We would like to extend a Happy New Year to all of our members and hope the next twelve months of 2026 delivers for you and your loved ones. It's an exciting time of the year with summer racing in full swing and a number of age group features on both sides of the Tasman to keep us entertained during BBQ season. We look forward to covering all the action with indepth analysis on these high quality meetings and we will endeavour to find the best value selections each and every race day throughout the year.

Ellerslie Racecourse will host the Karaka Millions night on January 24th, with the Magic Millions 2YO Classic and 3YO Guineas on the Gold Coast the weekend prior, January 17th. The Sistema Railway sprint is on the same card as the 2YO and 3YO features in Auckland, while Trentham will hold the G1 Thorndon next weekend and the time-honoured Wellington Cup at the end of the month, January 31st.

For us personally, we look forward to INCANDESCENT proudly representing us in the Karaka 2YO feature and our Almanzor mare ZORMELLA getting back to her very best. We are anticipating the commencement of the racing careers for NEODYMIUM, NORTHMAN, and QUEEN OF FRANCE in Melbourne, and are pumped about the return of the exceptional chaser JESKO during the winter Steeplechase months. Achieving a victory on race day is an unparalleled experience, and we were fortunate enough to have celebrated this success on multiple occasions in 2025.

TAB TELEGRAPH (1200m) TRENTHAM 3/1

THORNDON MILE (1600m) TRENTHAM 17/1

MM 3YO GUINEAS (1600m) GOLD COAST 17/1

MM 2YO CLASSIC (1200m) GOLD COAST 17/1

SISTEMA RAILWAY (1200m) ELLERSLIE 24/1

KARAKA MILLIONS 2YO (1200m) ELLERSLIE 24/1

KARAKA MILLIONS 3YO (1500m) ELLERSLIE 24/1

AOTEOROA CLASSIC 4YO (2000m) ELLERSLIE 24/1

WELLINGTON CUP (3200m) TRENTHAM 31/1

The 2026 NZB National Yearling Sales, scheduled from January 25-29, will present buyers with an exceptional selection of New Zealand's finest yearlings. The iconic week on the international sales calendar marks the 100th National Yearling Sale in New Zealand. 

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 Pearl Series with $1m in bonuses up for grabs across 40 maiden races each season. Full siblings to PENNYWEKA, KOVALICA, and PROWESS, and half siblings to CEOWULF, Mr BRIGHTSIDE, and GRINGOTTS are among the star lots in a quality-packed catalog for this year's NZB Karaka Yearling Sale. We will be there and hope to track the highest purchases out of Book 1 + Book 2 and talk to the important players.

LOT 467 - SAVABEEL x HAPPILY

This is the fourth foal for Happily, who has had one foal to race and it turns out that foal is AMMIRATI.

A three year-old Savabeel colt, Ammirati won the Gr.3 Wellington Stakes in December last year. HAPPILY is a half sister to EXUBERANT, winner of the Wellesley Stakes and Northland Breeders, plus 3rd in the ARC Eclipse Stakes. She is also a three-quarter sister to GLAD, with four wins, including the Anniversary Handicap at Wellington.

LOT 114 - ALMANZOR x SHANZAM

The dam has had four foals to race all winners and the best of them is high class Almanzor mare MARY SHAN.

She was multiple Group placed before her last victory and had the bridesmaid look, but in the G3 Great Northern Challenge Stakes at Ellerslie she became the bride when downing NZ Champion Horse of the Year, El VENCEDOR. The 2nd dam SHANZERO won the Wellington Stakes and NZ Herald 3YO Handicap, so the quality bloodlines run deep

LOT 214 - SWORD OF STATE x VERA DRAKE

We saw this yealing parade at Cambridge Stud and the filly looked a stunning and well developed specimen of a horse. VERA DRAKE is a French bred mare by the British sire FOOTPRINTSINTHESAND, who won both his races as a two-year-old in 2004 and won the 2000 Guineas Stakes at Newmarket on his three-year-old debut in 2005. Expect this one to go for a pretty penny at auction.

