I Do sets record

23 June 2014

I Do broke a long-standing Waikato Stud record yesterday when she triumphed in the Listed Tauranga Classic. It was the 13th win of the No Excuse Needed mare’s career and the most ever by a horse raced by the Matamata farm.

“Lady Aloof held the record with 12,” said trainer Allan Sharrock, who co-bred and part-owns the mare with the stud.

“She is getting better and better and Mark (Chittick) said to me do you want to breed from her and I said I think we’ll earn more from her foals than racing.”

She will be served in the spring and Sharrock is keen to give the rising seven-year-old one more crack at a top-flight race.

“I’d love to have another go at a Group One with her – she would be very competitive in a race like the Captain Cook,”he said.

I Do was sent out a dominant favourite at Tauranga and she never looked in any trouble. She raced behind the leaders before rider Jonathan Riddell asked her for a serious effort on straightening and they drew out for a comfortable win.

“She’s a class act and a beautiful horse to ride,” Riddell said.

“She’s got a great temperament and she’s not just a wet-tracker and I won a race (the Gr.3 Manawatu Challenge Stakes) on her on a good track.”

Pure Alpha delivers again as Ardrossan continues to rise

Ardrossan gelding Pure Alpha led throughout to win by 1.29 lengths at Eagle Farm for owner Ozzie Kheir, taking his earnings past $300,000. The result caps a stellar run for sire Ardrossan, whose yearlings fetched up to $450,000 this year on strong Hong Kong form.

28 August 2026

The Corner with Garry Chittick

It is difficult to maintain momentum when sitting in judgment of racing’s governance. After all, I get no pleasure in searching for non-credible decisions, but one is perpetually bewildered by the rationale behind many of the positions that make little sense.