WS speedster on black type path

17 October 2017

Rejuvenated sprinter Bullrush has fast-tracked his way into New Zealand stakes company. The WS-bred and owned sprinter was unbeaten in his first five appearances from the Sydney yard of John, Michael and Wayne Hawkes before his form tapered off and he returned home to join Moira and Kieran Murdoch’s stable.

The O’Reilly six-year-old has responded positively to a change of environment, as evidenced by his front-running victory at Hastings earlier this month in his first appearance from his new quarters. “He’s come through that race very well and I don’t want to step him up to 1400m at the moment so he’s going to run in the Legacy Lodge Sprint,” said Moira Murdoch, referring to the Listed 1200m sprint at Te Rapa on November 11. “He’s a lovely horse and a pretty capable one too, he’s got plenty of pace. It’s just a matter of keeping him in the right shape and frame of mind now.

Murdoch is hoping Bullrush’s form will warrant due consideration for Group One starts later in the season in the Sistema Stakes (1200m) and the J.R & N Berkett Telegraph (1200m). The gelding is a half-brother to the stud’s Gr.2 Cal Isuzu Stakes (1600m) winner Sports Illustrated.

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.

9 July 2026

WS graduate Honour Roll out to add stakes success at Otaki

Waikato Stud will be cheering on one of its promising graduates on Friday when Honour Roll contests the Listed John Turkington Forestry Castletown Stakes (1200m) at Otaki. The WS-bred son of the late Champion sire …