LOT 192 - SATONO ALADDIN x THREEPENCE

Ardsley Park's Lot 192, a sister to PENNYWEKA, dual elite winner of the New Zealand Oaks (G1) and the Australian Oaks (G1). The 2nd dam, OUR SOPHIE (Kaapstad) is the dam of 17, with 10 to race, and 7 winners - includes TITCH, 18 wins, SOPH with 10 wins, STREETS AWAY with 11 wins and THE MAYOR with 7 wins.

LOT 222 - OCEAN PARK x VITESSE

Lot 222 is Curraghmore's brother to KOVALICA, winner of the Queensland Derby (G1) plus three other group races. The dam VITESSE is a half sister to CHEVAL D'OR and THE BOSTONIAN (10 wins), including the G1 Doomben 10,000, Kingsford Smith Cup and Sunshine Coast Guineas. The 2nd dam KEEPA CHEVAL a half-sister to MUFHASA.

LOT 387 - PROISIR x DONNA MARIE

Lot 387 is Hallmark Stud's sister to PROWESS, the dual top-tier heroine of the G1 New Zealand Stakes and ATC Vinery Stud Stakes. By PROISIR, with her past two daughters, also by the Rich Hill Stud stallion, selling for more than $1 million at Karaka. The 2nd dam SCARLETT RUNNER (Kingdom Bay) was a winner of 4, with DONNA MARIE a half sister to ONCEUPONATIME, the champion 2YO colt and 3YO miler & stayer in Singapore 2007/08.

LOT 513 - SWORD OF STATE x LAS BRISAS

Cambridge Stud presents Lot 513, a half-brother from the second crop of its young stallion Sword of State to CEOLWULF, the star gelding bred by the farm who's won four Group ones so far, including the G1 King Charles III Stakes, Epsom Handicap and 2nd in the Australian Derby and Rosehill Guineas. LAS BRISAS' (Sharmadal) half-sister NANTYGLO was a Listed winner and from the family of four-time Hong Kong elite level winner WELLINGTON, G1 Irish Oaks heroine MOONSTONE and the G1 Prix Saint-Alary winner CERULEAN SKY.

LOT 521 - SATONO ALADDIN x LILAHJAY

Wentwood Grange presents Lot 521, a half-brother to 10-time Group one winner MR BRIGHTSIDE. Phoenix Park's son has 20 wins, including the Doncaster, Cantala Stakes Memsie, All-Star Mile, Might and Power, Futurity, CF Orr and PB Lawrence. He turned out to be a Victorian champion for the Hayes boys and at eight years of age is still ad sound as ever and built like a brick shithouse.

LOT 549 - SATONO ALADDIN x MISS BLUEBELL

Lot 549 is a colt from the same dam as AU$5.5 million earner GRINGOTTS, dual winner of the 2024/25 The Big Dance and The Gong, plus winner of the G1 George Ryder. MISS BLUEBELL also produced MILLEFORI, a winner of 7. The 2nd dam OPERAVEGA is the mother of VEGAS SHOWGIRL, the dam of one of the greatest raceshorses of all time, WINX, who claimed 37 wins.

LOT 553 - SATONO ALADDIN x MISS RHYTHMIC

Lot 553 is HGT Bloodstock's half sister to BELCLARE, dual winner of New Zealand's Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes (G1). The dam MISS RHYTHMIC is the winner of the NZ Thoroughbred Breeders, ATC Hot Danish, Westbury Stud Classic and Canterbury Breeders among her 13 victories and $1.3M in Stakes earnings. This cross may produce a fine horse as a classic miler

We now have a better picture of the central players for this years 2YO KARAKA MILLIONS race with a few standout performers staking their claim over the past couple of months. It's never an easy task educating a young juvenile galloper to perform to the highest level, although the top New Zealand trainers have developed a few fine two-year-olds that make this contest intriguing. The major players look to be OUT OF THE BLUE (Te Akau), DE ARMAS (Johno Benner), INCANDESCENT (James/Wellwood) and KINNAIRD (Te Akau), while the Hayes could bring across the Sword of State filly, TORTURE from their Lindsay Park Melbourne base. You cannot leave out the Te Akau trained ZAHARIAS, the Super Seth filly with two 2nd placings to her name.

