Racing News

Sir Brendan and Lady Jo Lindsay decided to support the milestone 100th edition of New Zealand’s National Yearling Sale with 100 percent of Cambridge Stud’s yearlings that were for sale this season, and that commitment was richly rewarded with a Book 1 triumph that they and their team will never forget. Across two outstanding days of selling at Karaka on Sunday and Monday, Cambridge Stud sold 50 of the 54 yearlings they offered. They earned an aggregate of $10.64 million and an average price of $212,800. Cambridge Stud finished $4.74 million ahead of second-placed Waikato Stud to be crowned leading vendor – their second such title since the Lindsays purchased the esteemed nursery from 31-time leading vendors Sir Patrick and Lady Hogan a decade ago. The Lindsay-owned Cambridge Stud was also the leading vendor in 2021, when they sold 45 yearlings for a total of $5.7 million at an average of $126,667. The obvious highlight came towards the end of the Book 1 session on Monday with the eagerly anticipated sale of Lot 513, a colt from the second crop of exciting Cambridge Stud stallion Sword Of State. The half-brother to four-time Group One winner Ceolwulf was purchased by Mr Sanxiong Gao and Ciaron Maher Bloodstock for a sale-topping $1.1 million. “It means a lot, because there’s a whole lot of things going on here,” Sir Brendan Lindsay said. “John Foote bought the dam for us (Las Brisas), and he was helping us even before we had Cambridge Stud. And since then he’s bought horses for us in England and France. “And then David Ellis was the underbidder. We bought Sword Of State off David. “It’s an awful lot of money and it tells the industry that, from a $15,000 service fee, you can actually turn it into $1 million. “And it’s encouraging for New Zealand. You know, we’re a great country and we breed the best horses. It’s great for New Zealand, because it gives everybody a leg up. This is great for our country and our breeding industry. “More important from our point of view is what it means to Henry Plumptre, Scott Calder, Cameron Ring, Ben Tappenden and the whole crew – all the people that do the long hours and the hard hours. They were over there crying their eyes out. They are so emotional and relieved. It’s a moment that they’re going to remember for the rest of their lives. “Everybody’s heard it before, but the point is that this is a fantastic game. Jo and I believe in our country, and everything we do is about New Zealand. “It’s the 100-year anniversary of an iconic New Zealand brand, the National Yearling Sale, and we’re happy to be part of it. “Sir Patrick always celebrated other people’s success as well as his own, and I’d like to think he would have been proud. And Lady Justine and their family have been so supportive of Jo and I.” Along with the $1.1 million sale-topper, five other Cambridge Stud yearlings sold for $400,000 or more. A colt by Snitzel out of Amarelinha was bought by Chris Waller Racing and Mulcaster Bloodstock for $850,000, while Mulberry Racing paid $650,000 for an Anamoe colt out of Save The Date. Shijiazhuang Hongtao Horse Breeding secured a Savabeel colt out of Allemande for $550,000, Scott Cameron and Cameron Cooke went to $475,000 for a Sword Of State filly out of Fuld’s Bet, and Stephen Marsh Racing and Dylan Johnson Bloodstock paid $420,000 for a filly by Sword Of State out of Botanic. Four of those six top-priced lots in the Cambridge draft were purchased by Australian buyers, and Sir Brendan Lindsay recognised the massive role that they played during Book 1 of Karaka 2026. Visitors from across the Tasman combined for a total of 184 purchases on Sunday and Monday (35 percent of the total number of yearlings sold) for an aggregate of over $39 million. “A lot of New Zealand breeders have supported us, and a lot of them have made money out of Sword Of State in particular, which is great and means they can reinvest it,” Sir Brendan Lindsay said. “But a result like this would not have happened without our Australian friends coming across the Tasman and wanting to buy New Zealand bloodstock. They’re the ones that have been buying the horses this week.” View the full article

