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You often wonder about some posters, after a while not hearing you wonder what become of them, just like talk back callers, some just lose interest and some die, not easy to post then, we do miss old TAB man, i couldnt convince him that Auckland is the biggest arsehole place, but I can assure you if I die I will no longer post, lol. But there could also be other interest that tickle me fancy lol if I disappear.

Why spoil the fun. Lol

The Jockey Club has announced that total prize-money at its 15 racecourses will rise to £61.47 million this year, up from a budgeted £58.1 million in 2025. The increase can be attributed mainly to the fact that overall prize-money at the Betfred Derby Festival is to be boosted by £1.375 million in 2026. In addition, a total of 322 fixtures will be staged across The Jockey Club over the next 12 months – up from a scheduled 319 last year. The third contributor is an increase in prize-money for Class 1 and developmental races, made possible due to boosted funding from the Horserace Betting Levy Board for 2026 and increased investment from The Jockey Club's own funds, demonstrating support for the long-term growth of the horse population. Of the £61.47 million, a total of £31.7 million will come from executive contribution – the amount The Jockey Club puts in from its own funds – up from a budgeted £30.6 million in 2025. The announcement means that average prize money of more than £190,000 per fixture is scheduled to be offered this year, up from £182,000 in 2025. Jim Mullen, Chief Executive of The Jockey Club, said: “We're pleased to be able to increase prize money across our racecourses and have worked hard throughout our budgeting process to ensure this is possible. Prize-money is part of the essential foundation of our sport and we recognise the crucial role it plays as an incentive and reward to all participants. “Going forward, the challenge is to maintain the commitment to invest meaningfully to drive the sport forwards. For The Jockey Club, prize money now accounts for more than 70% of our overall profits, up from 55% in 2019. It would not be sustainable for that trajectory to continue and that's why we announced in December plans to invest in the growth of our key festivals and to tackle efficiency.” The post The Jockey Club Reveals Record Prize-Money Of £61.47 Million For 2026 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Stellar Summer Sale Closes out Karaka 2026 29 January 2026 Stew McGregor leads his yearling (Lot 958) around the Karaka Sales ring. The final session of NZB’s 100th National Yearling Sale took place at Karaka on Thursday, with a strong inaugural Karaka Summer Sale. 112 yearlings sold for a total aggregate of more than $3.4 million at an average of $30,612. Six lots sold for $100,000 or more which added to a solid clearance rate of 81%. NZB Managing Director Andrew Seabrook was elated for all those involved in the historic week. "To sum it up, this week we've turned over $9.6 million more than last year, with 79 less horses catalogued." "We're just over the moon, seeing these results from the new format. "The Karaka Summer Sale today was one of the strongest sessions, almost matching Book 2 results from last year. "It's just been a phenomenal week all around, celebrating such a big milestone in New Zealand thoroughbred history, and returning almost $96 million back to breeders. "Our vendors have done an incredible job presenting their yearlings, our buyers supporting the Sale so well and our whole NZB team who have all contributed to its success. "We're looking forward to the demand for our yearlings continuing to our Online Yearling Sale, where of course the outstanding filly Well Written was purchased from." The top lot of the day came when first time vendor Stew McGregor offered his sole yearling. The colt by emerging sire Armory out of Satono Aladdin mare Hanako (Lot 958), was knocked down to John Foote Bloodstock for $130,000. “We’re so, so thrilled,” commented an emotional McGregor. “To have that amount of people and trainers come through and inspect him, it’s really neat. We hope he’s got an exciting future for us to follow.” The well-known Waikato Hunt member praised his surrounding stud farms for all their help. “Dean Hawkins, Windsor Park Stud and others around me have been instrumental in helping me along the way,” added McGregor. “It’s a team sport, alright.” Westbury Stud were leading vendors & their resident stallion Redwood was leading sire. Pictured: Lot 958 The leading vendor by aggregate and average for the Karaka Summer Sale was Westbury Stud who sold seven lots for $432,000 at an average of $61,714. The leading buyer at the end of selling of the final session was Victorian trainer Patrick Payne, having purchased three lots for $236,000. This included Lot 938, a colt for $100,000 out of the leading sire of the session in Redwood. All yearlings purchased are eligible for the Karaka Millions Series featuring the $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m), followed by the $1.5m TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m) as well as the NZB Mega Maiden Bonus Series with $1m in bonuses up for grabs across 40 maiden races each season. The Karaka Summer Sale is further boosted by a $200,000 Karaka Millions bonus. For the first Karaka Summer Sale graduate home in both the 2027 $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO and 2028 $1.5m TAB Karaka Millions 3YO, $100,000 will be split evenly between the vendor and purchaser for each race. Entries close Monday 2 March 2026. To enquire about Passed Lots from the Karaka Summer Sale contact Patrick Cunningham on +64 21 181 5898 or email Patrick.Cunningham@nzb.co.nz, or Andrew Buick on +64 27 555 0640 or email Andrew.Buick@nzb.co.nz. Attention now turns to the National Online Yearling Sale, where superstar filly Well Written (Written Tycoon) was purchased for $80,000. Set to take place on Gavelhouse Plus, with bidding closing from 6pm on 14 April. Entries open early February via NZB’s portal. View the full Karaka Summer Sale results here. Catch the highlights and Lot-by-Lot footage from the Karaka Summer Sale here.