Eligibility is based on the highest Stakes earners by the time of race nomination, meaning the two-year-olds need to perform straight out of the box, with any win an added bonus to bolster the bank balance. Additionally, the horse must have been purchased as a yearling or weanling at a New Zealand Bloodstock (NZB) National Yearling Sale or Ready to Run Sale held at Karaka.

The 2026 Karaka Millions 2YO will be run at Ellerslie on January 24, as part of a star-studded twilight card that also features the $1.5m TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m), the $700,000 G1 Sistema Railway (1200m), the $1m G3 Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic (1600m), the $250,000 G3 Almanzor Trophy (1200m) and the $100,000 Jo Giles Stakes (1400m). 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.

3YO KARAKA MILLIONS

We can only imagine most trainers and owners with runners working towards the 2025 3YO KARAKA MILLIONS would be praying the brilliant WELL WRITTEN doesn't nominate for the race and goes straight to the $4M NZB KIWI on Champions Day in March. If the Yulong star three-year-old trained by Stephen Marsh starts at Ellerslie on January 24, he just wins over the mile - there is little doubt about it after her win on Boxing Day at Ellerslie.

WELL WRITTEN's ownership group now includes Yulong Investments, which secured a 50% share in the daughter of WRITTEN TYCOON before her third consecutive win in the Gr.1 Barneswood Farm New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m). This move marked Yulong’s biggest investment in New Zealand racing to date. Stephen Marsh has indicated that a start in the Gr.1 Sistema Railway (1200m) is looking less likely, with preference for either the TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m) or the Gr.3 Cambridge Stud Almanzor Trophy (1200m) on the same Ellerslie raceday, January 24. Well Written is the clear early favourite at $2.20 for the Karaka Millions 3YO and $2.50 for the NZB KIWI

Prior to WELL WRITTEN's emergence, TAJANA and LOLLAPALOOZA were the leading contenders, with both three-year-olds competing for dominance before the star galloper made a significant impact.

The Pam Gerard trained ROMANOFF leapt into contention with a powerful victory in the Gr.1 NZ 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton albeit on a Heavy 9, rain affected Canterbury track. The BELARDO gelding managed to fend off quality stablemate AFFIRMATIVE ACTION who won the Sir Colin Meads Trophy (1200m), followed by a fine victory over 1400m at Ellerslie on Melbourne Cup day. The YES YES YES gelding has improved with each run this campaign since upsetting at $91 and will be well seasoned for the million dollar race.

The MUFHASA CLASSIC certainly delivered a classic at Trentham, culminating in a desperately close three-way photo finish that required considerable time to decipher, with one of the tightest finishes we've seen in a G1 in New Zealand for a long time - but there was more to the picture.

The Wellington feature race concluded with a remarkably close three-way finish, necessitating a lengthy deliberation by the judges to determine the outcome, the reasons for which are now apparent. The judge was compelled to manually override the photo-finish technology to determine the outcome of the NZ$400,000 event, as it malfunctioned at a critical juncture during the Group One feature at Trentham.

PROVENCE was declared the winner down on the inside, from WAITAK and LA CRIQUE, but the judge – with an eye from the stewards – was forced to determine it through other methods than usual as the photo-finish tech didn't operate.

It was just another chapter to the bridesmaid story of dual G1 winner LA CRIQUE. Sure, she's a multiple G1 winner which puts her in relatively rare air in the wide world of NZ horse racing, but she's been a whisker off adding a potential bulk to those two victories.

