Wandering Eyes

Stoneriggs Farm has hit the ground running. In operation for just five years, Robert Slack's 600-acre property in Paris, Kentucky is the home of a 70-deep broodmare band. Slack reveals some of his 'Mating Plans' for the upcoming 2026 breeding season in this continuing series. BRANDONS DANGER (m, 9, Into Mischief–Natural Rush, by Indian Charlie), to be bred to Omaha Beach We're sending six mares to Omaha Beach. He's been a horse that we've bred multiple mares to each year. I think he'll go right to the top, he's a very sound sire. Every time you open the paper, you see horses by him winning at all levels. He's a very very good sire. We're breeding Brandons Danger to him. She's the dam of a Charlatan colt I C Light, who is two for two (on the turf) at Gulfstream this winter and is very impressive. She's an Into Mischief mare and it's a very good cross. PLATINUM PAYNTER (m, 10, Paynter–Platinum Preferred, by Vindication), to be bred to Constitution We have several mares going to Constitution, including Platinum Paynter. We've always done very well with Constitution babies. We sold a Jackie's Warrior filly (Psalm Beauty) out of her for $625,000 at the (Keeneland September) yearling sale. Her first runner (Coqueta Blue by Maxfield) is already a winner, too. She was an outstanding race mare and is an outstanding individual. CHESTNUT STREET (m, 12, Scat Daddy–Near and Dear, by Red Ransom), to be bred to Yaupon She's a nice mare by Scat Daddy. She won at Saratoga and we claimed her. Fortunately, we were the only claim in on her that day. We got her and retired her. She's been a very good mare. Her 3-year-old colt ('TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard') Local Knowledge (Yaupon) was very impressive, broke his maiden first time out with a 94 Beyer at Keeneland. I'M BETTY G (m, 12, Into Mischief–Lady in Ermine, by Honour and Glory), to be bred to Gun Runner I'm Betty G, who is the dam of (GI) Breeders' Cup (Juvenile Turf Sprint)-placed Governor Sam (Improbable) and also (MGSW) Pin Up Betty (Constitution), is going to Gun Runner. NEEDS SUPERVISION (m, 10, Paynter–Moroccan Rose, by Carson City), to be bred to Vekoma Needs Supervision was an excellent race mare, winning several stakes. She had a Life's Is Good colt in '24. We sold it as a yearling for $230,000 (at Keeneland September). We bred her back to Constitution and she had a Constitution filly in '25. She was late, so we didn't breed her back. In '26, she's going to Vekoma. AUTONOMOUS (m, 9, Quality Road–Circumspect, by Discreet Cat), to be bred to Liam's Map Autonomous is the dam of Teddy's Rocket (Liam's Map), who was very impressive (winning first out on grass at Saratoga last summer). He's enjoying the sunshine in Florida for the winter. She is going back to Liam's Map, sire of Teddy's Rocket. GREAT SISTER DIANE (m, 10, Will Take Charge–Private Ensign, A.P. Indy), to be bred to Curlin We've sold very well out of her. She's going to Curlin. (Editor's Note: Great Sister Diane's Quality Road colt of 2022 brought $725,000 at Keeneland September; her Quality Road colt of 2023 brought $325,000 at Keeneland September; and her Justify colt of 2024 brought $550,000 at Keeneland September). CHART (m, 9, Lea–Gauge, by War Front), to be bred to Justify We have Chart going to Justify. We just sold a Flightline short yearling for $290,000 (to Blue River Farm) out of her at Keeneland January. She is a Grade III winner from an established Claiborne family. The post 2026 Mating Plans: Stoneriggs Farm appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