In the sixth instalment of The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Road to the Derby series, Manfred Man’s Patch Of Cosmo (NZ) (Super Seth) is in the spotlight after returning from injury with a striking victory at Sha Tin recently. With just days until the first leg of the prestigious 2025/26 Four-Year-Old Classic Series – the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) this Sunday (1 February) – and with the 149th HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) on 22 March on the horizon, Patch Of Cosmo has stamped himself as one of the city’s leading four-year-olds after brushing off a tendon injury. Victorious in four of 11 starts before the left fore tendon injury he suffered in March last year, Patch Of Cosmo’s fifth career success – a barnstorming effort down the middle of the track in the Class 3 Tennis 1600m Handicap on 18 January – pushed his career prize money past HK$5 million. The son of Waikato Stud stallion Super Seth lifted himself to a rating of 84 with his recent Sha Tin success, making him the joint-sixth highest-rated galloper among the entries for this weekend’s Hong Kong Classic Mile. Man earned praise from Zac Purton for his training effort after the jockey booted the galloper to victory under top weight of 135lb on 18 January. However, the star Australian has committed to riding Pierre Ng-trained Sagacious Life on Sunday. That means Matthew Chadwick gets his chance to reunite with Patch Of Cosmo after winning twice from three rides aboard the gelding last season. “I like this horse. He’s a lovely character and he’s got a lovely big stride on him. He’s always given me a good feel, and I was never certain where his ceiling was,” Chadwick said. “It was unfortunate he had that setback last season. I liked the way he was going about his work and his races. “You’d like to think he’s got improvement for the run and having a win under his belt. The way it looked, it was a nice race to come back into – the way it was run, and he got a nice run through carrying top weight. “They’re all positives coming back and I’m sure Manfred has him well. It seems he pulled up nicely and he’s ticking all of the boxes. “It’s shaping up to be a very open, competitive field, so it’s going to be very interesting. But I don’t think he’ll be out of place. Last season, I was very happy with him.” Patch Of Cosmo will take on the likes of Sagacious Life, Little Paradise, Invincible Ibis and Beauty Bolt in a vintage edition of the Hong Kong Classic Mile. “It’s shaping up to be a good mile. Hopefully they go a nice even tempo that gives everyone a chance and then the best horse will win,” Chadwick said. “It’s a very good year and the Club will be very happy. It looks like a lot of them haven’t hit their peak and it looks like there will be five or six who will be rated over 100 eventually. “It’s an exciting race and hopefully it will be a good finish. This is exciting for Hong Kong racing. I’m excited and I rarely say that. It’s a race that you want to watch.” The Contenders Name Rating Trainer Owner Record Country of Origin Import Type Sagacious Life 97 Pierre Ng Leslie Lui Chi Yuen 2-0-0-3 Brazil PP Little Paradise 95 Jimmy Ting Ko Kam Piu 5-1-1-8 Australia PPG Invincible Ibis 91 Mark Newnham Ibis Syndicate 4-2-1-7 Australia PPG Numbers 90 Frankie Lor 23/24 Frankie Lor Fu Chuen Trainer Syndicate 1-0-1-2 New Zealand PP Patch Of Cosmo 84 Manfred Man Simon Yeung Chun Kin 5-0-0-12 New Zealand PPG Regal Gem 83 Frankie Lor Everest Syndicate 3-1-0-9 Great Britain PP Top Dragon 81 Chris So Vincent To Wai Keung, Kenneth To Kin Ting & Ronald To Yiu Ting 3-3-2-11 Australia PPG View the full article

In September 2024, Cambridge Stud gave the Guerin Report a foal to follow. Fast forward to January 2026, and Lil Mickey G sold for 1.1 million at the NZB Yearling Sales; and we were there for it. Guerin Report – S2 Ep. 21 – Lil Mickey G gets sold! – YouTube View the full article

Speaking on the Jan. 26 episode of the BloodHorse Monday podcast, French trainer Francis-Henri Graffard expressed an interest in growing his presence on the American racing calendar.View the full article

Grade 1 winners Burnham Square and East Avenue returned to the worktab Jan. 25 at Palm Meadows Training Center for the first time since racing in August.View the full article