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Have they had a harness meeting at Taupo before? First time I can recall harness racing there. 

If those are the fields for near peak season then I hate to think what they might be like in the winter months.  Half a dozen races of 6 and 7 runners looking likely maybe even less.

Bloodstock agent Kevin ‘Millie’ Walls was a force to be reckoned with on the buying bench of Book 1 of Karaka 2026, spending more than $3.6 million across Sunday and Monday. Walls secured one of the highest-priced lots on Sunday’s opening day of the sale with a $675,000 colt by Super Seth, and he followed that up on Monday with an $850,000 colt by Alabama Express from the draft of Elsdon Park. The colt went through the ring as Lot 383 and is the first foal out of the winning Tivaci mare Diva Carolina, a granddaughter of multiple black-type winner and Group One placegetter Ombre Rose. Lot 383, a colt by Alabama Express out of Diva Carolina sold to KPW Bloodstock for $850,000 Photo: Angelique Bridson Walls bought the colt on behalf of his clients and friends Ron and Judi Wanless. “We buy purely on type and we rated this colt as one of the best types in the sale,” Walls said. “He stood out. He’s a very nice horse. “Once he (Ron Wanless) starts, he tries hard. He loves racing. It’s his hobby, it’s his passion. Both Ron and Judi love their horses, love their racing and have been in the game for a long time.” Walls indicated that the colt is likely to do his racing in Melbourne. “He’s eligible for the Vobis Sires bonus, so no doubt he’ll be going to Melbourne,” he said. Walls also had a pair of $450,000 purchases – a So You Think colt out of Excel In The Sun and an Ardrossan colt out of Lucetta – and paid $320,000 for an Ardrossan colt out of Caramella, $300,000 for a Sword Of State colt out of Oceans Eight, $275,000 for a Proisir colt out of Galway, $220,000 for an Alabama Express colt out of Get Hitched, and $90,000 for a Noverre colt out of Serenalla. For Elsdon Park, the $850,000 Alabama Express colt was the headline act of a Book 1 draft that yielded $4.98 million from 25 yearlings sold. They also fetched $490,000 for a filly by Alabama Express out of Daniela’s Magic and $450,000 for a colt by Ardrossan out of Lucetta. View the full article

The dizzying rise of Cambridge Stud stallion Sword Of State continued at Karaka on Monday with a sale-topping $1.1 million yearling in his second crop. With his oldest progeny two-year-olds, the Group One-winning son of Snitzel has already been represented by Listed Debutant Stakes (1000m) winner and Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) placegetter Torture, highly impressive two-start, two-win colt Warwoven and smart last-start winner State The Obvious. Sword Of State’s burgeoning reputation led to an average price of $260,250 across 20 yearlings sold through Sunday and Monday’s Book 1 session of Karaka 2026, off a $15,000 service fee. But the yearling on everyone’s list this week was Lot 513. From the draft of Cambridge Stud, the colt is out of the Shamardal mare Las Brisas and is a half-brother to the four-time Group One winner Ceolwulf. Will Bourne pictured alongside Sanxiong Gao, Jun Zhang, Hongwei Chen Photo: Angelique Bridson After beginning at $200,000, the colt received rapid-fire bids from all corners of the ring. As the other underbidders gradually folded, it developed into a two-way battle between top Australian trainer Ciaron Maher’s head of bloodstock Will Bourne and formidable rival David Ellis. The Te Akau Racing principal had a particular connection to this colt, having bought Sword Of State himself for A$600,000 from the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale six years ago. Ellis pushed himself to the limit in pursuit of the colt, summoning one last bid of $50,000 after the million-dollar mark had been reached, but Bourne came out on top with a winning bid of $1.1 million. “David Ellis is a hard guy to beat, especially here on his home deck,” a relieved Bourne said. “But this is a lovely horse. We got some great support from a new client, Mr (Sanxiong) Gao, and we’re thrilled to have him on board. “Ciaron Maher sent me the videos of this horse when we were working through a shortlist five days ago. He was one of Ciaron’s picks. I’ve just got off the phone with Ciaron now. He’s delighted and he wants me to sell the last shares, so I’m going to go and do that now.” Bourne sees the million-dollar colt as a more precocious type than Ceolwulf, who was a $170,000 purchase from the 2022 Ready to Run Sale and has come of age as a four and five-year-old with triumphs in the Gr.1 Epsom Handicap (1600m), Champions Mile (1600m) and two editions of the King Charles III Stakes (1600m). L-R: Zhiqiang Wang, Sir Brendan Lindsay, Sanxiong Gao and Jun Zhang Photo: Angelique Bridson “There’s a few similarities, although one was a cheaper purchase that developed into a really nice horse over time,” Bourne said. “This one has a lot of strength and is very much a yearling sales horse. There’s a lot of power there. I feel like he’s a different type of horse – he’s very imposing and a proper colt. We’ll get him home and try to turn him into something.” Bourne has been impressed with the start made by Sword Of State, who stood for a $20,000 service fee this season. “We’ve got one that we bought last year that’s showing really good ability at home, and obviously we’ve seen the horse that Bjorn Baker has (Warwoven),” Bourne said. “For a young stallion to start the way he has is a credit to Cambridge Stud. We’re happy to support them. They do such a good job and are so supportive of the industry here and the community. Sword Of State is a nice stallion on the up.” View the full article