There's the good news: Rezasrolex (Bucchero) has won nine straight races, a streak that started way back on June 21, 2024. And there's the bad news: the 5-year-old gelding has run through all of his available conditions and is too valuable and too good to be dropped into a claimer. What that means is that trainer Joe Orseno now has no choice but to enter Rezasrolex in a stakes race. He's looking at the Feb. 14 Turf Dash Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. “I know that it will be a step up,” Orseno said. “His numbers and his Ragozin sheet numbers say he's supposed to be competitive against those horses. I have some other really nice turf sprinters that I run in stakes and, on the numbers, he's in the same category. He just ran an 8 on the Ragozin sheets the other day and that's a good number for a turf sprinter.” Should Rezasrolex run next in the Turf Dash, the Tampa race should be a fascinating test that will pit a horse with an iron will to win against horses that may be a little more talented and more tested at the stakes level. “He's already handled the turf course at Tampa really well,” Orseno said. “Obviously, it will be a tougher race than the ones he's been running in. We'll go up there and give it our best.” Rezasrolex began his career at Belterra Park for trainer William Morey. After two starts there, Morey brought him to Gulfstream and dropped him into a Dec. 7, 2023, $16,000 claimer. Orseno thought the horse, who won one of his two starts at Belterra, had some talent and he is a big fan of his sire Bucchero. It didn't hurt that his owner, Robert Cotran, owns a piece of the stallion. In his Gulfstream debut, he won a two-turn race on the Tapeta surface by a head. Orseno decided to stick with what was working and ran him twice more in distance races. But after his horse finished a lackluster fifth in a Feb. 10, 2024 allowance race for Florida-breds, Orseno knew that it was time for a change. Never again would the horse run beyond 5 1/2 furlongs. “When we claimed him he went long and then when he went long for me the first time I just thought this isn't his game,” the trainer said. “He didn't move forward. He had needed a race and he should have moved up. He didn't. I told Robert, 'This horse is by Bucchero, and you know Bucchero. He primarily throws horses that are very fast.' It just so happens that this horse is 17 hands and he looks like a distance horse. But I thought that he's a fast horse and he wants to be fast. I decided that I'd play with his head a little bit and crank him up and see if we can get him to be fast. He wants to be a fast horse and I let him be fast. I train him like a Bucchero. I like to think that I've had enough of them that I have their numbers. They'll train and win on any surface and when you find their hole card they're a really good deal.” Once placed in races where he fit distance-wise, the new and improved Rezasrolex won two straight 5 1/2-furlong races on the Tapeta surface at Gulfstream. Then he was beaten in what would become his only loss in more than 20 months, finishing fourth. “The time he got beat, Edgard Zayas will tell you that he was sick that day and probably shouldn't have been riding him,” Orseno said. “He just thought, 'This is just a hang-on mount, let me ride him.' But the poor guy was so sick. He just didn't get the best trip. After that, the rest has been history.” The streak began with a 5 3/4-length win in a starter allowance race. His next six races were all on Gulfstream's synthetic track. Orseno, who was starting to have trouble finding races for Rezasrolex, switched him to the grass for a first-level allowance race at Gulfstream on Dec. 19 and the results were the same. He won by a neck. In his next and most recent start, he went to Tampa Downs, where he recorded his ninth straight win in a second-level allowance race, also on the grass. “It's been a lot of fun,” Orseno said. “At first, I didn't think about it much because he's had a few minor issues and we've had to space out some of his races. It's nine in a row, but it's been over almost two years. It's not like he's been running once a month and we've been panicking. It's been pretty cool to think about how hard it is to do something like that. We always knew that we were going to have to step up one day and put him in a tougher race and see what happens. But I've been finding the right spots for him and it's been working out great.” Orseno knows the streak won't last forever, and may end in his next start. “Obviously, I want to keep it going,” he said. “I wouldn't say I feel pressure. I just keep picking out good spots for him. It's not pressure, but it sure would be nice to keep this going. Now people are noticing him and he's becoming a little bit of a fan favorite. But I've been in this game a long time and I know that what he is doing is the impossible.” The post Rezasrolex, the Sport’s Hottest Horse, is Ready to Take the Next Step appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