Mark Newnham is four strong for Sunday’s Classic Mile at Sha Tin and hopes his squad of Invincible Ibis, Infinite Resolve, Crimson Flash and Winfield can get the job done as he goes for back-to-back wins. My Wish provided Newnham with his breakout Hong Kong victory 12 months ago and after a stellar campaign that has seen him rise through the grades, Invincible Ibis looks to be his biggest chance of repeating the dose. Beaten off a rating of 55 for his opening run of the campaign in September...View the full article

I presume you mean sellers? That would be impossible to accurately work out unless you knew the individual circumstances of each breeder and their costs.

The invercargill club would named the race,not hrnz. I think lots of clubs name races acknowledging peoples contributions. But yeah,many don't get the recognition they deserve.

The final session of NZB’s 100th National Yearling Sale took place at Karaka on Thursday, with a strong inaugural Karaka Summer Sale. 112 yearlings sold for a total aggregate of more than $3.4 million at an average of $30,612. Six lots sold for $100,000 or more which added to a solid clearance rate of 81%. NZB Managing Director Andrew Seabrook was elated for all those involved in the historic week. “To sum it up, this week we’ve turned over $9.6 million more than last year, with 79 less horses catalogued.” “We’re just over the moon, seeing these results from the new format. “The Karaka Summer Sale today was one of the strongest sessions, almost matching Book 2 results from last year. “It’s just been a phenomenal week all around, celebrating such a big milestone in New Zealand thoroughbred history, and returning almost $96 million back to breeders. “Our vendors have done an incredible job presenting their yearlings, our buyers supporting the Sale so well and our whole NZB team who have all contributed to its success. “We’re looking forward to the demand for our yearlings continuing to our Online Yearling Sale, where of course the outstanding filly Well Written was purchased from.” The top lot of the day came when first time vendor Stew McGregor offered his sole yearling. The colt by emerging sire Armory out of Satono Aladdin mare Hanako (Lot 958), was knocked down to John Foote Bloodstock for $130,000. Westbury Stud were leading vendors & their resident stallion Redwood was leading sire. Pictured: Lot 958 Photo: supplied “We’re so, so thrilled,” commented an emotional McGregor. “To have that amount of people and trainers come through and inspect him, it’s really neat. We hope he’s got an exciting future for us to follow.” The well-known Waikato Hunt member praised his surrounding stud farms for all their help. “Dean Hawkins, Windsor Park Stud and others around me have been instrumental in helping me along the way,” added McGregor. “It’s a team sport, alright.” The leading vendor by aggregate and average for the Karaka Summer Sale was Westbury Stud who sold seven lots for $432,000 at an average of $61,714. The leading buyer at the end of selling of the final session was Victorian trainer Patrick Payne, having purchased three lots for $236,000. This included Lot 938, a colt for $100,000 out of the leading sire of the session in Redwood. All yearlings purchased are eligible for the Karaka Millions Series featuring the $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m), followed by the $1.5m TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m) as well as the NZB Mega Maiden Bonus Series with $1m in bonuses up for grabs across 40 maiden races each season. The Karaka Summer Sale is further boosted by a $200,000 Karaka Millions bonus. For the first Karaka Summer Sale graduate home in both the 2027 $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO and 2028 $1.5m TAB Karaka Millions 3YO, $100,000 will be split evenly between the vendor and purchaser for each race. Entries close Monday 2 March 2026. To enquire about Passed Lots from the Karaka Summer Sale contact Patrick Cunningham on +64 21 181 5898 or email Patrick.Cunningham@nzb.co.nz, or Andrew Buick on +64 27 555 0640 or email Andrew.Buick@nzb.co.nz. Attention now turns to the National Online Yearling Sale, where superstar filly Well Written (Written Tycoon) was purchased for $80,000. Set to take place on Gavelhouse Plus, with bidding closing from 6pm on 14 April. Entries open early February via NZB’s portal. View the full Karaka Summer Sale results here. Catch the highlights and Lot-by-Lot footage from the Karaka Summer Sale here. 2026 SALE SCHEDULE National Online Yearling Sale 14 April on Gavelhouse Plus National Weanling Sale 25 June at Karaka NZB Ready to Run Sale of 2YOs 18 & 19 November at Karaka View the full article