Bloodstock agent Guy Mulcaster secured the $850,000 highest-priced lot on Sunday’s opening day of Karaka 2026, and he followed it up on Monday with something even bigger. Mulcaster Bloodstock and Chris Waller Racing went to $950,000 to secure Lot 471 – the highest-priced yearling ever sold by Landsdowne Park. The colt is by one of the world’s most in-demand stallions, Justify, out of the winning mare Heart To Heart. That daughter of Zoffany is a half-sister to the Gr.1 Prix du Jockey Club (2100m) and Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (1400m) winner Camille Pissarro. “He’s a lovely colt – a real ‘get up and run’ sort of Justify,” Mulcaster said. “The dam is a half to a current stallion and champion two-year-old in France. Fingers crossed, he can be another Learning To Fly or Storm Boy. “We thought he was a beautiful horse. We stretched a little bit to get him. We’ve bought him for a lot of good clients, and fingers crossed it turns out to be a good one for us. “There’s a real international flavour to his pedigree. Justify is an international sensation. It’s only a matter of time before we get another Storm Boy or something like that. He looks like the type to get up and run for us. He’s going to be trained by a great trainer (Chris Waller) for a lovely group of owners.” The Justify colt was a landmark result for Landsdowne Park’s Dave Duley. “We’re over the moon, we’re just so happy,” he said. “Obviously it’s the highest-priced horse that we’ve sold. “He hasn’t put a foot wrong all week. As the week went on, we were thinking, ‘Jeez, he’s going to make more.’ He just got more and more popular. “I’m so proud of the horse, because he’s just such a wonderful specimen, and obviously his nature – he’s just kept getting better all week. And I’m proud of the team for everything they’re doing. This result just means a lot to everyone here. “All of our clients have been great. I started off 20 years ago with two horses. To now be selling this calibre of horse is amazing. It means a lot that people trust us, and it’s great. “Landsdowne Park will be having a couple of gins tonight. It’s going to be good fun and we’ll be enjoying it.” View the full article