7th-TAM, $55k, Msw, 3yo, 1 1/16mT, 3:33 p.m. ET Peter Brant's ARIZONA TERRITORY (Tapit) is a homebred son of Cafe Americano (Medaglia d'Oro), a $625,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase whose victory in the 2019 GIII Pucker Up Stakes completed a Chad Brown sweep of the four graded events on Arlington Million Day (Sistercharlie {Ire}, Beverly D. S.; Valid Point, Secretariat S.; Bricks and Mortar, Arlington Million). Already the dam of the stakes-placed Lavender Disaster (Into Mischief), Cafe Americano is a daughter of two-time Sovereign Award and three-time graded winner Roxy Gap (Indian Charlie), whose four additional winners includes MGSP Angelou (Curlin). The Wertheimer Brothers are also represented here by their homebred colt Waystar (Uncle Mo), a full- or half-brother to three winners from three to race out of MSP Westit (GB) (Tapit), among them GSP Soviet Excess (Uncle Mo) and SP Nomos (Uncle Mo). TJCIS PPs The post Sunday Insights: Brant Homebred Looms Large at Tampa appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

by TTR AusNZ/Tom Baddock Unit Five (Supido) delivered a stunning boilover in the A$3 million R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic at the Gold Coast on Saturday, after a perfectly judged ride from Thomas Stockdale to give Ciaron Maher his third victory in the lucrative juvenile feature and cap a remarkable fairytale for a modestly priced colt. In a race dominated by pre-race controversy around the scratching of odds-on favourite Warwoven (Sword of State) and what winning chances were left, Stockdale kept his nerve aboard Unit Five, settling the colt worse than midfield along the rail after he was a touch slow into stride. As the field fanned across the track searching for clear air on the home turn, Stockdale made the decisive call to stick closer to the inside. That decision proved pivotal. When the gap opened, Unit Five exploded through it, quickly putting the race to bed. He surged clear late to defeat his more fancied stablemate Tornado Valley (Too Darn Hot) by just over a length, with the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained By Choice (Written By) finishing bravely in third a narrow margin away. The victory was made all the more remarkable given Unit Five came into the race with just one run under his belt, having secured his place in the field with a dominant win in the A$250,000 Magic Millions Victorian 2YO Classic. Incredibly, no horse had won the Gold Coast Classic off a last-start Victorian run since 1991. For Stockdale, the win marked the biggest success of his riding career. “It is just a thrill – what a warhorse,” Stockdale said. “To be back on the paint like he was. It felt like I was tracking the right horses, he was always comfortable but to let rip back to the inside, geez! What a feeling. “I always thought he'd be a nice horse competing in nice races but you still have to see it on the day. He was the ultimate professional and I have to thank Ciaron and the ownership group – what they have done for me is just unreal. My wife back home is heavily pregnant with our first child so, I'll be home soon baby!” Maher, who previously won the race with Away Game (Snitzel) and Coolangatta (Written Tycoon), was full of praise for both horse and rider, while acknowledging the significance of the result from a commercial standpoint. “He was A$80,000 – so it just doesn't matter,” Maher said. “One of my horses is probably by the hottest stallion and Unit Five is by one that's not the most commercial… well maybe he is now! Tommy Stockdale rode him unbelievably. It was a great ride.” “I just can't thank all the owners, from both horses, enough. I said to Thomas, 'you probably know the horse better than I do, you've ridden him a lot more than me'. I just told him it's a 2-year-old race around the Gold Coast, you just break as quick as you can and then you work it out from there, and he made the right choice. “It's all about presenting these horses still on the up. I still had Tornado Valley beating him but it's just fantastic. I'm very proud.” Pedigree Notes Unit Five was purchased for A$80,000 by Ciaron Maher Bloodstock from the draft of Widden Stud at the 2025 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. Unit Five is the second foal and first winner from En Aval (Toorak Toff), a winning half-sister to the dam of juvenile stakes winner Bellazaine (Zousain) and hails from the family of Group 2 winner Villa Verde, herself the dam of Group 3-winning filly My Gladiola (I Am Invincible). En Aval has proven an outstanding investment for her connections, having been purchased online for just A$9,500, and has since produced a A$300,000 Anders colt at the 2024 Magic Millions Sale. She has a foal at foot by Exceedance and visited Schwarz last spring. The post Unit Five Storms Home To Claim A$3 Million Classic appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

