Kiwi Chronicles

Highs and lows

A sad week ended with new hope for us followers of thoroughbreds in New Zealand. In many ways, racehorses are very strong yet also somewhat fragile. Although racing is what it is all about, career-ending injuries take place even when horses are not on the track.  Star mare Probabeel (Savabeel) saw her race career come... Read More

‘When life gives you lemons, make lemonade’

‘When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,’ is the old adage which encourages a positive outlook on a potentially negative situation. That scenario may be in play regarding New Zealand Bloodstock’s annual sales series which were pushed back to the second week of March due to government restrictions over the coronavirus pandemic. Immediately after NZB’s... Read More

Repeat, no change

Multiple champion sire Savabeel (Zabeel) ended January with his 27th Group 1 winner, The Chosen One. Half the stakes season is over but the second half, which started on Saturday, continued in much the same way when Savabeel’s Hasabro was too classy in the deep south’s premier weight-for-age race, the White Robe Lodge Stakes (Gr... Read More

Turning point

On Saturday, in just under 70 seconds, Cambridge Stud achieved a notable and decisive turning point from the old guard to the new. Two knights, Sir Patrick and Sir Tristram (Sir Ivor), laid the foundation for Cambridge Stud’s enormous success, their influence still undeniably present, yet initiated as far back as the mid–1970s. The distaff... Read More

Spring is in their step

At least three Kiwi studmasters will have an extra spring in their step after the racetrack results of the last few days. Windsor Park Stud’s Rodney Schick might even have both feet off the ground. Rich Hill Stud’s John Thompson will be proud after Proisir (Choisir) sired his first Group 1 winner, while Schick will... Read More

Family affairs

He died before his findings were published but Australian Bruce Lowe left a huge legacy when he devised a breeding system based upon tracing Classic winners to their earliest-known roots. Assigning the number one to the family that produced the highest total of Classic winners (he used the Derby, Oaks and St Leger), led to... Read More