Kiwi mare in running for Hong Kong

10 November 2015

New Zealand-owned mare Lucia Valentina (NZ) (Savabeel) may receive an opportunity to star farther afield. Trainer Kris Lees is hopeful the last-start Gr.2 Matriarch Stakes winner will be invited to run in the Gr.1 Hong Kong Cup on December 13.

“I think she can be competitive in any 2000 metre race when she’s in form,” he said.

The Lib Petagna-raced Lucia Valentina is a dual Group One winner over 2000 metres, having won the Turnbull Stakes and the Vinery Stud Stakes. -NZ Racing Desk

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.