Grenade explodes at Hastings

2 January 2014

WS was quickly into the winning groove in 2014 with farm graduate Grenade bombing his rivals at Hastings on New Year’s Day. The imposing son of Pins continued his good progress through the grades with a strong performance to beat his Rating 65 opposition.

The five-year-old has taken time to strengthen and is now shaping as a promising staying prospect for Guy Lowry and Grant Cullen. He had also won at his previous appearance on his home track for the Hawke’s Bay training duo.

A half-brother to his stablemate and Gr 3 Hawke’s Bay Gold Cup placegetter Double O Seven (No Excuse Needed), Grenade is out of the Defensive Play mare Impassive Lady. It is also the WS family of the six-time Group One winner Slight Chance and the Queensland Derby winner Brambles.

The Corner with Garry Chittick

It would appear I now have to continue my weekly Corner with the amount of rumblings at the start of our new racing season. I have been around long enough to know we can never please all; my tenure as Chairman of the Racing Board was subjected to as much vitriol as subsequent Boards have had to bear, so what’s different this time, or is it different.

5 August 2026

First foal for Waikato’s Group 1 winner Skew Wiff

Group 1-winning Savabeel mare Skew Wiff (ex Starvoia), known affectionately as ‘Wiffy’, foaled a filly by Super Seth in the early hours of Wednesday, 5 August.