Deep Field chasing Better Than Ready

The battle for first-season sire honours in terms of total individual winners is firmly on after a double from Deep Field on Friday saw him move to 14 winners for the season.

That places the Newgate stallion just two behind Lyndhurst Stud's Better Than Ready, who has 16 winners.

The Gerald Ryan trained King's Champ was an impressive winner in the Cressfield Stud and Horsepower Mdn at Scone, winning by two lengths over the 1000m.

The filly Underwood then made it two winners for the afternoon when she won the Lex Philip's Garage 2YO Hcp at Murwillumbah over 1100m.

Boutique links up with Three Bridges

Queensland bloodstock venture Boutique Thoroughbreds has entered a partnership with Three Bridges Thoroughbreds as the agistment provider for its mares.

Boutique Thoroughbreds has brought together Queensland breeders Andrew Dunemann, Craig Wallace, Melinda Richards and Marylee Trivett as well as several leading racehorse owners and purchased three mares at last week's Inglis Chairman's Sale.

“Our aim is to enhance the competitive advantage of a number of smaller but high performing Queensland breeders to enable the strategic acquisition of high-quality stock,” Managing Director Andrew Dunemann said.

“The sales this year have rammed home the fact that buyers are after quality types with quality pedigrees. Buyers are being very selective in the bottom end of the market."

“This is an exciting time for us and lays a strong foundation for focusing on the top end of the market in future sales.”

Stallions bolster National Sale

Four stallions will be offered as part of the supplementary catalogue for the 2019 Magic Millions National Sale, including the supremely bred son of Galileo (Ire), The Taj Mahal (Ire).

The Taj Mahal was twice a winner of the G2 Zipping Classic and is a full brother Group 1 winners Gleneagles (Ire), Happily (Ire) and Marvellous (Ire).

"The Taj Mahal was a tough, genuine horse who was unlucky not to win a Group One in Australia," part owner Nick Williams said. "He ran in some of the biggest Group One races in both hemispheres."

"It's not often a horse with such an incredible pedigree has the looks to match. He's an absolutely outstanding individual and his family is high class and very current," Williams added. "In my opinion he's the best opportunity for a middle distance stallion in this part of the world since Dundeel."

The other three stallion prospects to go under the hammer at the conclusion of Day One of the National Broodmare Sale on May 28 are Bondi (Snitzel), Good Project (Not a Single Doubt) and Merovee (Frankel {GB}).

Currie banned for four years

Queensland trainer Ben Currie has been banned for four years after being found guilty by Queensland stewards of two racing charges involving the intention to use an electronic apparatus (jigger) on two horses.

Currie, who has indicated he intends to appeal the ban, still faces 35 other racing charges plus hearings into five swab irregularities.

The four-year disqualification is the same penalty as was handed down to Victorian trainer Darren Weir earlier this year for charges relating to the possession of an electronic apparatus on his licensed premises.

Santa jumps to fifth

Santa Ana Lane (Lope De Vega {Ire}) has moved to fifth in the Longines World's Best Horse Rankings off the back of his win in the G1 TJ Smith S.

The 6-year-old sits on 124 points which is one behind joint leaders Winx (Street Cry {Ire}), Beauty Generation (NZ) (Road To Rock) and City Of Light (USA) (Quality Road {USA}).

$2,000 yearling wins $100,000 Scone feature

Trainer Rod Northam has masterminded a win in the $100,000 Inglis 2YO Challenge (1100m) at Scone with $2,000 purchase Spilt (Choisir).

Northam initially paid $7,000 for the yearling at last year's Inglis Scone Yearling Sale but that price was renegotiated to $2,000 when it was discovered he was a windsucker.

Having his third start, Spilt delivered a $58,000 payday to his owners with his win on Friday, joining subsequent Group 1 winner Voodoo Lad (I Am Invincible) as a Northam-trained winner of the race.

Ballarat synthetic goes early

Ballarat's new synthetic track will make its debut earlier than scheduled with Sunday's meeting moved from the main turf track because of heavy rain.

Ballarat received almost 70mm of rain on Thursday and Friday, forcing officials to utilise the newly-finished synthetic track five days before its planned debut next Friday.

Richard backs Sasso bounceback

Jamie Richards is confident Sasso Corbaro (All Too Hard) is over a recent scare and is ready to shine in the G3 ISCL Rotorua S. at Arawa Park on Saturday.

The mare tailed the field home in the Listed NZB Finance Sprint at Hastings last month, but Richards feels she is ready to return.

“She pulled up with a blood irregularity after Hastings,” Richards said. “We are hopeful that is why she didn’t perform up to expectations.”

Sasso Corbaro's runs in New Zealand include a win first-up at Otaki in February before running on for sixth in the Listed Lightning Hcp at Trentham in March.

“Her Lightning run was good,” he said. “She got well back and it’s hard to make ground there, but she did make good ground into sixth, so she wasn’t disgraced."

“She was pretty poor at Hastings, but she does have an excuse there so we are hoping she can bounce back.”

Waikato brochure wins gold

Waikato Stud won two awards in the recent Pride in Print Awards for its 2018 Stallion Brochure.

The brochure won gold in the Business Print category and in the Best Offset Sheet-Fed Printing category.

“It is such an honour to receive these two awards on behalf of Waikato Stud,” Waikato Stud Marketing Manager Jasmine Robertson said.

“The project involved an immense amount of work and we have been blown away by the response of people who read it. To be acknowledged among the best of printed products in NZ is the icing on the cake.”

Waikato Stud Principal Mark Chittick says he is delighted with the result.

“We are incredibly proud of our team at Waikato Stud, who put their heart and soul into achieving excellence in everything they do here at the farm. The brochure is definitely an example of that,” he said.