Respected international bloodstock agent John Foote has been attending the National Yearling Sale in New Zealand for over 50 years, and he returned to Karaka for the historic 100th National Yearling Sale this week. The Queensland-based agent was active across all three Books at Karaka, purchasing 14 lots in total. His final purchase was a colt by Armory catalogued as Lot 958 out of the Satono Aladdin mare Hanako, beautifully prepared by Putaruru vendor Stew McGregor. Lot 958 Armory – Hanako Colt led by vendor Stew McGregor. Photo: Trish Dunell Foote paid $130,000 for the colt, which was the highest price of Thursday’s inaugural Karaka Summer Sale. “He’s a lovely big three-year-old type,” Foote said. “He’s a lovely moving horse with plenty of him. His pedigree’s quite good when you go back into it, being from the family of Zirna and the three-time Hong Kong winner Super Football. “I just took to him, so we bought him.” Foote has been impressed with the progeny of Armory, who also had a pair of colts sell for $65,000 each on Thursday and had progeny sell for up to $625,000 at the Ready to Run Sale in November. The Mapperley Stud stallion’s oldest progeny are two-year-olds, and he has already been represented by early winner Silhouette. “There was one sold earlier for about $65,000 that was with Little Avondale, which was a nice horse and I saw a few last year that I liked as well, so I have liked a good few of them,” Foote said. Foote’s other Summer Sale purchase on Thursday was Lot 951, a Redwood colt from the draft of Westbury Stud. Foote paid $100,000 for the son of the Sebring mare Florid Affair, who won two races and is the dam of winners Part Time Lover, Mossfair, Ornate and Bid In A Hurry. Lot 951 Rewood – Florid Affair Colt. Photo: Trish Dunell “Russell Warwick told me about six weeks ago, ‘I’ve got one horse for you to buy, and you’ve got to buy it,’” Foote said. “He said it’s the best horse he’s bred for a long time. So we’ll see.” Both Summer Sale colts, along with the majority of Foote’s dozen other purchases for the week, are destined for Hong Kong. Following on from record-breaking results in the Book 1 and Book 2 sessions, the brand-new Summer Sale achieved an aggregate of $3.43 million, an average price of $31,000, a median of $20,000 and a clearance rate of 81 percent. “It’s an improvement on the old Festival Sale and Book 3,” Foote said. “There are a lot of horses here that could have been in Book 2. We have been quite impressed with the standard here.” View the full article