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Jay Rooney EMBLAZON - R9 (8) In terrific form this term and can handle the rise to Class Three Owen Goulding AMAZING DUCK - R7 (12) Pipped the last two runs and can get a deserved win from gate one Trackwork Spy STORMY GROVE - R11 (9) Big run last week and can go one better stepping up to 1,600m Phillip Woo DEVAS TWELVE - R4 (2) Has sterling 1,400m form at this level and can overcome wide draw Shannon (Vincent Wong) AMAZING PARTNERS - R6 (5) Step-up in trip looks ideal and appears ready...View the full article

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Progressive four-year-old Cross Tasman (NZ) (Super Seth) recorded his fourth victory at start number seven when landing the TAB Handicap (1500m) at Rosehill for the in-form stable of John O’Shea and Tom Charlton. The son of Super Seth was perfectly positioned one-out and one-back under Dylan Gibbons and put his rivals to the sword when presented at the top of the straight, going on to score by three and a quarter lengths. The winning rider reported the gelding didn’t relish the Heavy 8 conditions but was a class above his opposition. “He never grabbed the bit at all when I would have liked,” Gibbons said. “He was funny, he got into his spot and dipped and dived a bit. When I was having to encourage him through that I thought it might take away from his finish, but he might be pretty good. “I got to the 300m and I thought it was going to be hard work but I had a cheeky look a long way out because I just felt him go into over-drive. “This guy, with his attitude and the way he races, I’m going to say it was an unpreferred surface and the way he blew them away late, I love the way he did it today.” Bred by Waikato Stud, Cross Tasman is by Super Seth out of the versatile triple Group One winner Daffodil (NZ) (No Excuse Needed), whose elite level victories included an Australian Oaks and New Zealand 2000 Guineas. Cross Tasman appears to have inherited a fair degree of versatility as he scored for a loyal band of stable owners while sporting the colours of long-time supporter Ron Finemore’s Finemore Thoroughbreds “Off that win, you wouldn’t rule out 2000m and even beyond,” Gibbons said. “He has just got that perfect temperament, he just switches off and once I got stuck into him, where I thought I was really going to have to get into him, he just clicked into another gear and away he went.” O’Shea went to $260,000 to secure Cross Tasman in partnership with Suman Hedge Bloodstock from the draft of Waikato Stud at the 2023 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 1 Yearling Sale. With the Karaka Sales commencing on Sunday 25th January, Super Seth is well represented with 46 yearlings by the boom young Waikato Stud sire. View the full article

A sage ride by Michael Dee has aided Supernima (NZ) (Super Seth) to claim a gutsy victory in the Thank You Volunteers Trophy (1400m) at Flemington on Saturday. The Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman-trained son of Super Seth had a declared change of tactics with the intention to settle further back. But Dee summed up the situation perfectly after jumping away well and there being little to no pressure on leader Prancing Spirit (Sir Prancealot), electing to roll forward and sit outside the pacemaker as the contest turned into a sit-and-sprint affair. Sporting the colours of Wylie Dalziel Roy Higgins Racing, the four-year-old gelding dug deep in the straight to defy Ndola (Justify) and Prancing Spirit as he notched his fourth win from 18 starts with a further eight placings. “We had a bit of a theory in place today,” Coleman said. “We thought he was better when he was ridden a little bit colder and we weren’t 100 percent sure on the 1400m. But he’s put pay to both of those questions today and it was a great ride from Mick. “We’d worded him up beforehand that we wanted to try and ride the horse a little bit colder and when it wasn’t going to work out, instead of sitting back there in no man’s land, he took the race into his own hands and elected to roll forward when there wasn’t much pace on. “It was the ride that won the race. “It was a tough gritty win and I’m really pleased for these connections as well. It’s always special to get a win in the Wylie Dalziel colours but this crew especially, they’ve been very patient. “He’s always promised to deliver them a nice Saturday city winner and to get it at Flemington it’s extra special. “He’s very, very honest. He doesn’t know how to run a bad race and if we can just keep placing him to advantage, I think he can keep delivering.” Supernima is by Waikato Stud’s outstanding young sire Super Seth and is out of the Dubai Destination mare Purnima (AUS), making him a half-brother to stakes winners Tomelilla (NZ) (Tavistock) and Viktor Vegas (NZ) (Tavistock). Bred by Bob Emery, Supernima was purchased by Dalziel Bloodstock and Moody Racing for $80,000 from the draft of Woburn Farm at the 2023 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sales. View the full article

