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Last year I interviewed American-born New Zealander Cecile Smith, breeder of Australian champion So You Think (NZ) ( TrueNicks ) and owner of his now 23-year-old dam, Triassic ( read blog ). At that time, Cecile was in the process of selecting a stallion for Triassic's 2012 mating, and she ultimately decided on top Waikato Stud stallion Savabeel (AUS) ( TrueNicks...
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One can't look at the leading Australian and New Zealand freshman sire lists for 2012-13 without an intense sense of loss over Northern Meteor, who died as a result of a colic attack on the very eve of the day that would see him crowned champion freshman sire. Nicknamed "racing's Usain Bolt" for his brilliant sprinting performances, the son of Encosta de Lago...
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For much of the second half of the first decade of the 21st century, the Australian sire's premiership was fought out between Encosta de Lago (AUS) ( TrueNicks ) and Redoute's Choice (AUS) ( TrueNicks ), the duo eventually claiming two titles apiece. Now New Zealand breeders will have the opportunity to breed to a stallion who combines bloodlines tied to both...
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Azamour is an undervalued stallion in Europe, and at NZ$12,000 looks remarkable value in New Zealand. A champion older horse in England and a group I winner at a mile, 1 1/4 miles, and 1 1/2 miles, he has 18 stakes winners in his four crops, including English champion 3-year-old filly Shankardeh, French Oaks (Fr-I) victress Valyra, and eight stakes winners. There...
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A focus on the top five freshman weanling sires in Australia by average shows a diverse group with a pair of European classic horses, two home-grown stars, and a shuttler from the U.S. Photo: Widden Stud Star Witness (Starcraft—Leone Chiara, by Lion Hunter) The list was topped by Star Witness (AUS) ( TrueNicks ), who was co-highweighted 2-year-old colt in Australia...
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Back in August, we posted an interview with Cecile Smith , co-breeder of champion So You Think (NZ) ( TrueNicks ). Cecile emailed me to report that So You Think's now 22-year-old dam, Triassic, foaled a healthy Medaglia d'Oro ( TrueNicks , SRO ) colt in October. Triassic with her 2012 Medaglia d'Oro colt. Cecile said: "He is a big, strong colt and Triassic had...
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Triassic, the dam So You Think, in April 2012 I recently had the opportunity to interview Cecile Smith, owner of Piper Farm and co-breeder of Australian champion and 10-time group I winner So You Think (NZ) ( TrueNicks ). Cecile owns So You Think's dam, the 22-year-old Tights mare Triassic, who is currently in foal to Medaglia d'Oro ( TrueNicks , SRO ) and is...
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Over 140 stallions standing in Australia and New Zealand have joined TrueNicks in advance of the 2011 Southern Hemisphere breeding season. Thoroughbred breeders who are currently busy working on their 2011 mating plans can now run complimentary TrueNicks Enhanced Reports with these stallions. ( Click here for the full list ) TrueNicks Enhanced Reports include...
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Royal Ascot occupied most of our attention last week, but we wanted to note a few interesting pedigrees from last week before they get too distant in time. In Australia, the Stradbroke Handicap (gr. I, video below) saw Sincero (TrueNicks A++ ) become one of the few 3-year-olds in that country this season to defeat his elders in a major race this year. Sincero...
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One of the hottest stallion rosters in New Zealand is that of Waikato Stud, and now courtesy of Waikato, breeders will be able to obtain complimentary TrueNicks reports for their mares with all eight Waikato Stud stallions. That octet includes two of New Zealand’s best, in O’Reilly and Pins. By Champion Last Tycoon out of Golden Slipper (gr. I)-winning Champion...
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Chinese Dragon (Stravinsky–Fabulous Fairy, by Alydar) Holding court at Goodwood Stud in Palmerston North, New Zealand, is the exciting young sire Chinese Dragon ( TrueNicks ). Foaled in the U.S., Chinese Dragon was purchased by Coolmore, and as a 2-year-old broke his maiden over six furlongs in the colours of Mrs. John Magnier. Transferred to the U.S. the following...
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The latest stallion to join the powerful line-up at Haunui Farm in New Zealand is the record-breaking group II-winning juvenile Showcasing (GB) ( TrueNicks ). Bred by Juddmonte, Showcasing was one of the fastest 2-year-olds of his crop. An impressive maiden winner on his second outing, Showcasing followed up by capturing the historic Gimcrack Stakes (gr. II)...
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TrueNicks co-creator Byron Rogers and myself are on a three-week tour of New Zealand and Australia. Since Byron so proudly coined “Tapp’s Travels,” I’ll be nice and keep the title for this blog. Our first stop was Saturday’s New Zealand Oaks (gr. I) at Trentham Racecourse in the southern part of New Zealand’s north island. The winner was Midnight Oil (TrueNicks...
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