General rules at Seymour

11 November 2014

General James asserted his authority at the second time of asking at Seymour yesterday. The three-year-old had last month finished an unlucky second on debut at Bendigo where his jockey lost his whip when narrowly beaten.

The gelding and rider James Winks made no mistake this time and they produced a strong performance to score over a mile. A WS-bred and sold son of Savabeel, he was a $130,000 Premier Sale purchase last year for trainer Danny O’Brien and Blue Sky Thoroughbreds.

General James, whose brother went to Rogerson Bloodstock for $100,000 earlier this year at Karaka, is out of the unraced O’Reilly mare Splendid. She is a sister to Gr 2 Hong Kong Derby Trial winner Unique Jewellery and the family of the Gr 1 Blue Diamond Stakes winner and sire Nadeem and the Gr 1 HK Stewards’ Cup winner Billion Win.

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.