Costume Set For The Big Stage

17 December 2012

Costume has been held in high private regard for some time and that reputation went public at Ellerslie last week. The three-year-old came from the clouds to quit the maiden grade with a performance that marked her as a future stakes prospect.

The WS-bred and owned filly sat at the tail of the field under apprentice Rory Hutchings and looked a remote chance on the home turn. However, she accelerated impressively when into the clear and rattled home to score in style. “She was flat all the way but when I pulled her out and gave her a couple with the stick around the tail she took off,” Hutchings said. “She’s got a turn of foot and will be a different horse with a set of blinkers on.”

Trained by Graeme and Debbie Rogerson, Costume had placed at her two previous appearances and will be ideally-suited to more ground. “Graeme’s always had a pretty high opinion of her and the further she goes the better she’ll be,” Mark Chittick said. “We’ll have to start looking at some black-type shortly.”

Costume is out of the O’Reilly mare Disguised who is also the dam of the Listed Soliloquy Stakes winner Masquerade. She is by resident stallion No Excuse Needed and the Matamata farm’s Select Sale draft to Karaka in 2013 will include a full-brother (Lot 577).

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.

9 July 2026

WS graduate Honour Roll out to add stakes success at Otaki

Waikato Stud will be cheering on one of its promising graduates on Friday when Honour Roll contests the Listed John Turkington Forestry Castletown Stakes (1200m) at Otaki. The WS-bred son of the late Champion sire …