Hong Kong glory for he son of Ardrossan
It’s a big week in Hong Kong as the competitive jurisdiction gears up for the Hong Kong Derby this weekend – making the victory of Ardrossan’s son, Sunday’s Serenade, all the more impressive, with only elite-level horses claiming wins during such a prestigious lead-up.
Trained by Jamie Richards, the determined four-year-old surged along the rail to score by half a length under the urgings of Australian ex-pat jockey Brenton Avdulla.
Sunday Serenade’s full brother was sold by Kiltanton Stables at the 2024 NZB Ready To Run Sale for $240,000 to Hong Kong connections J & I Bloodstock/ Danny Chan.
From small crops, the young son of Redoute’s Choice is delivering big results both on the racetrack and in the sales ring. Ardrossan boasts a 9.7% stakes winners-to-runners strike rate, with winners across all three crops of racing age, including six stakes winners.
His yearlings have sold for up to A$260,000, and at the 2024 NZB Ready to Run Sale, all five of his breeze-up horses sold – three to Hong Kong connections – with a top price of $250,000.
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.
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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.
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