La Crique has 11 minor placings in G1 company, including seven straight in a 12-month period. Coming into the Mufhasa, her past six starts at the elite level were ‘222222' and she got touched-off for 2nd by 0.1L 

The SAVABEEL mare PROVENCE proved she is a horse on the rise and good enough to foot it with the very best in NZ. This was her second Group one after claiming the NZ Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes at Ellerslie back in March, and trainer Stephen Marsh has brought her on with distinction. A last start 2nd to QALI AL FARRASHA in the Gr.2 Auckland Breeders' at Tauranga indicated she was right on track, and incredibly the mare can only improve in from here.

The Wexford trained WAITAK has been a powerhouse this prep and the stable shouldn't be too disappointed with the close result. The PROISIR gelding and former top flight sprinter was coming off quality wins in the Gr.1 Livamol Classic and Howden Mile, so there was no shame in defeat.

KA YING RISING proved he is without doubt the world's finest sprint star after another effortless victory in the Gr.1 Hong Sprint at Sha Tin in the middle of December. The gelding secured his sixth Group One victory to match the mighty Golden Sixty’s feat of posting 16 straight wins to be now only one short of Hong Kong’s record of 17, held by Silent Witness, and enhanced his own record to 17 wins and two seconds from 19 starts with prize money of HK$122.5 million.The five-year-old SHAMEXPRESS gelding racked up his 16th straight victory after claiming the $20M Everest at Randwick in October, and there is no denying we probably haven't seen such an exceptional short course talent since the mighty BLACK CAVIAR ruled the Australian turf.

The Shamexpress gelding, drawing barrier one for the first time in his career, delivered a powerhouse performance, securing one of his most impressive victories. This was achieved through another masterful ride by Zac Purton, who expertly guided the champion to the middle of the home straight to find the most favourable ground. Trainer David Hayes believes KA YING RISING is even better now as a much stronger horse and in a league of his own.

Hayes said there were horses in the race with Royal Ascot, Dubai and Breeders’ Cup form and they were probably the best sprinters around, and while Ka Ying Rising was making them look ordinary, he said they certainly weren’t. He said every time Ka Ying Rising races, there was something significant he had to do, including his next two starts when he aims to equal and then break Silent Witness’ winning streak.

“He is a lot heavier and stronger now, so physically he is really improving and it is showing on the track,” Hayes said. 

Trainer Gavin Bedggood strategically targeted the G1 Zabeel Classic at Ellerslie on Boxing Day with his Melbourne-based stallion, KINGSWOOD. The son of ROARING LION successfully executed the plan, benefiting from a skillful ride by Rory Hutchings.

There was a sad irony in that the race sponsor Cambridge Stud is where Roaring Lion had shuttled to after one season standing at Tweenhills in Gloucestershire, only to begin suffering from ultimately fatal symptoms of colic after passing through quarantine in 2019. Kingswood is British-bred by Kirsten Rausing, owner of Lanwades Stud, and a half-brother to dual St Leger hero ELDAR ELDAROV from the keynote family of ALPINISTA. The grey was bought by Glyn Davies for €130,000 at the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale in 2021 and began life in Ireland with John O'Donoghue, for whom he was a winner.

Bedggood had claimed the Gr.3 Coongy Cup at Caulfield in October with the horse, but he hadn't looked much like a Group one type having run 4th at Ballarat last start.

Switching to targets across the Tasman Sea, Kingswood was given a bold ride from the front by Rory Hutchings and sustained his lead to the line, a length and a half in front of Cambridge Stud alumni JAARFFI, with LEGARTO in third. The jockey caught them napping, and off a slow tempo looped the field, went to the rail and gave it everything turning for home. Plenty of criticism leveled at the New Zealand riders, who let him get away after a muddling pace, allowing Hutchings every opportunity to take full advantage of their nonchalance and lack of positive intent.

The Stallion could eventually stand in New Zealand at Cambridge Stud like his father, and is destined to stay in the country over the summer with the potential of more black-type success.

White Robe Lodge stallion GHIBELLINES has passed away. A son of champion sire Shamardal and the Group One-winning Elusive Quality mare Camarilla, GHIBELLINES racing highlight was his victory in the Gr.2 ATC Todman Stakes (1200m) for trainer Peter Snowden. Previous winners of this race include Exceed and Excel, Luskin Star and Pierro to name a few. Ghibellines was also placed at Group 2 and Listed level.

