Pins 5YO upsets in mares’ feature

11 November 2015

Pins mare Miss Alice denied her rating of 85 to successfully bridge the gap to black type company at Riccarton this afternoon. The five-year-old was brought with a typically late finish by rider Chris Johnson to post an upset win in the Gr.3 Canterbury Breeders’ Stakes.

For the 51-year-old jockey and trainers John and Karen Parsons it was their win in the event following success with the top mare Final Touch (2012) and Arietta (2013). “It’s a pleasure to ride for them and they have supported me all the way through,” Johnson said.

While Miss Alice went out at odds of 25-1, there was stable confidence in Miss Alice’s ability to be a force to be reckoned with. “She has strengthened up this year and finally matured and we thought she could do this,” Johnson said. “I ended up getting a nice run through and came across heels 150 metres out. I thought I may have been a bit late, but she really dashed that last bit.”

Miss Alice beat the O’Reilly mare Emerald Queen by a head and deny the runner-up’s breeder-owner and race sponsor Kevin Hickman a perfect result. Out of the Centaine mare Raining, Miss Alice is a sister to the Gr 3 White Robe Lodge Handicap winner and Group One performer Pins ‘N’ Needles.

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.