Zayydani (NZ) (Savabeel). Lot 202 is out of a half-sister to the multiple Group One-winning sprinting star I Wish I Win (NZ) (Savabeel). Pencarrow Stud’s draft features a filly catalogued as Lot 365, who is a half-sister to last season’s Group One Queensland Derby (2400m) winner Maison Louis (NZ) (Super Seth). Lot 387 is a full-sister to the multiple Group One winner Prowess as well as fillies that have fetched $1.6m and $1.1m at Karaka 2024 and 2025 respectively. All of these fillies have been offered by Hallmark Stud. Lot 459 is a half-sister to the Group One New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) and Railway Stakes (1200m) winner Crocetti (NZ) (Zacinto). SATONO ALADDIN Satono Aladdin Rich Hill Stud has had outstanding success tapping into Japan for its stallion prospects, most notably with the high-class Pentire siring 16 Group One winners. Lightning might be striking twice with Satono Aladdin. The son of breed-shaping Japanese champion Deep Impact had a high-quality racetrack career of his own, winning eight times from 29 starts including a Group One triumph in the Yasuda Kinen (1600m) as a six-year-old. The Rich Hill Stud team didn’t have to wait as long as that for Satono Aladdin’s progeny to make a Group One impact. Satono Aladdin has sired 229 winners from 389 runners, with 13 individual stakes winners. His New Zealand record stands at 38 winners from 76 runners, with 17 winners from 31 runners in Australia and four winners from just nine runners in Hong Kong. Pennyweka (NZ) headlines Satono Aladdin’s list of progeny with her classic double in the Group One New Zealand Oaks (2400m) and Australian Oaks (2400m). Firestorm (NZ) has won five races including the Group Two Millie Fox Stakes (1300m) and ran second in a photo finish to the Group One Coolmore Classic (1500m). Tokyo Tycoon (NZ) was New Zealand’s champion two-year-old of 2022-23 and won the $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m). Sacred Satono (NZ) is a seven-race winner including the Group Three Counties Bowl (1100m) and Group Three Bonecrusher Stakes (1400m) and has placed in the Group One Telegraph (1200m) and Tarzino Trophy (1400m). Lantern Way (NZ) and Magic Carpet (NZ) have won two of the last three runnings of the Group Two Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m). Satono Aladdin had 41 yearlings sold at Karaka 2025 for an average of $147,683. His yearlings have sold for as much as $900,000, and he had two-year-olds sell for up to $675,000 at the recent NZB Ready to Run Sale. Satono Aladdin is the sire of 54 yearlings in Book 1 of Karaka 2026. There are also 14 of his progeny in Book 2 and one in the Summer Sale. Lot 192 is offered by Ardsley Stud and is a full-sister to their dual Oaks winner Pennyweka. Half-brother Notabadspillane (NZ) (Time Test) has placed in the Group Three New Zealand Cup (3200m) since the catalogue went to print. Wentwood Grange’s Satono Aladdin colt catalogued as Lot 521 is a half-brother to the 10-time Group One winner Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars). Lot 549 is a half-brother to the Group One George Ryder Stakes (1500m) winner and A$6m earner Gringotts (NZ) (Per Incanto). Lot 553 is a half-sister to the multiple Group One winner and Sydney Group Two winner Belclare (NZ) (Per Incanto). Lot 73 is a half-sister to Madison County (NZ) (Pins), who won the Group One New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) and Group One Levin Classic (1600m) and was runner-up in the Group One Australian Derby (2400m). Lot 105 is a colt out of Sayyzel (NZ) (Snitzel), an unraced half-sister to Australian Group Two winners Shanwah (NZ) (Too Darn Hot) and Excelida (Exceed And Excel). Lot 131 is out of the Group Two Cal Isuzu Stakes (1600m) winner and Group One placegetter Sinarahma (NZ) (Darci Brahma). Jamieson Park’s colt catalogued as Lot 187 is out of the Group One Thorndon Mile (1600m) winner Thee Auld Floozie (NZ) (Mastercraftsman), who is the dam of the stakes-performed Just A Floozie (NZ) (I Am Invincible). Lot 292 is a half-sister to the multiple Group winner and Group One Queen of the Turf Stakes (1600m) placegetter Annavisto (NZ) (Reliable Man). Lot 462 is a filly out of a stakes-performed three-quarter-sister to the multiple Group One winner Lucia Valentina (NZ) (Savabeel). Lot 530 is a filly out of an unraced full-sister to the Group One Cox Plate (2040m) winner El Segundo (NZ) (Pins). SAVABEEL Savabeel With 11 of his yearlings selling for $800,000 