Matamata farm top RTR vendor

18 November 2016

Champion Karaka vendors WS have now made their presence felt at New Zealand Bloodstock’s Ready to Run Sale. Selling under their own banner for the first time, the Matamata farm ended the two day auction as the leading seller by average, for three or more lots sold.

Mark Chittick’s renowned operation enjoyed their finest moment with a son of the late O’Reilly. The good-looking colt was the subject of intense interest on Tuesday before he was eventually knocked down for $580,000, then a sale record, to the bid of Victorian trainer Ciaron Maher in partnership with Bruce Perry Bloodstock and Waterford Bloodstock.

WS, whose Savabeel gelding was their second top lot when he went to Lincoln Farms for $130,000, sold their three lots for an average of $242,000.

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First Stakes Winner For Banquo

Waikato Stud stallion Banquo was a stakes winner on the track and now he has sired his first stakes winner as Kris Shalier’s Justin Case delivered a dominant performance to pull clear in the G3 …

13 February 2026

Waikato invest in next generation with Return To Conquer to join its roster

Joining a long legacy of breed-shaping stallions to stand at Waikato Stud, three generations of the Chittick family have placed their confidence in Return To Conquer, with the A$1.3 million yearling and unbeaten Group 1-winning son of the four-time Champion Sire and Champion Two-Year-Old sire, Snitzel, to take his position on the Waikato roster in 2026.