Taking on the reigning New Zealand Horse of the Year at Ellerslie is a challenge with benefits for the Lance Noble-prepared Jaarffi. Multiple Group One winner El Vencedor will oppose the in-form mare in Saturday’s Listed Fulton Family Stakes (1500m) and has taken a degree of weight off the Karaka trainer’s mind. “Being a handicap isn’t ideal, but it’s nice to see El Vencedor pay up and instead of carrying 60kg or thereabouts, she’ll carry 58.5kg,” Noble said. “That’s a plus and I’m really happy with her.” The Cambridge Stud-bred and owned Jaarffi finished a last-start runner-up in the Gr.1 Zabeel Classic (2000m) behind Kingswood, whose bold move 800m from home off a slow pace won the race. “To be fair, Warren (Kennedy) was probably one of the few jockeys in the race who couldn’t do anything about it,” Noble said. “Rory (Hutchings) did do something about it, but where we were three back on the fence he couldn’t inject any speed into the race. “We had to take our medicine, but she was strong to the line.” The consistent Iffraaj mare has won four races but has risen to be the fifth highest ranked New Zealand-trained horse on a rating of 109. “She’s never won a black-type race and for her consistency, she’s gone up the ratings to a point where El Vencedor, who’s won 13 races, isn’t that far ahead of her,” Noble said. “It’s just the way the handicap system works, she’s been penalised for not winning but she’s only three points below El Vencedor (four Group One wins) and Legarto (three). “She’s yet to win a black-type race and hopefully we can fix that on Saturday.” All going well, Jaarffi will continue on a feature event path after the weekend. “We decided not to go for the Herbie Dyke Stakes (Gr.1, 2000m), this race leads nicely into the Otaki Maori WFA (Gr.1, 1600m) and then into the Bonecrusher (Gr.1, 2000m),” Noble said. Stablemate Frostfair has also earned her place in the Fulton line-up. “It was a funny run race last time when she got back and the first three around the corner were the first three home,” Noble said. “She made ground and if she can jump and put herself in it with 53kg, we would be thrilled if she can pick up some black type.” Liguria was a strong fourth on debut and Noble fancies the Snitzel filly’s chances in the Gr.3 Colin Jillings 2YO Classic (1200m). “I like her and she ran a really nice fourth on debut. It’s a tidy field for the week after the Karaka Million but she has improved with the race day experience,” Noble said. Stablemate Hey Dana will also have the chance to press her claims for top level honours when she runs in the Cloudsoft Accounting Handicap (2100m). “This is a test to see if we can get to the Oaks (Gr.1, 2400m) so she really needs to put her hand up. We’re happy with her and she looks great,” Noble said. Noble’s other runner at Ellerslie is Kakasisisi in the Myracehorse Maiden (1600m). “She’s run two good fourths and hasn’t done much wrong. She’s drawn okay (seven) and if she runs up to her first two starts, she should be in the mix,” he said. View the full article

Unbeaten Group One-winning colt Return To Conquer has been retired. The son of Snitzel was purchased out of Blue Gum Farm’s 2024 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale draft by Te Akau Racing principal David Ellis for $1.3 million, and he went on to remain unbeaten as a juvenile last season. In the care of trainers Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson, Return To Conquer won on debut in the Listed Counties Challenge Stakes (1100m) before repeating the result in the Gr.3 Colin Jillings 2YO Classic (1200m), Gr.3 Matamata Slipper (1200m) and Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m), the 100th elite-level success for Te Akau Racing. He crossed the Tasman to join Te Akau’s Cranbourne barn late last season but sustained an injury when placing in his first jumpout at his new home base and the decision has now been made to retire him to stud. “He was a great athlete and it was the first time in my 30-year training career that I’d started a two-year-old first-up in a Listed race, and he duly won it,” Walker said. “Every one of his four starts were in stakes races and to win them all shows the calibre of horse that he was. “Winning the Group One was the highlight, on such a big day at Ellerslie, and to record the 100th Group One for the stable was incredibly special. “We thought he was well up to Melbourne class, hence we took him to our stable at Cranbourne, but he unfortunately injured himself in his first jump out in the spring and we weren’t able to get him back to the races. “He had an unbelievable temperament for a colt, huge anaerobic capacity, very clean-winded, and an absolute gentleman to deal with. “I think he’ll make a high-class sire and he reminds me so much of Sword Of State. He has a similar brain, similar action, and we look forward to watching the progress of his stud career.” Ellis was taken by Return To Conquer as a yearling and he was pleased he was able to vindicate his early assessment on the track. “We thought he was the best Snitzel colt in the sale when we bought him and could not fault him in any way,” Ellis said. “There was some very spirited bidding, but we were able to secure him, and he turned out to be a terrific colt.” While disappointed his racing career has been cut short, Ellis believes he has the attributes to make a successful transition to a career at stud. “Unfortunately, he has been unable to race as a three-year-old, but he’s by the right sire and has the right pedigree to make a stallion, and there are quite a few interested parties in standing him, which is great.” View the full article