or more at Karaka through the last decade, and almost two dozen of his NZB National Yearling Sale graduates going on to Group One glory, Savabeel has been a colossus of the Karaka sale ring in recent years. The Waikato Stud kingpin’s extraordinary career was honoured with induction into the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame in 2025. Savabeel boasts 10 Grosvenor Awards for champion New Zealand sire by domestic progeny earnings, 10 Dewar Awards for combined Australian and New Zealand progeny earnings, and nine Centaine Awards for combined progeny earnings worldwide. Overall, Arion Pedigrees statistics credit Savabeel with 1036 winners from 1419 runners including 154 individual stakes winners. No fewer than 35 of his progeny have won at Group One level. Those elite performers range from the 1200-metre heroics of freakish sprinter I Wish I Win (NZ) to the supreme stamina of Derby, Oaks and Cup winners such as Orchestral (NZ), Sangster (NZ), Major Beel (NZ), Scarlett Lady (NZ), Savvy Coup (NZ), Amarelinha (NZ) and Savaria (NZ). Many of his other progeny have excelled at a mile, like Atishu (NZ), Probabeel (NZ) and Shillelagh (NZ). Notably, of those 35 Group One winners, 23 are Karaka yearling graduates – Probabeel, Atishu, Lucia Valentina (NZ), Sangster, Soriano (NZ), Scarlett Lady, Orchestral, Savvy Coup, Mo’unga (NZ), Costume (NZ), Prise De Fer (NZ), The Chosen One (NZ), Diademe (NZ), Savaglee, Amarelinha, Brambles (NZ), Sword Of Osman (NZ), Nicoletta (NZ), Savaria (NZ), Cool Aza Beel (NZ), Noverre (NZ), Hasahalo (NZ) and Embellish (NZ). There has been massive demand for Savabeel’s progeny at Karaka through the last decade. Since 2015, he has had 464 yearlings sell for a total of $117m and an average price of $253,459. Tavistock (NZ) is a distant second placegetter during this period, with 280 yearlings selling for a total of $40m and average of $144,455. Savabeel broke new ground at Karaka 2025 with his highest ever price – and an all-time record for a filly sold at Karaka. Mulcaster Bloodstock and Chris Waller Racing went to $2.4m to buy the full-sister to Orchestral. As always, Karaka 2026 is the place to go to secure the latest crop of Savabeel yearlings. There are 35 catalogued, all of them in Book 1. A potential headline act is Waikato Stud’s colt catalogued as Lot 452. He is a full-brother to last season’s champion New Zealand three-year-old Savaglee (NZ) (Savabeel), who won the Group One New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) and three Group Two races. He also placed in the Group One Australian Guineas (1600m) and Waikato Sprint (1400m). Lot 246 is out of the stakes-winning Zoustar mare Zouzarella. Lot 259 is a Cambridge Stud colt from a high-quality European family stacked with black type. Lot 367 is a half-brother to the dual Group One winner Mustang Valley (NZ) (Vanbrugh). SHAMEXPRESS Shamexpress Windsor Park Stud’s Shamexpress (NZ) has produced a number of high-class horses during his career, but he will now be forever linked with just one name – Ka Ying Rising (NZ). Within the space of just a 19-race career so far, Ka Ying Rising has established himself as an all-time great of Hong Kong racing and a world-champion sprinter. He has won 17 of those 19 starts, including the last 16 in a row – just one shy of the all-time record of 17, set by Silent Witness (El Moxie) more than 20 years ago. Ka Ying Rising has won the Group One Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) twice, the Group One Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m), the Group One Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m) and the Group One Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m), along with a historic first win by an overseas-trained horse in the A$20m The Everest (1200m) in Sydney in October. Those statistics, and the breathtaking dominance of many of those performances, will themselves be enough for Shamexpress to live long in the memory. But his career is not simply limited to one horse. He is the sire of 154 winners from 236 runners, with 16 individual stakes winners. His other notable performers include multiple Group One winner Coventina Bay (NZ), dual Melbourne Group Two winner Grinzinger Belle (NZ), Group Two Foxbridge Plate (1200m) winner Sterling Express (NZ) and multiple Group Three-winning stayer Blue Sky At Night (NZ). Shamexpress has sired 82 winners from 143 runners in New Zealand, 60 from 83 in Australia and eight from only 14 in Hong Kong. Ka