Guy Lowry is no stranger to longshot success at the highest level and he went agonisingly close to another major upset at the weekend. The Hastings trainer produced Milan Park’s Adventador to win the 2016 edition of the Gr.1 Telegraph (1200m) at 80 to one and a decade later almost pulled off a bigger upset with the same colours in the Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m). Now operating in partnership with Leah Zydenbos, Lowry’s long-range plan with Magill was all but executed to perfection when the youngster finished a close second in the Ellerslie feature at a three-figure quote. Milan Park boss Tony Rider bred the son of Farnan and remained in the ownership with Lowry and brothers Mark and Paul Apatu after he was sold at Karaka last year for $230,000. “When we bought him he was always destined for the Karaka Million,” Lowry said. “He’s not overly big and we spent the first couple of starts trying to get the horse to settle, all he wanted to do was fight. “We gelded him and he went to the Woodville trials and ran second to Singletary and the form out of the trial was good.” Magill broke his maiden in a four-horse field at Tauherenikau earlier this month to lift spirits ahead of the Millions. “He was a very happy and sound horse and the rest is history, he jumped well from a good draw and he tried very hard for Wiremu (Pinn),” Lowry said. “I never worry about anyone else’s horses when we set a horse for a race, and we had him set a long way out and were lucky enough to get enough prizemoney to get in.” Magill will be given time to get over his Ellerslie performance with a return trip on the radar. “He’ll have a week or 10 days in the paddock at Milan Park and we’ll assess things from there,” Lowry said. “He’s an out and out two-year-old and we will look at the Sistema (Gr.1, 1200m).” Meanwhile, the stable will also have three runners at Waverley on Wednesday with Curtsy in the Egmont Tyres (1650m) and Sunshine Ale and Poukawa in the Bull Penn Powder (1400m). “Curtsy is getting a lot closer and will strip a lot fitter, they’re probably each-way chances without declaring anything,” Lowry said. View the full article

Trainers Darryn and Briar Weatherley were rapt with Bulgari’s runner-up effort behind Belle Cheval in the Gr.3 Almanzor Trophy (1200m) at Ellerslie last Saturday, and they are now eyeing further stakes targets at the Auckland track. The Hello Youmzain colt showed plenty of promise when winning on debut over 1100m at Te Rapa as a juvenile but was unplaced in his subsequent five outings as a three-year-old, including a midfield performance in the Gr.2 Auckland Guineas (1400m) on Boxing Day. He was unwanted by punters in the Almanzor Trophy, jumping a $62.20 outsider, but he flew home late in the hands of Sam Weatherley to finish second by 1-1/4 lengths, and his trainers were left wondering how close he could have got if he got a break earlier up the straight. “It was a great run on the weekend,” Darryn Weatherley said. “He travelled well and he was even held up for a few strides in the straight and it would have been interesting to see how close he could have got to her (Belle Cheval) had that not happened. “We quite like him, he is not a very big horse, but he is a real racehorse.” Weatherley is now weighing up his options with his colt, with the Matamata horseman contemplating keeping him to shorter trips, but he said next month’s Gr.3 Eagle Technology Uncle Remus Stakes (1400m) at Ellerslie presents as his next logical option. “There is a nice 1400m race at Ellerslie in a month’s time, so whether we go there or look for another 1200m, it is just up in the air at the moment,” he said. Meanwhile, stable star Pier made a pleasing return to the trials at Matamata last week, finishing third in his 1100m Group and Listed heat. The Proisir six-year-old was outstanding in Australia last year, winning the Listed The Wayne Wilson (1600m) at Eagle Farm and placing in the Gr.1 King Charles III Stakes (1609m), Gr.2 Theo Marks Stakes (1300m) and Gr.3 BRC Sprint (1350m). Weatherley is now eyeing home targets with his gelding, circling next week’s Gr.1 BCD Group Sprint (1400m) at Te Rapa as his initial assignment. “He trialled very well, I am very happy with the way he has come up,” Weatherley said. “He will have an exhibition gallop at Te Rapa on Friday and look to go to the BCD Sprint the following Saturday at Te Rapa.” Meanwhile, Weatherley was active at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale on Sunday, purchasing lot 79, a Vanbrugh half-sister to Group Two winner Grinzinger Belle, out of Windsor Park Stud’s draft for $90,000. “She comes from a good family,” Weatherley said. “I bought her for my wife’s aunty and cousin, they wanted something to race and hopefully breed from later on. “I have got a Vanbrugh from Windsor Park to train ourselves and we quite like the filly. I am happy with the sire and she had a pretty good page.” View the full article

The farewell Craig Rail pace, what's the story?

Irrespective if Taupo today has been a success or not, the fields were ok,I think by locality it will more than likely do better than Ruakaka on Easter Monday, I just don't think northerners have the same connection with harness racing as in the South, turnovers suggest that.