Beckham kicks another goal

14 September 2015

Beckham again raced up to his looks when he cruised to the third win of his brief Australian career. The handsome stallion showed scant regard for his rivals at Doomben on Saturday with a commanding front-running performance.

The Garry Chittick-owned son of Pins jumped well from a wide gate for rider Jeff Lloyd to make the running. Slipped more rein on the turn, the five-year-old glided clear to win in a canter.

Beckham had the tidy record in New Zealand of a win and five placings in seven starts for Matamata trainers Peter and Jacob McKay before he joined Liam Birchley’s stable. The son of the dual Group One winner Glamour Puss has now added a further three wins and two minors in his five starts for the Eagle Farm trainer.

Tivaci’s Movie Night steals the show at Newcastle

A sister to the Gr.1 ATC Flight Stakes (1600m) winner Never Been Kissed, the Waikato Stud-bred and raced Movie Night (NZ) was rewarded for her consistency, breaking her maiden with an all-the-way win over 1400m at Newcastle for trainer Tom Charlton.

9 July 2026

Oilman’s stud stake could change course of NZ breeding

Eighteen months ago, Texas oilman Nelson Bunker Hunt walked through the lush Waikato pasture of Matamata’s Balcarres Stud and announced he wanted some just like it for his own.

Today he has-360 acres about a mile down the road which has been transformed from a dairy farm to one of New Zealand’s leading horse and cattle breeding establishments.