Ying Rising’s emergence has unsurprisingly led to increased demand for progeny of Shamexpress at Karaka, with an average price of $112,000 at Karaka 2025 last January. He also averaged $191,666 at the Ready to Run Sale in November. Karaka 2026 gives buyers another select offering of Shamexpress yearlings, with four in Book 1 and three in Book 2. Lot 82 is a full-brother to Maracana (NZ) (Shamexress), who has won five races headed by the Group Three Drinkwise Mile (1600m). She also placed in the Group Two Moonee Valley Fillies’ Classic (1600m). the yearling immediately before him in the catalogue, Lot 81, is a filly out of a half-sister to Maracana. SUPER SETH Super Seth As the first Group One Caulfield Guineas (1600m) winner to retire to stud in New Zealand in three decades, huge anticipation surrounded the arrival of Super Seth at Waikato Stud in 2020. The son of champion New Zealand-bred racehorse and influential stallion Dundeel (NZ) has lived up to and surpassed all of those high expectations. Super Seth was New Zealand’s leading first-season sire in 2023-24 and followed that up with the second-season title in 2024-25. He has sired 65 winners from 118 runners, with eight individual stakes winners. But what has really set him apart is his immediate Group One impact. His first two crops have already produced four Group One winners, and they all happened between March and June of this year – Feroce (NZ) in the Australian Guineas (1600m), Linebacker (NZ) in the Randwick Guineas (1600m), La Dorada (NZ) in the Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) and Maison Louis (NZ) in the Queensland Derby (2400m). For good measure, La Dorada also triumphed in the $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) and the Group Two Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m). Super Seth’s service fee was set at $35,000 from 2020 to 2023, then rose to $45,000 after a strong run of results with his first crop of two-year-olds. His Group One gold rush earlier this year has earned a further increase to $75,000. Super Seth yearlings have sold for up to $700,000 at Karaka, and at the recent NZB Ready to Run Sale, he had five two-year-olds sell for an average of $186,000. An impeccably bred crop of Super Seth yearlings will go through the ring during Karaka 2026 – 40 in Book 1 and seven in Book 2. Lot 104 is a son of the Group One-winning Savabeel mare Savy Yong Blonk (NZ). Lot 138 is set to be a major drawcard, being a half-brother to the three-time Group One winner Provence (NZ) (Savabeel) as well as last season’s $1.5m TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m) and inaugural $3.5m NZB Kiwi (1500m) winner Damask Rose (NZ) (Savabeel). Lot 298 is a half-brother to Tuxedo (NZ) (Tivaci), who was runner-up in last season’s Karaka Millions 3YO and is among the leading contenders for the $1m Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic (1600m) at the 2026 edition of that same Karaka Millions meeting on the eve of the sale. Lot 382 is a half-brother to five black-type performers including Group One New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) winner Kahma Lass (NZ) (Darci Brahma). Another half-sibling, the three-year-old filly Drops Of God (NZ) (Hello Youmzain), recently won by five and a half lengths on debut at Te Aroha. Lot 522 is out of Group Three winner Lilikoi (NZ) (Charm Spirit). This colt’s promising half-sister Passiflora (NZ) (Farnan) has had three starts for two wins and a placing. TARZINO Tarzino The incredible classic successes of the progeny of Tavistock (NZ) are a hard act for anyone to follow, but his son Tarzino (NZ) is putting together a stellar record of his own. Himself the winner of the Group One Victoria Derby (2500m) and Rosehill Guineas (2000m), the Westbury Stud stallion is the sire of six stakes winners including Gypsy Goddess (NZ) in the Queensland Oaks (2200m), Jungle Magnate (NZ) in the South Australian Derby (2500m) and Willydoit (NZ) in last season’s New Zealand Derby (2400m). But Tarzino is not merely a stamina sire. His exciting daughter Tomodachi (NZ) has won six races including the Group Three Rotorua Stakes (1400m), and in the current season she has finished third in the Group One Proisir Plate (1400m) and fourth in the Group One Telegraph (1200m). Tarzino’s yearlings averaged $96,000 in Book 1 of Karaka 2025, and his progeny have sold for up to $300,000. Karaka 2026 features three Tarzino yearlings in Book 1, 9 in Book 2 and six in the Summer Sale. Lot 2 is a colt from the Westbury Stud draft and is the first foal out of the four-race-winning Snitzel mare Narrated. Lot 638 is a half-brother to the Group Three BJ McLachlan Stakes (1200m) placegetter Baby Wong (Press Statement). Lot 718 is a full-brother to the promising Honor Mission (NZ) (Tarzino), who has recorded a win and a placing from a five-start career to date. Their dam Commiserate (Congrats) placed in the Listed Oaklands Plate (1600m). Karaka 2026 will take place at the Karaka Sales Centre from January 25 to 29, with Book 1 on January 25 and 26, Book 2 on January 27 and the new Karaka Summer Sale on January 29. View the full article