Royal Flower has one cup to her name and she will be seeking to earn another for breeder-owner-trainer Gail Temperton when she heads to Trentham on Saturday to tackle the Gr.3 NZ Campus Of Innovation & Sport Wellington Cup (3200m). The Foxton mare won her local cup last year and has subsequently run fourth in the Gr.3 Manawatu Cup (2100m) before an eye-catching runner-up result behind Rosso in the Gr.3 Trentham Stakes (2100m) at Trentham a fortnight ago. Temperton was duly rapt with that effort and has been pleased with her mare’s progression heading into Saturday, but she is wary of the extra distance and her outside gate of 18. “She was very pleasing (last start),” Temperton said. “I think she has finally matured, she is easy to get along with now, she wasn’t when she was younger. “She will have Mereana (Hudson, jockey) on again, who rode her very well that day. We have just got to extend the distance, but it is a lot longer. “On her dam side she has got a little bit of staying blood. The Proisirs (sire) can go the distance, but I don’t think I have seen any of them over 3200m. “There are some very good horses in this field and they are real stayers. She will have to be at her best but will be doing her best, but the draw is no help.” While disappointed with Royal Flower’s outside gate, in contrasting fortune, she is rapt with stablemate Procul Boy’s draw of barrier two in the John Turkington Forestry Douro Cup (1600m), although the last start winner’s impost of 59.5kg does have her concerned. “He (Procul Boy) has got the good draw and half the distance, but he has got quite a fair bit of weight,” Temperton said. “He is not a big horse, he is quite a bit smaller than her, so I would have liked to have swapped the draw and the weight. He has won with 59 on his back, but as you go through the grades it gets harder.” “But he is a nice horse, the Proisirs are nice horses.” View the full article

Riccarton trainer Lance Robinson will trek south to Gore with just the one run runner on Sunday, but he is hopeful that will be enough to bring home a winner’s cheque. Promising Tagaloa gelding Alottago will be seeking to bounce back in the Listed Liquorland Gore Guineas (1335m) following his seventh placing in the Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) in November, the only blemish on his seven-start career. Robinson said the Heavy9 conditions were not to his gelding’s liking on that day and he was proud of his tenacity when fighting on for a seventh placed finish, in a race headed by the $4 million NZB Kiwi (1500m) bound stablemates Romanoff and Affirmative Action. “His run in the Guineas was outstanding,” Robinson said. “He drew two and he was down in the worst of the ground in a mile race. To his credit he pressed on really well. “We were really proud of the horse that day and we gave him a nice break after that and he has come back really well.” Alottago was runner-up in a 1200m trial at Ashburton earlier this month and pleased Robinson with an exhibition gallop last week, giving him plenty of confidence leading into the southern assignment. “We are really happy with him. He had a really nice trial a fortnight ago at Ashburton,” Robinson said. “We took him to Riccarton the other day where he had an exhibition gallop between races and we were really happy with that. “He is as forward as we can have him for a fresh-up run.” Robinson will be keeping a close eye on the weather in the lead-up to Saturday, with the Canterbury horseman loathe to run his charge on a rain-affected track. “As long as it doesn’t get too wet down here, that’s my only concern,” he said. “If the track got really wet I would probably pull him out. The forecast is good until Monday, so hopefully that rain holds off and we can get a good track, and he should run really well.” A $20,000 purchase by Robinson out of Apex Bloodstock’s 2024 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale draft, Alottago has gone on to win two and place in four of his seven starts, including placings in the Listed Welcome Stakes (1000m), Listed Champagne Stakes (1200m) and Gr.3 Barneswood Farm Stakes (1400m), and has earned more than $80,000 to date. All going to plan post-Saturday, Robinson is keen to chase the other two legs of the Southern Guineas Series with his charge – the Listed ILT Ascot Park Hotel Southland Guineas (1400m) and Listed Property Brokers – Ray Kean Dunedin Guineas (1600m). “We will get Sunday out of the way, get him home and reassess after that, but we will follow that series and then he can have a winter break,” Robinson said. Alottago is currently rated a $6 second favourite for Sunday’s feature behind the John and Karen Parsons-trained Miss Starlight at $3.90. View the full article