The Nathan Doyle-trained Aroha Stone (NZ) (El Roca) scored a deserved victory in the Thank You Noel Cuthbert Handicap (1500m) at Rosehill on Saturday. The four-year-old daughter of El Roca was partnered by Regan Bayliss who said the mare relished the Heavy 8 conditions and atoned for a luckless effort at Randwick a fortnight ago. Aroha Stone defeated the favourite Changing Colours (The Autumn Sun) by three-quarters of a length to notch the fourth win of her career from 15 starts with a further five minor placings. “I really liked her today,” Bayliss said. “I had no luck last start but she had a nice soft barrier today and with the rain about she’s at her best. “She has been going really well this preparation and it is good to get another win on the board. “She always felt like the winner and even going to the barriers she just glided over that track. “I had a lovely run in transit and although I did feel Nash (Rawiller) and Changing Colours giving a tough contest there inside the last 150m, to our mare’s credit she dug deep and won well.” The stable had been confident Aroha Stone could return to the winner’s circle at her third run this campaign after winning in good style at Newcastle fresh-up. “She is a very tough mare,” stable representative Grace Willoughby said. “We knew she’d run well today, and it was just a case of putting a line through her last start. She had won third-up before, so we were pretty confident. “She has won on a worse track than this before so that was never going to bother her. “I think this is going to be one of her best preparations. Last time in she just needed to go out, grow a little bit and mature and she has done that this prep.” Aroha Stone was purchased for just $25,000 from the Westbury Stud draft from the Book 2 Sale at the 2023 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sales. She is the second foal of the Makfi mare Luminescent (NZ) who in turn is out of the four-time stakes winner and Group One performer Illuminates (Strategic). View the full article

Former Kiwi Bella Montagna claimed a deserved metropolitan success when landing the Ranvet Handicap (2400m) at Rosehill on Saturday for trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott. Given a perfect ride by Josh Parr, the four-year-old daughter of Belardo overcame barrier 12 to find the fence midfield and tracked into the race effortlessly on the rain-affected track, going on to score by a length and a half from Forbidden Riff and Bestower. The victory continued the good partnership between stable and rider, with Parr successful on his past three rides for Waterhouse and Bott. “It was a perfect setup for her today,” Parr said. “I was filled with confidence by the stable this morning and 2400m on rain-affected ground, she was licking her lips. “I ended up in a really good spot from a bad barrier and she travelled really well and there were horses that were under pressure a long way from home. It was the perfect scenario for me as I could wait for the gaps to open before I asked for an effort. “It was just a push-button easy ride and it is the third one of the week that Tim Clark has handballed me, so I might owe him a favour or two.” Bella Montagna was the only ride of the day for Parr, whose other carded rides were scratched on the downgraded Heavy 8 surface. Originally prepared by Darryn and Briar Weatherley in New Zealand, Bella Montagna joined the Waterhouse and Bott stable as a maiden but she had finished runner-up in the Gr.2 Sir Patrick Hogan Stakes (2000m) won by Real Class just over 12 months ago. By Belardo out of a So You Think mare, Bella Montagna is a graduate of New Zealand Bloodstock’s Book 2 Yearling Sale where she was presented by Haunui Farm and originally purchased by David Archer’s Archer Equine Investments Ltd for just $25,000. Sold privately after five starts in New Zealand, Bella Montagna sports the colours of Mt Hallowell Stud and has two wins and four placings from 12 starts, with career earnings of A$211,746. View the full article