Just one week out from the iconic TAB Karaka Millions Raceday, where NZB graduates will take to the track for their share of $4.6m in stakes, NZB has unveiled new custom made trophies for winning connections of the $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) and $1.5m TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m) races. Crafted by master jeweller Nicola (Nic) Cerrone, director and creative mind behind Melbourne-based Cerrone Jewellers, the trophies are stamped with his signature artisan craftmanship that has earned him a loyal following for more than 50 years. The ownership group in both sale graduate races will receive a 35cm tall trophy to keep, with the winning trainer and jockey of both races receiving minis. “We are delighted to reveal the distinctive new Karaka Millions trophies, a fitting year with the celebration of our 100th National Yearling Sale,” commented NZB’s Jessie Gower. “The TAB Karaka Millions are iconic races and these trophies reflect that well. The unique design is inspired by the KM icon that can be found against every Karaka Millions eligible horse, be it in a racebook or catalogue. I’m sure all connections will be eyeing these ones up.” The new trophies add an extra layer of excitement in what is shaping up to be another spectacular night of racing. The live barrier draw for the two TAB Karaka Millions races will be held at the Karaka Sales Centre on Wednesday 21 January from 10.15am, and broadcast live on Trackside 1. The 2026 TAB Karaka Millions 2YO and TAB Karaka Millions 3YO will be run at Ellerslie on January 24, as part of a star-studded twilight card that also features the $700,000 Group One Sistema Railway (1200m), the $1m Group Three Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic (1600m), the $250,000 Group Three Almanzor Trophy (1200m) and the $100,000 Jo Giles Stakes (1400m). TAB Karaka Millions night serves as the perfect curtain-raiser for the 100th edition of the New Zealand National Yearling Sale, which gets underway the following day. Book 1 of Karaka 2026 takes place on January 25 and 26, followed by Book 2 on January 27 and the new Karaka Summer Sale on January 29. View the full article

Saturday’s final event at Rosehill is the biggest test of Cross Tasman’s (NZ) (Super Seth) career, but it is also an audition for bigger things later in the year. The Super Seth four-year-old is a horse that Randwick trainers John O’Shea & Tom Charlton can see lining up in rich races next spring. The gelding is after a hat-trick of wins to start the prep and Charlton keen to see how he performs at his first start in Saturday metro grade. “Ideally, if everything goes to plan, he might be one we’ll try and qualify for The Big Dance,” he said. “There could be a couple of options for him, country races to try and get them in that, and then we can maybe set our sights on the spring a bit more.” Cross Tasman’s only win in four starts in his initial campaign came in a Hawkesbury Super Maiden, but his two starts this time in have realised wins in a 1250m BM64 on the Kensington track at Randwick and a 1300m BM72 win at Randwick on Boxing Day. The NZ$260,000 Karaka purchase was scratched from last Saturday at Wyong due to the hot conditions and is likely to have contrasting conditions at Rosehill with rain predicted late Friday into Saturday. Cross Tasman’s maiden win came on a Soft 7 surface, while his dam Daffodil (NZ) (No Excuse Needed) won two of her three Group Ones on Soft tracks, including the ATC Oaks. “He drew a bit sticky last Saturday in very hot conditions and we didn’t feel that was the right thing to do, so we elected to wait this weekend,” Charlton said. “We thought he’d definitely get through the grades. I wouldn’t have said two starts for the prep for two wins, but he’s a very laid-back, unassuming horse at home. “He doesn’t give too much away, which is not a bad thing.” Cross Tasman drew barrier four in the TAB Handicap, for which he was a $1.95 favourite on Friday morning, and will have the services of Dylan Gibbons. View the full article

