O’Reilly’s son superior again

23 September 2013

Star O’Reilly three-year-old War Affair is two-thirds of the way to a perfect clean sweep in the inaugural More Magic 3YO Championship series in Singapore. He crushed his peers last night in another dominant victory in the second leg, the $100,000 Newgate Farm Stakes (1400m).

A first-up winner of the Premier Racing Partnership Stakes (1200m) three weeks ago, he came from last for another commanding victory at Kranji. Beaten just once from six starts, War Affair is well on course for the third leg of the new series, the Gr 2 More Magic Ready To Run Sales 2013 Championship (1600m) on October 13, with trainer Mark Walker looking forward to testing the gelding at a metric mile.

“This horse will keep improving with more distance,” Walker said. “It will be his first time over the mile, but the way he is going it should not be a problem for him at all. From the draw today, I told Joao (Moreira) to go back and ride him like he was the best horse in the race. Even though he tailed off early, I was always confident he was the best horse and would finish the strongest. There was a bit of buffeting in the home straight, but that’s him. He just runs about a bit.”

Moreira again paid tribute to War Affair’s abundant talent. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, he was the best two-year-old and he’s clearly the best three-year-old now,” he said. “He’s a dream horse to have for anybody and I’m just the blessed boy to be sitting on top of him.”

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.

9 July 2026

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.