Samantha and Francis Finnegan followed a successful pattern when going to $125,000 to purchase a sharp filly by Written By at the Summer Sale at Karaka on Thursday. Awapuni conditioner Samantha Finnegan picked up her first winner as a trainer when Written By filly Bona Sforza swept home on debut to take out the Listed Welcome Stakes (1000m) at Riccarton and she also finished fourth in the Gr.1 1000 Guineas (1600m) behind star filly Well Written. Bona Sforza was a $150,000 Karaka yearling purchase and the Finnegans went to $125,000 to purchase Hallmark Stud’s filly by the same sire as Lot 954. Lot 954 – Written By – Glowing Trait Filly Photo: Trish Dunell The filly is out of the More Than Ready mare Glowing Trait who has now had three foals to race, all winners, including Written Glow, a debut winner for Cody Cole and subsequently sold to the Hayes family’s Lindsay Park. “She was just a smashing filly,” Francis Finnegan said. “On type, she was as good as you could get in any of the books. And when a dam’s three from three and they’re all closely related, it’s a bit easier. “I suppose when a full sibling’s winning, it’s always a help. And it’s gone to Lindsay Park in Australia, so there’s a chance of an Australian black type update for this filly too. “She vetted well and we have a good one by the stallion, so you tend to go where you’ve found success before. “We had Tuesday gallops, so we weren’t really able to get away. So it suited us that this filly was later in the catalogue, as we could only get up for the summer sale.” View the full article

Trainers Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott have been putting in the hard yards over the past few weeks as they look to amass their next stable stars and they struck early at the Summer Sale session of the New Zealand National Yearling Sales at Karaka on Thursday. Bidding remotely through New Zealand Bloodstock’s Andrew Seabrook, O’Sullivan went to $80,000 to buy a striking filly by Noverre out of the four-win El Roca mare Royal Roc as Lot 865. “She is just athletic and a really nice filly. She walked well, and she looked to have a good mind. She looked like a Savabeel (grand sire). “We’ve got two in the stable by Noverre and we like both of them,” O’Sullivan said. “We saw everything on the complex yesterday, but she was the one that we really wanted. “We were looking for something that was going to get up and run and have a bit of a punt and I feel like if she was in the other sale would have made a lot more.” O’Sullivan said he was pleased with what they had sourced at Karaka, headed by a Super Seth filly in Book 1 for $260,000. “You always want more, and we certainly tried on a few that we missed out on, or some that we thought were going to go in the ring and have a good go and we didn’t even have a bid,” he said. “I think it was a very strong sale, the Australians were certainly helped by just how weak our dollar is and we’re trying to compete with them, which makes it very difficult. The good ones certainly made very good money. “We purchased eight, including the one today, and then we have been given another three or four to train at this stage.” The Matamata horseman said there were shares available in a number of their purchases, including the Noverre filly. “She was my type of horse and we just put them all up on the Wexford website,” he said. View the full article

They named a race after Craig lol There are others who are doing great things for harness and are unpaid financially, but he is very lucky, they named several races for his efforts!

"Millie" really has done well!!! Starting of as a very young fella at Lyndsey Carson's (SP) at Awapuni, then Margret Bulls, Then into the breeding side! He was a keen snooker player back then and use to regularly come up to play with lots of other young racing workers! De Lux Billardroom in Palm North! I tip my hat his way!! ps, racing is very much a 'hobby' for Ron and Judy!

at our house, instant mute...

any estimate of the % that made a Profit?