Warwoven (Sword Of State), the raging favourite for Saturday’s Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic (1200m), is in doubt for the A$3 million race after exhibiting signs of lameness on the eve of the event. As is custom prior to the Magic Millions feature, Queensland stewards carried out Friday morning veterinary inspections and Warwoven was found to be lame in the off foreleg. The Sword Of State colt’s stablemate Masvingo (Zourstar), who is owned in similar interests, was also lame, in the near foreleg, with the Bjorn Baker-trained pair to be given until early Saturday morning to prove their fitness. “Both runners will undergo a further examination tomorrow morning prior to scratching time,” Racing Queensland stewards said in their release. Warwoven being declared unfit to race would drastically reshape the 1200-metre race with the unbeaten colt into as short as $1.70 before the news of his condition broke. The A$380,000 Gold Coast yearling has headed betting since his brilliant win at Eagle Farm on January 3, which followed a dominant debut win at Randwick on December 20. The $6 second favourite for the Magic Millions is unbeaten Chris and Corey Munce-trained Hellbent colt Zip Lock, from Maribyrnong Plate winner Tornado Valley (Too Darn Hot) ($8) and Shiki (Too Darn Hot) ($11). View the full article

In the midst of an experience they would never wish to relive, Gareth Downey and Mel Gamble found solace last Saturday when Chica Mojito finally got the win she deserved in the A$500,000 The Lakes Mile at Wyong. Unfortunately the former New Zealand couple weren’t able to enjoy the action at one of the biggest fixtures on the New South Wales track, committed instead to the challenges of the north-east Victoria bushfires involving their workplace, Lindsay Park Racing. The Hayes family’s private training and spelling property at Creightons Creek, 150 kilometres north-east of Melbourne, was impacted by the massive Longwood bushfire that by the start of this week had devastated some 400,000 hectares of rural Victoria. Sadly, the losses included one Longwood resident, much wildlife and a lot of livestock including seven horses in the Lindsay Park spelling paddocks, and numerous farm and residential buildings. Amongst those destroyed was an estimated 90 percent of Lindsay Park’s 390-hectare fencing and pastures. Lindsay Park’s core training facility was fortuitously spared, in large part thanks to irrigation systems and associated infrastructure, allowing that part of the operation to remain functional. Downey, well-known in New Zealand from his time with Waikato Stud and then as General Manager of Valachi Downs, now works as Chief Executive of Lindsay Park Racing having joined them three years ago. His wife Mel works there too managing marketing and communications. Together they have bred and raced on a small scale, with their most notable success the Gr.1 Thorndon Mile with Macavelli Miss in 2006. On Saturday the Chris Waller-trained Chica Mojito added her name to that list with her dominant win in The Lakes Mile. 2Chica Mojito scores her first Australian win in The Lakes (1600m) at Wyong. Photo: bradleyphotos.com.au234370.jpg “It’s hard to put into words what we’ve all experienced over the past five days,” Downey said when RaceForm spoke to him on Monday. “On the Friday all hell broke loose with winds up to 100 kilometres an hour and 45-degree heat. The CFA (Country Fire Authority) firefighters were saying they had never seen anything like it and they did an utterly fantastic job to contain it as well as they did. “For everyone at Lindsay Park, we all know we did the very best we could but will of course always wish there was more we could have done.” Downey and Gamble live on their own 70-acre property in the Strathbogie Ranges about half an hour’s drive from Lindsay Park, and they had to evacuate that for what thankfully transpired as only a precautionary measure. “Everyone’s lives around here have been tipped upside down, we’ve all been through a hell of a lot with some of our staff losing their homes or property and some coming close to disaster while trying to defend their own places. The common feeling about the last five days is that it seems more like five weeks – that’s how surreal it’s all been. “Chica Mojito’s win up at Wyong was something else again. Normally when one of our horses is due to race we get very excited about it, but the distractions were so immense on Saturday that we almost forgot what time the race actually was. “I was here at Lindsay Park and Mel was at our temporary accommodation, so we tuned in separately and when she won like she did, we were straight on the phone to each other and there was basically a lot of crying. “It was such a difficult situation for us and our reaction was more an emotional release rather than a celebration.” Downey deflects credit for Chica Mojito’s existence to his wife, who sourced her dam, the Cecconi mare Cantina, online. “We were looking for a semi-commercial mare and just kept getting outbid. Then Mel saw this nondescript-looking mare in foal to Redwood as part of a dispersal sale for the princely sum of $1,000. “Mel just had a sense there was something special about the mare and she felt sorry for her so she bought her, which I have to admit I gave her some grief about at the time. The Redwood filly she produced was named Tequila and won her second start like a horse really going places, but then she did a tendon. “We then bred Cantina twice to Zacinto when he was standing at Valachi Downs; the first was a colt who won one race and the next was the filly who is Chica Mojito.” Initially trained by Ben and Ryan Foote, Chica Mojito won her second start and later that spring lined up in the New Zealand 1000 Guineas but finished midfield after a luckless run. Her next-start third in the Gr.3 Eulogy Stakes attracted the interest of Australian syndicator Brad Spicer and a deal was done with Downey and Gamble retaining a 50 percent interest and she was transferred to Chris Waller. Saturday’s Wyong win was her first since and thoroughly deserved given the number of times she had gone close, including four runner-up performances in Sydney, third placings in the Gr.3 Gosford Belle of the Turf Stakes and Listed Queensland Tattersall’s Mile and fourths in the Gr.2 Queensland Guineas and Gr.3 James HB Carr Stakes. “We were beginning to wonder if it was ever going to happen, she started being talked about as the next Tom Kitten,” Downey said. “It wasn’t as if she was racing poorly, more that there was always something that went wrong, so to see her come out and win so well at Wyong in track record time was remarkable.” Chica Mojito’s share of the $500,000 stake took her earnings past A$600,000 and now with that confidence booster behind her, connections are looking at further opportunities on this side of Tasman. “Chris plans to pop her out for a week and then send her over for the Group Two fillies and mares’ race on Champions Day at Ellerslie,” Downey said in reference to the Gr.2 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Classic, formerly known as the Westbury Classic. “He did the same last year for good results with Konasana, who had a similar profile to Chica, and all going to plan she’ll also run in the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes. “That’s pretty exciting being a Group One and we definitely plan to get over to New Zealand for that, it will be quite a buzz to come home.” View the full article

Matamata trainer Pam Gerard has doubled her representation in the $4 million NZB Kiwi (1500m), with Slot Holder Auckland Thoroughbred Racing (ATR) announcing Affirmative Action (AUS) (Yes Yes Yes) as their representative in the Southern Hemisphere’s richest three-year-old race. The Yes Yes Yes gelding will join stablemate Romanoff (NZ) (Belardo) in the Champions Day feature at Ellerslie on 7 March, after he secured the Canterbury Jockey Club’s slot after beating Affirmative Action by the barest of margins in the $700,000 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai 53rd New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton Park last November. Gerard is rapt to have two representatives in The NZB Kiwi and said it is rewarding for her hard-working team at Ballymore Racing. “It is great to get two from our little team in there, it is pretty exciting,” Gerard said. “Everyone wants to be there on the big days and it’s a good reward for everyone (at home).” Affirmative Action was purchased out of Wentwood Grange’s NZB Karaka 2024 Book 2 draft for $115,000 by Ballymore Stables, Paul Moroney Bloodstock and Catheryne Bruggeman. He has won two and placed in three of his five starts to date, including