Snowdrop sizzles on return

29 October 2015

Snowdrop has a lot to live up to on pedigree and she hasn’t disappointed so far. The four-year-old collected two wins and a placing from her last four-start preparation and she resumed on a top note at Ruakaka this afternoon.

Trainer Tony Pike had her primed for a bold first-up showing when she led all the way to put away a handy field of Rating 75 sprinters. “They went pretty quickly and she really kicked on well,” rider Leith Innes said. “She’s a tough little filly and I love her.”

A daughter of Pins, Snowdrop is the first foal of the stud’s triple Group One winner Daffodil (NZ 1000 Guineas, Windsor Park Plate, AJC Oaks). It is also the family of the former crack two-year-old and Group One winner Good Faith (ARC Sires’ Produce Stakes).

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.