Son of pins enjoying new lease of racing life

25 July 2016

Rejuvenated Pins six-year-old Pin Your Hopes continued his hot form at Caulfield on Saturday. He has now won four of his last five starts after retirement was being mooted for him three months ago.

He was out of form and trainers Mathew Ellerton and Simon Zahra were losing patience with the gelding. As a last resort, they decided to freshen the horse and a break has worked the oracle.

“He must have heard us suggesting we might retire him,” Ellerton said. “He was really struggling, he just didn’t seem interested, but somehow he has just turned the corner. I’ve been coming to the races thinking the run has to stop at some stage, but he just keeps stepping up to the plate and doing the job.”

Pin Your Hopes was entered for two races at Flemington today, but the stable pulled the right rein when they elected to take on the harder open handicap over 1800m rather than sticking to the BM90 at 1600m. “I just thought having 54kg and then claiming 2kg down to 52kg was going to give him a better chance and it has paid off,” Ellerton said.

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.