It might be the calm before the storm with a pair of Group Ones next week and the Classic Mile the week after, but there are still 11 winners to be found on Sunday’s card at Sha Tin. Jay Rooney is in the hot seat to provide an extended rundown of his selections. Race 1 – Class Five Rugby Sevens Handicap (2,000m) In a field of stayers who struggle to win, Chateau Le Peche could be a value play with a return to the course and distance of his only victory and a good draw. Race 2 – Class Four...View the full article

Expat Irish jockey Joe Doyle scored an emotional victory in front of his visiting parents at Trentham on Saturday when taking out the Gr.2 Harcourts Thorndon Mile (1600m) aboard Doctor Askar (NZ) (Derryn). The pair settled off the pace early and had just three runners behind them when turning for home, but Doyle guided his charge out wide where he was able to chase down Marotiri Molly (NZ) (Per Incanto) to win by half a head. “I got a good drag into it off Pitman’s horse (Mystic Park (NZ) (Ocean Park)),” Doyle said. “I usually ride him more forward, he doesn’t have to be ridden like that. It wasn’t really until the 200m that he really got down to it and I thought ‘we are going to do this’. I am really happy to get the result.” Doyle was particularly rapt to get the victory in front of his parents. “What a super horse,” he said. “My Mum and Dad are here today, so it was nice to ride a big winner in front of them. “We are horse racing people to the bone and it means everything to us. I am gutted that it is not a Group One still, but any big win on a Saturday is fantastic for super connections, and having Mum and Dad oncourse just adds to it.” Doyle was runner-up on the Joanne Moss-owned and trained gelding in the Gr.3 Phar Lap Trophy (1600m) at Trentham a fortnight ago, and he was bemused by his $10.90 winning odds. “He has been a very good horse to me,” Doyle said. “He was difficult to get going last year, we got to the right side of him, he fired a warning shot on the last day (in the Phar Lap Trophy). I don’t know why he was so friendless on the TAB, we went into it with a fair bit of confidence and he proved us right.” Moss was jubilant following the victory, Doctor Askar’s third at stakes level following his wins in the Gr.3 Easter Handicap (1600m) and Listed Flying Handicap (1400m) last year. “I am really blown away, that was quite a good field,” she said. “I just said to Joe, ‘he has done really well, he has eaten every day, he is working well, I have done my job’. I am absolutely rapt.” The five-year-old son of Derryn had put in a few subpar performances late last year, which Moss admitted to having her stumped, until she found the cause of the problem, a stone bruise. “He had a stone bruise and that took two races,” Moss said. “I didn’t know what was wrong with him, he was still running but wasn’t himself. Once I found that (stone bruise) I rang Joe and told him what I found, so we were back on track.” Moss is yet to lock in Doctor Askar’s next target, but Doyle believes he is better kept to handicaps for now. “I am really rapt with the horse,” he said. “There is more in him in handicaps at this stage and I am hoping he can progress to weight-for-age level.” View the full article