OK Justin how about a bit more style and less screaming for your pick in the Wellington Cup. Good advice would be to take your cue from Peter Kelly. (never missed a beat in any of these calls)

The trans-Tasman approach – Is racing missing its Australasian opportunity? With the business of racing in Australia and New Zealand, be it bloodstock, breeding, training or wagering, so readily interlinked, Bren O’Brien asks if the industry is missing a trans-Tasman opportunity by being more closely integrated. By Bren O'Brien ● Racing Industry ● January 29, 2026 https://bitofayarn.com Australian-bred Well Written is New Zealand racing’s brightest star. (Photo: Megan Liefting/Race Images). Comment: As his bloodstock agent Guy Mulcaster sets another benchmark for the sale, champion trainer Chris Waller is using the buyers’ room at Karaka near Auckland to conduct the business of the biggest stable in Australia. Waller, equally at ease on either side of the Tasman, lifts his eyes up from the spreadsheets on the screen in front of him, as Mulcaster jumps to $950,000 for a fetching Justify colt with the Coolmore brand offered by Landsdowne Park Stud. The well-related and well-presented colt will become the 11th and highest-priced new member of the Waller army for the week. With a stable of this size – Waller has had 1308 starters this season already, at an average of 7.2 per day – there isn’t really time to sit back and soak in the ambience of Karaka. Every minute spent is a minute wasted in Australia’s biggest stable, Advertisement Apart from the hassle of clearing customs and immigration, Waller might as well be working in Auckland as anywhere else. https://bitofayarn.com In many ways, Waller is the poster boy for the Australasian approach to racing. He has parlayed his upbringing at Foxton, around 500km south of Karaka, into becoming Australia’s greatest trainer. The path is a well-worn one. At the same sale 98 years ago, South Island-born Phar Lap found his way, via an American owner, across the Tasman and into the hearts of the Australian nation. Other examples are plentiful and notable, including James McDonald, the latest of a long line of champion Australian-based jockeys who are Kiwis. He will likely end up the greatest of all time when it comes to Group 1 wins. A couple of hours after Waller and Mulcaster’s Justify colt goes through, the price is topped by a Sword Of State colt sold to Australia’s other megastable, Ciaron Maher. The colt, by an Australian-bred stallion who raced and stands at Cambridge Stud in New Zealand, secured $1.1 million thanks to a Chinese-based owner. Advertisement Australian buyers spent record amounts of money at Karaka – above $40 million – well over 50 per cent of the aggregate. Another of the big buyers of the week was Kevin Walls, a Kiwi investing on behalf of Queenslanders Ron and Judy Wanless. Local hero David Ellis was again the week’s largest investor buyer, but his Te Akau operation is now firmly Trans-Tasman and many of his purchases will end up racing out of the Cranbourne stables near Melbourne. Bloodstock in Australasia has operated without a trans-Tasman border for a long time.https://bitofayarn.com The suffixes might offer some form of delineation, and the sales companies might want to stamp their graduates as their own, but since the days of Phar Lap, the line between what is an Australian horse and a New Zealand horse is blurred. Well Written is the most exciting horse to come out of New Zealand for some time, some say since Sunline. Unbeaten in five starts, she has a Kiwi trainer but was bred in Australia and is likely heading back there later this year to take on Australasia’s best horses. Queensland trainer Liam Brichley took a Kiwi-bred juvenile to the Karaka Million 2YO, Dream Roca, and emerged victorious. Australian trainer Cindy Alderson has been searching for her first Group 1 winners for many years and went to Ellerslie last Saturday to get it, thanks to Jigsaw. $1.1 million Sword of State colt helps Karaka Book 1 to record heights As the impact of Entain’s investment in NZ racing has become clear, so too have the opportunities for Australians to look across the Tasman. There were seven Australian-trained horses running on Saturday, something that is likely to become the norm. Australian betting on NZ racing on Saturday soared 25 per cent as a result.https://bitofayarn.com Advertisement The flow of benefits is not one-way. At the Ellerslie races on Saturday, Entain executives spoke of how the benefits of technology developed and products honed in the Australian market are now helping the New Zealand industry through TAB NZ and Betcha. It was apparent from the Trackside broadcasts that the picture quality and streaming were noticeably better than what we see here in Australia. A unified national racing broadcaster has built out such a strong offering that you could argue the Kiwis get a better Saturday afternoon experience of Aussie racing than their channel-hopping cousins across the ditch. In the wagering context, monopoly has its advantages and disadvantages, but Entain CEO Andrew Vouris sees a clear opportunity in New Zealand to continue its growth. Like Waller, Vouris skips between the two countries with ease. In his mind, they appear to be the same business, albeit in different contexts. Both can benefit from each other’s presence. Relatively new New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing CEO Matt Ballesty is an Aussie, who has a global background in casinos and gaming. He recognises the challenges he faces in helping transform an industry are certainly not local. Addressing issues with tracks, venues, horse quality, ownership and technology are items on the checklist of any CEO of PRAs in Australia. Stakeholder engagement is no different in Auckland or Wellington than it is in Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne.https://bitofayarn.com He regularly compares notes with his old Sky City Entertainment colleague, Aaron Morrison, now CEO at Racing Victoria. There are clear reasons why the trans-Tasman industries operate separately, with regulation being the major one. Also, given that Australia cannot operate with a collective mindset on the future of its thoroughbred industry, it can hardly be expected to suddenly build a bridge to New Zealand.https://bitofayarn.com Karaka Millions 3YO destiny is written for Marsh’s star filly But there are so many ways in which the business of racing in Australia and New Zealand, be it bloodstock, breeding, training or wagering, is so readily interlinked. From a customer perspective, they are essentially the same product, albeit with nuanced differences, and a punter at Randwick or Ellerslie is no different, excepting an emphasis on certain vowels and differing access to bookmakers. It raises an interesting question. Leaving aside legal and regulatory considerations, if you had to start the commercial aspects of Australian and New Zealand racing from scratch, would you keep them separate or fully integrate them? Other sporting codes have benefited greatly from an integrated trans-Tasman approach. Is it an opportunity that the thoroughbred racing industry is missing out on? Disclosure: Bren O’Brien was in New Zealand courtesy of flights and accommodation paid for by Entain Australia and New Zealand. As an independent publication, The Straight gave no undertakings to Entain as to nature of its editorial coverage.