victory in the Listed Sir Colin Meads Trophy (1200m), and placings in the New Zealand 2000 Guineas, and Gr.2 Jimmy Schick Shaw’s Auckland Guineas (1400m), and he has earned north of $260,000 in prizemoney. Gerard said several NZB Kiwi Slot Holders have been interested in securing Affirmative Action for the race and elected to partner with ATR following his Guineas placing on Boxing Day. “He has been very popular and we haven’t rushed it,” Gerard said. “We are at the stage now where we are ready to make a commitment and we went with Auckland Thoroughbred Racing. “Affirmative Action has put his hand right up there and they put a good case forward.” Gerard has been pleased with the way he has come through his Guineas run. “I am really happy with him,” she said. “He always takes two or three days to come through. This time he has come through it even better, so we knew there was going to be improvement in him. “Every time he has a race he comes back a little wiser and a little more professional.” Gerard is also pleased with the progression of Romanoff after he finished ninth in the $400,000 Gr.2 Levin Track Supporters Levin Classic (1400m) at RACE Trentham a fortnight ago. “He went a really nice race down at Wellington,” Gerard said. “He didn’t get all favours, we got caught very wide. I thought his run was pretty good considering he was four and five wide the whole way. “He has come through it super well, ate up after his run and is in a very good space.” Gerard is enjoying her golden run with three-year-olds, having trained last year’s standout colt Savaglee (NZ) (Savabeel), and she puts her success down to sales selection and early conditioning. “It all starts at the sales,” she said. “We are very lucky that we have bought the right horses. It is up to be me to get them up and going and get them into those early three-year-old races, which we have been quite successful with each year. “We have got a system that seems to work for us. It means that they are in work for a long time through the winter, but it allows you to get them going early.” Romanoff and Affirmative Action put on a spectacle in the 2000 Guineas and they will be out to replicate that battle in next week’s $1.5 million TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m), their final lead-in race to The NZB Kiwi. “They will both line-up in the Karaka Millions and then go onto the Kiwi after that,” Gerard said. “There is a nice little break before it, so they have got time to have a week in the paddock or whatever we think is best for them and freshen them up a little bit because obviously they have got to drop back to 1500m.” View the full article

Stephen Nickalls had the ride of a lifetime several years ago with his quality filly Llanacord, and now he is hoping he has found another. The daughter of Contributer won the 2021 edition of the Gr.2 Lowland Stakes (2100m) before placing in the Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) at Trentham. She then crossed the Tasman where she was 10th in the Gr.1 Australasian Oaks (2000m) before she was runner-up in the Gr.3 SA Fillies Classic (2500m). Five years on and Nickalls believes he has a filly that fits the same mould in Iffigive, another daughter of Contributer who has placed in her last two starts. “This filly right the way through has always reminded us a lot of Llanacord,” Nickalls said. “The fact that she has the same ownership adds to the similarities. “She has always been very similar and it looks like she will be a nice progressive three-year-old.” Iffigive will be tested at stakes level for the first time on Saturday when she heads to Trentham to contest the Gr.3 NZB Desert Gold Stakes (1600m), and off her recent performances Nickalls is hopeful of a bold showing. “She had two super placings. She ran second at Woodville behind Empirical and it was a really tough run,” the Rangiotu trainer said. “She knocked a knee after that so had a fortnight in the paddock, which might have been a blessing as it gave her some time to mature and develop. “On Boxing Day at Otaki she hit the front and then flicked her ears and had a look around. By the time she realised the others were going past her she then knuckled down and came again. It was a very good run and she has improved from that Boxing Day run. “We took her away to Waipuk the other day where she galloped with another one of mine over there for Kate (Hercock, jockey) to have a look at, and she did everything right. “I am very excited and looking