Doomben double for o’reilly

5 December 2015

Whakatoi produced the first winning strike of her career at Doomben yesterday to set up a winning double for the late O’Reilly. The five-year-old followed up a previous placing with success at her middle distance debut.

Trained by John Meagher with his sons Chris and Dan, the WS-bred mare was a $130,000 yearling purchase. She is out of the unraced Encosta de Lago mare De Lago Lady, who is a half-sister to the former champion two-year-old and multiple Group One winner Maroofity.

O’Reilly’s daughter O’Reilly Cyrus, another WS home-bred, later made the perfect start when she won the juvenile sprint on debut. Trained by Liam Birchley, she was a $100,000 purchase at Karaka last year for the Eagle Farm horseman.

O’Reilly Cyrus is out of the Masterclass mare Dancing Mistress, who is the dam of the stakes winner Savour The Moment (Savabeel). It is also the family of the Gr 1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes winner O’Marilyn.

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.