i think it was hunterthepunter who said he thought brodie was the railway sleeper man.that was a few years ago now.I've never read brodie ever say he was,whether he is or not,who knows. either way,whoever brodie is,hes nearly always on the money.Hunterthe punter used to like guessing who people were. i think sometimes he was right,but often he was wrong,but he never stopped guessing.What did happen to hunterthepunter. Does he have another alias on here these days. One poster sounds like him. Who knows.

getting back to craig rail. taylor strong has reported craig rail will sign off as a southern caller after the gore gallops on sunday. "i will go back to see my mum and dad,north of melbourne and then decide what i will do'.."i love the job and have come in contact with a lot of lovely people" i looked at some old articles on rail,he started off race calling in queensland and lived there most of his life until harness racing victoria emplyed him full time to call just the victorian harness meetings ,which he did for 15 years.Apparently he had to travel long distances to call the victorian trots,but said he loved his job there. sounds like he may have moved here as southland seems to have been where his wife was from. His wife,tracey ,passed away in may 2023.She was a highly regarded member of the southland greyhound club and worked in the kennels and as a judge.I think her brothers were greyhound trainers in invercargill, anyways,it must be hard for anyone losing a job that they are still good at.Being a race caller,its not as if you can go down the road and apply for another job race calling.The life of a commentator can be full of highs,but obviously its a very competitive job and you can be tossed to the side when you become surplus to requirements. Why hasn't HRNZ acknowledged his contribution?. Surely they should have..Rail ,as are all commentators ,are high profile people within the industry. theres a bloke who has dedicated his life to harness racing and hrnz hasn't even thanked him for his service to the industry as yet. i wonder whats next for Rail.Obviously he doesn't sound like he knows what nor where he will choose to live yet.thats life,who really knows whats around the corner.

Looks strong today too. High clearance rate.

It is that time of year when stars of Hong Kong’s racecourses take centre stage, which means that now is as good a time as any to take a look at several names that stand out from the crowd. There are three equine icons that define racing in Hong Kong: the one who lifted our spirits, the one who is a local hero and the one who conquered global riches. More than just a horse Walking into Sha Tin Racecourse, visitors are greeted by a life-size bronze statue that makes the importance of one horse...View the full article