WS sires on stakes board for new season

4 August 2013

WS stallions were to the fore in the opening black type event of the 2013-14 season with Karla Bruni claiming the Gr 3 Winter Cup at Riccarton on Saturday. The Pins six-year-old, who is out of a Centaine mare, took the short way home to beat No Excuse Needed’s game son Taurus.

Karla Bruni is trained at Awapuni by part-owner Roydon Bergerson and her previous second at Trentham was enough for connections to head to Christchurch. “I said if we go to the Whyte Handicap and win then we’ll pay the late entry and she should have won it so we paid up,” he said. “She’s got a great record at a mile with four wins and three placings from seven starts – It’s a wonderful thrill.”

Also sharing in the ownership is champion jockey Opie Bosson, whose partner Danielle Johnson was the successful jockey. “At the 600 she was flat for all money, but to her credit she picked herself up and won really well,” she said.

Oaks Day glory for Waikato Stud-bred Sulek

Waikato Stud enjoyed a special moment on Oaks Day at Flemington on Thursday, when the New Zealand-bred gelding Sulek – by Super Seth out the O’Reilly mare Tiff And Co, saluted on one of the biggest days of the racing calendar and in front of an international crowd. Bred by the farm in partnership with the Dowager Duchess of Bedford, Sulek took out the A$500,000 Cirka Melbourne Cup Carnival Country Final (1600m) for the third and most lucrative win of his career.

5 November 2026

The Corner with Garry Chittick

And so, another Melbourne Cup has been run. Regretfully, Mary and I were not there. I have no idea how many we attended up until COVID, and I miss the Cup week. Victoria prides itself as the sporting capital of Australia; it may be, they certainly know how to create an event.