Retired to stud in 2016, Ghibellines sired Group One winner Smokin’ Romans, last season’s Gr.2 Brisbane Cup (2400m) winner Campaldino and A$1.5 million earner Palmetto among nine stakes winners at a very respectable 4.3 percent stakes winners to runners.

GHIBELLINES, the Darley-bred winner of the Todman Stakes among eight starts, stood for $7,000 at White Robe Lodge way down south outside of Dunedin, had relatively modest success, with the nine stakes winners from six crops racing.

The esteemed mare, LA CRIQUE, has been quietly retired following a commendable performance in the G1 Zabeel Classic at Ellerslie. During the race, she unfortunately lost a shoe and sustained a hoof crack. Rather than pursuing an extended recovery and an additional campaign, the trainers and owners have opted for her retirement.

An amazing New Zealand race mare by any standard, LA CRIQUE would have to be considered one of the unluckiest Group horses to race in this country, with 11 second placings to her name, predominantly in black-type events where she came up against some of the finest WFA gallopers in the land. She did win the Gr.1 Arrowfield and Otaki-Maori WFA Classic so leaves a class champion.

Her runner up tag was incredible, as she score second placings to LEVANTE in the 2023 G1 Otaki WFA Classic, KARMAN LINE, G3 Rotorua Stakes, WILD NIGHT at BOP, LADIES MAN in the 2024 G1 Mufhasa, SNAZZYTAVI in the G1 Zabeel Classic, EL VENCEDOR, 2025 G1 Herbie Dyke, EL VENCEDOR, G1 Bonecrusher Stakes, QUINTESSA, G1 Proisir Plate and WAITAK in the G1 Howden Mile.

RACE RECORD - 30: 9-11-5

STAKES EARNINGS - $2,128,972

On New Year's Eve we laid to rest a true matriarch - DAFFODIL - who embodied everything we treasure in a mare, class on the track, depth in her pedigree and excellence in the breeding barn. Champion NZ 3YO of 2007-08 and a three-time Group 1 winner, she combined elite talent with outstanding bloodlines and a pedigree to savior.

By the sire, NO EXCUSE NEEDED, her dam was the O’REILLY mare SPRING by the GB mare HEAD OF THE RIVER. DAFFODIL would win in her third start over 1200m at Trentham in April 2008, then again at Hawera in October before proving too good in the Gr.1 NZ 1000 Guineas at Riccarton. She would win again in January and February 2009 before travelling to Australia to take out the Gr.1 AJC Oaks (2400m), beating home THINK MONEY and MISS DARCEY.

Back home, DAFFODIL would win the Gr.1 Windsor Park Plate at Hastings in September, before a tilt at the Caulfield Cup where she finished an admirable 4th behind the winner VIEWED. The mare then finished midfield in the 2009 Melbourne Cup won by SHOCKING before returning home to claim her final victory over 1100m at New Plymouth to display just how versatile a horse she actually was. After two more runs in Oz, a 4th in the G1 Ranvet and 5th in the G1 BMW she was retired.

As a producer, she continued to leave her mark, delivering stakes performers and fittingly, signing off with a winner just days ago, when CROSS TASMAN saluted at Randwick on Boxing Day. She gave us some incredible highs, the highlight being the Australian Oaks on a memorable day for Waikato Stud as they bred three individual Group 1 winners on the day in Australia, which an extraordinary feat.

Daffodil’s influence will be seen in the pedigrees of Waikato Stud for generations to come. Three of Daffodil’s daughters are now stud broodmares, while her final foal, a colt by NOVERRE, will be offered at Karaka in 2026 as Lot 371. Daffodil will be deeply missed, but great mares never really leave us - her legacy will endure for generations. Read all about her incredible racing career here - https://www.downunderpunter.com/dafffodil?rq=Daff

RACE RECORD - 25: 8-4-2

STAKES EARNINGS - $1,139,855