Classy southern stayer Mayor Of Norwood (NZ) (Ghibellines) showed he will be more than a runner’s chance in the Gr.3 NZ Campus of Innovation & Sport Wellington Cup (3200m) at Trentham in a fortnight when he lumped the topweight of 61kgs to a comprehensive victory in the Skevingtons Waikouaiti Cup (2200m) at Wingatui on Saturday. The Brian and Shane Anderton-prepared seven-year-old had taken the 2025 version of the race and was looking to go back-to-back, albeit with an extra 2.5kgs on his back for regular pilot Corey Campbell. Punters felt the additional handicap, 7kgs more than his nearest rival, was of no consequence and so it proved as he sat relaxed in midfield for Campbell before tracking into contention rounding the home bend. Noble Knight (NZ) (Ghibellines) had shot clear at that point, however, Mayor Of Norwood was winding up strongly and joined issue with 200m to run before forging clear for a comfortable one length victory which indicated he is right where his trainers want him to be ahead of a Wellington Cup hit-and-run mission on 31 January. Shane Anderton was pleased with the win and said he had to show his best to warrant a trip to Trentham. “He was pretty impressive with the big weight today in a good, strong run race which helped him out a lot,” Anderton said. “We knew he was very well, but if we are going to make the big trip up to Trentham he had to win like he did. “Corey knows him well and it was a nice ride as he let him find his feet and get balanced around the home bend before asking for his best. “He has a really good turn of foot as he has won over a mile twice before and we had toyed with running him in the sprint (1400m) instead of this one today. “We did feel though that if he was going to Trentham, the middle distance suited him best and thankfully we pulled the right rein.” By former White Robe Lodge stallion Ghibellines, who passed away late last year, Mayor Norwood is raced by the estate of his breeder, the late Patrick Smith, and is out of the useful race mare Gallant Babe (NZ) (Gallant Guru). He is the younger brother of the stakes placed Capo Dell Impero (NZ) (Ghibellines) who took out the 2024 edition of the Waikouaiti Cup. He has now won eight of his 35 starts, with six of those coming on his home track at Wingatui, and over $281,000 in prizemoney. TAB Bookmakers have shortened him into a $10 Fixed Odds quote for the Wellington Cup where another southerner in Gr.3 Trentham Stakes (2100m) winner Rosso (Camelot) sits as the $3.20 favourite in the market. View the full article

Cambridge trainers Roger James and Robert Wellwood sent a pair of up-and-coming three-year-old fillies to Trentham on Saturday for the time-honoured Gr.3 NZB Desert Gold Stakes (1600m) and received the perfect return when they formed the quinella in the event after a thrilling home straight battle. Stablemates Fairy Dream (NZ) (Proisir) and Waimea Bay (NZ) (Savabeel) were having just their third and second career starts respectively in the seventh event of the prestigious NZB Filly of the Year Series, however, the pair belied their lack of raceday experience as they fought out a titanic struggle, with Fairy Dream coming out on top at the winning post by a short head. Wellwood was thrilled by the performance of the stablemates, especially the winner who he had feared may not be at her best on the Soft6 track surface. “She (Fairy Dream) had a little bit of a traffic issue and didn’t get out until late, but it was a good effort,” Wellwood said. “She is a top-class filly and I do think with some more time and a better surface we are going to see her do some special things in the future. “Even in her maiden win, she won on the bridle, and it was good to see her with the blinkers on today as she travelled a lot better and with some more time and 2000m you might see her sweet spot. “Waimea Bay had a little set back in the spring but has come back nicely and won really well at her last start. “For her to pick up some black-type is great as she is a well-bred Savabeel filly, owned by the Chittick family.” Fairy Dream holds a nomination for both the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand Oaks (2400m) at Ellerslie on 21 February and the Gr.1 Trackside New Zealand Derby (2400m) a fortnight later, with the stable undecided on which event to target at this stage. “It’s hard to say where we will go with her although the Fillies Classic (Gr.2, 2100m at Te Rapa on 7 February) may be next and then you may see her in both an Oaks and a Derby,” Wellwood said. “We will stick to the fillies path at this stage and the Oaks is just an hour-and-a-half up the road to Ellerslie this year, which makes it easier to head that way, but who knows and the way she has won today, she has opened a lot of doors.” Owned by Colin and Helen Litt, who also raced star mare Orchestral from the stable, Fairy Dream was a $360,000 purchase from the Elsdon Park Book 1 yearling draft at Karaka in 2024. Bred by Ian and Mel Heyns, Fairy Dream is out of the stakes-placed Viscount mare Fairygem and is from an extended family that includes Gr.1 Captain Cook Stakes (1600m) winner Penny Gem. The victory earns her six points in the NZB Filly Of The Year series which is currently headed by Well Written and Lollapalooza on 20 points apiece. View the full article