Things to know today
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Manzor Blue is the only New Zealand trained entry for the Melbourne Cup and must win the Group 2 Moonee Valley Gold Cup over 2500 metres at Flemington on Saturday to take one of the last two golden tickets. The six year old mare won the Group 3 Wellington Cup over 3200 metres at Trentham in January and was second in the Group 2 Auckland Cup over the same trip in March. Lisa Latta trains her at Awapuni for the New Zealand syndicator Go Racing, and she arrived in Melbourne on Sunday for her first Australian start. Her connections passed over Wednesday’s Geelong Cup for the extra distance, Latta saying they thought the big, roomier track of Flemington would probably suit her better. Go Racing also has Soul Of Spain, trained by Chris Waller, as a likely Cup runner (Breednet, LOVERACING.NZ) |
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New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing will ban bisphosphonates in racehorses from 1 January 2027, following an amendment to the International Agreement on Breeding, Racing and Wagering, to which it is a signatory. The ban covers horses racing now or that may race later and excludes horses permanently retired. Before that date participants must report to NZTR and the Racing Integrity Board any past treatment of horses in their care, through an online declaration form, and the horses named stay subject to existing age and racing restrictions. NZTR cited the effect on bone adaptation and remodelling in growing, exercising horses, and warned that a negative test result does not guarantee that a horse is free of bisphosphonates or eligible to race. Trainers uncertain about a horse’s history, particularly after a purchase or transfer, can request elective testing through the Racing Integrity Board at their own cost, subject to approval from its veterinary services manager Michelle Pap (The Straight) |
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Seven of New Zealand’s 18 Group 1 races sit below the international rating threshold of 112 needed to hold elite status, among them the New Zealand Derby, the Oaks and the 2000 Guineas, with the Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes, the Telegraph Stakes, the Livamol Classic and the New Zealand Breeders’ Stakes also close to demotion. Bruce Sherwin, New Zealand’s representative on the Asian Pattern Committee, told The Guerin Report the breeding industry could start to implode if nothing changes, and said a race needs at least four horses rated 112 or higher to keep its grading. He described a self reinforcing cycle in which fewer Group 1 races produce fewer highly rated horses. Asian Pattern Committee delegates hold a strategy meeting in February to debate how races are rated (The Straight) |
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Lloyd Williams’s colours raced in New Zealand for the first time in about 20 years when the three year old Glamorgan won a 1400 metre maiden at Te Aroha on Wednesday in 1:26.41 on a soft track for Graeme Rogerson. Williams and Rogerson won the 2006 Group 1 Victoria Derby and the 2007 Group 1 Melbourne Cup together with Efficient, and Williams’s silks have carried seven Melbourne Cups, the most recent Twilight Payment in 2020. Glamorgan is by Wootton Bassett out of the Savabeel mare Grazia, a full sister to the Group 1 winners Shillelagh and Tullamore, and was bred by Gerry Harvey. He made A$225,000 at the 2025 Magic Millions Gold Coast yearling sale from the Baramul Stud draft to Riversley Park, and Rogerson bought him for $350,000 at the NZB Ready to Run Sale on Williams’s advice. The New Zealand Derby is the target (LOVERACING.NZ, Breednet) |
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Michael and Matthew Pitman take a team to Riccarton on Saturday ahead of New Zealand Cup week. Rosso, third on resumption over 1600 metres and then second at Timaru, runs in the Listed Pavilion Now Open Spring Classic over 2000 metres before the Group 3 Martin Collins New Zealand Cup over 3200 metres, with the Listed Metropolitan over 2580 metres and a long range aim at the Group 1 Sydney Cup to follow. Ocean Light, third in the Canterbury Cup, joins him in the Spring Classic. Canheroc, third in each of the last two New Zealand Cups, runs in the NZB Airfreight Road To Jericho over 3000 metres, and Pitman rates him the stable’s best chance on the day. Mystic Park, a course and distance winner last start with seven wins at Riccarton, contests the TAB Mile Prelude over 1400 metres under 60 kilograms before defending his Group 3 TAB Mile title (LOVERACING.NZ) |
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Molly Spalding has won the Nolan Scholarship, Thoroughbred Breeders Australia announced on Thursday, and will travel to Ireland in January for the six month Irish National Stud Breeding Management Course. The award was established in 2020 in memory of Basil Nolan Jnr and goes each year to an outstanding graduate of the TBA Fast Track programme, the recipient chosen after an interview with members of the Nolan family and a TBA representative. Spalding graduated from Fast Track in 2025, completed her placement at Vinery Stud in the Hunter Valley across two breeding seasons and now works at Holbrook Thoroughbreds, having taken further foaling management training. Basil Nolan Snr of Raheen Stud said she stood out as exemplifying those qualities. Last year’s recipient Mackenzie Porter has finished her studies in Ireland and returned to Widden Stud (Breednet) |
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The Australian Communications and Media Authority has formally warned the former AFL players Mitch Robinson and Rhys Mathieson over promoting Vegastars, an offshore gambling service that is illegal in Australia, in content that ran between March and April. Both men accepted responsibility when contacted, ended their involvement and removed the material, with ACMA member Carolyn Lidgerwood saying all influencers are now firmly on notice. Individuals who promote illegal gambling face civil penalties of up to $65,520 for each contravention, rising to $2,730,000 for those who facilitate access by providing links or directing users to the services. From 1 January 2027 new wagering advertising laws will bar licensed operators from using current or former athletes and social media influencers to promote their services, with the obligation falling on the operator (The Straight) |
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