forward to the weekend.” Iffigive has drawn barrier 11, but that poses no concerns for Nickalls. “With the rain around it won’t be the worst draw,” he said. A solid performance on Saturday will set up a return trip Trentham in a fortnight where Iffigive will seek to replicate Llanacord’s success in the Jennian Homes-sponsored Lowland Stakes. “If she performs well and does everything right, we will press on to the Lowland in a fortnight,” Nickalls said. “We always thought she was going to get over ground. Her mother was a very good hurdler, so I don’t think getting over ground and staying is going to be a problem. “We think she will stay and she is a lovely, big filly, so we want to get her over those staying trips.” Iffigive holds a nomination for the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand Oaks (2400m), but Nickalls said the race’s transfer to Ellerslie next month has him questioning whether they will head north to tackle the fillies classic. “We are not 100 percent sure (about the NZ Oaks),” he said. “With the shift to Auckland, and the way they have changed the programme around, it makes it a little more difficult. You have to go the opposite way around and the programming doesn’t work the same as when it did when it was there (Trentham) in March. “If she performs well and does everything right, we will certainly look at it.” View the full article

Gamma, personally not terrified at all that Entain are going to stop the cash splash, as it doesnt affect me! However it is going to have dire consequences for those involved in the harness industry. The reality is that HRNZ are responsible for what happens with the future of harness racing in NZ and the result is on their shoulders! If they are happy with the way things are trekking then that is great, just would not be holding my breath!

The programming committee reps themselves don't yet have it, as of this morning. I was told "Don't be so silly thinking ahead like that". The meeting is not till next Wednesday.

you and Brodie forget the Major thing . Just like any Government or education funding or roads funding or medical funding ,with The Funding , x-amount is allocated each season / year to use. this is common for most companies needing funding. they have an annual budget. They have to use the allocation per year for operational costs as part of the calculated set up of a season of racing. it doesn't carry over if you Don't Use/allocate it. normal business . It is noble that you and Brodie worry about what is happening in the future years, at the end of the initial 5 year period where you're terrified ENTAIN are going to run off into the sunset . They won't IMO . Of course the amount funded could be less , as what happens time to time , just like with company sponsorships. and the racing could well be for much LESS Prizemoney as you are predicting .It's just the state of the sport these days. less interest in it than 20 years ago or even 10 years ago. less interest over time=less money invested. normal business acumen again. The Current decision making , whether be Ladbrokes (a ENTAIN subsidiary in QLD), or ENTAIN in NZ you guys never stop OUT CRYING their performance is poor , when without them, the Harness racing would be near FINISHED without their great support in recent years ? . We in fact have even better carnivals and racing recent times ,all around NZ for great prizemoney I'll give you an example. Victoria Harness is running at a seasonal loss each season last few years. Harness racing is just not a popular sport anymore. So they recently got Gov funding to keep going until the end of next year 2027 season. All the $44 million extra funding given will have to be used this year and next. it is to support the 2026 and the 2027 seasons. there are a lot of tracks and racing in Victoria . more than NZ these days. but They can't keep it (the extra funding) for future times ). It doesn't work like that. funding , as always is for Specific Time Periods. normal business acumen. will be back at running a loss after 2027 , so new plans will be made prior. Funding is seasonal. it's almost calculated to the dollar across however many race meetings there are in a year. Enjoy the Great racing while you can then !! before all the changes and cuts.

Who are the Otago/Southland reps?

I guess it is up to you to contact the elected reps for programming to give your views. Maybe get the draft programme emailed to you by the Canterbury Secretary, Ainsley McLeod.