For almost six decades now, the Chitty family-owned Haunui Farm has been producing quality thoroughbreds destined for brilliance on the racetrack in New Zealand and beyond.

 

Originally based in Whitford, the successful operation is now run from their beautiful 230-acre property in the heart of Karaka. Loveracing.nz took the opportunity to visit and find out more about Haunui Farm’s almost 60-year history.

 

On a busy Friday morning, the Haunui Farm office is humming - people are coming and going, phones are ringing and the radio system used to connect staff across the farm never stops.

 

On arrival, we are instantly in awe of this impressive stud, with it’s beautiful grounds and world-class facilities. However, meeting with down-to-earth third generation studmaster, Mark Chitty, we quickly realise that though the buildings are impressive and it’s a serious operation, Haunui Farm is still is a true family business - the result of a dream started and built by his grandparents many years ago.

 

Sitting down in his office, Mark shares with us the story of Haunui Farm, and how he came to take over from his father Ron in 2004.

 

Though much development and growth has taken place in the decades following Haunui Farm’s conception, the founding principles of producing quality bloodstock remain the same.

 

 

While Mark does admit to having put new systems in place to continually adapt and survive in the ever-changing thoroughbred breeding industry, he says he is merely nurturing the foundations laid by his parents and late grandparents.

 

“Dad was always big on nutrition, that hasn’t changed, we’ve always done pedigree matching, that’s not new,” says Mark. “Haunui is them, a legacy to my parents and grandparents. I’m just attempting to steer the ship.”

 

While Ron and Carolyn don’t take an active role in the day-to-day running of the farm, they are still nearby, currently building a new house less than 10 minutes from the farm, and they continue to follow Haunui’s progress closely.

 

“They love their sport and love racing,” says Mark. “Dad’s an avid reader and thinker and always contributes with ideas, and mum’s a workaholic, you feel bad sitting still around her!”

 

Mark’s grandparents, Peg and Geoff founded Haunui Farm in the early 50s, buying the Whitford property and beginning to develop it into a thoroughbred breeding farm.

 

“They lived in Matamata and my grandfather would go to the yearling sales and buy a yearling or two,” Mark explains. “Through my grandmother’s side there was a bit more interest in breeding horses and they got Foxona as a filly before moving to Whitford.”

 

Mark refers to foundation broodmare, Foxona, who was acquired from the estate of Peg’s late parents and went on to produce a dynasty of upwards of 35 stakes winners and many of their top yearlings and racehorses today still have bloodlines tracing back to her.

 

 

Haunui Farm grew quickly, and when Geoff sadly died in 1975, the broodmare band had already grown, their first stallions, Karayar who arrived in 1973, and Ruling in 1974 were standing at stud and Haunui-bred horses were thriving on the racetrack.

 

Mark’s father, Ron took over Haunui, while commuting between his and Carolyn’s own farm in Pukekawa.

 

“Dad was a sheep and beef farmer and he also played polo and had arguably the best string of polo ponies in New Zealand in the early 70s,” says Mark. “When my grandfather died, Dad was commuting between Pukekawa and Whitford for several years, before he bought his sisters out and we moved to Whitford in 1981.”

 

At this time, Haunui adopted a more commercial approach and continued to increase acreage, with the farm eventually growing to 385 acres in size and significant investment made into facilities.

 

“It was an interesting time, every horse had to pay and it made you realise that some stock will denude the profit made by other horses,” says Mark.

 

Recognising the need to have top quality stallions available, Ron entered a partnership which included Trelawney Stud and the neighbouring Ra Ora Stud to unite their resources and shuttle northern hemisphere stallions to New Zealand for the breeding season.

 

Just like his father before him, Mark took a keen interest in Haunui, and from a young age he started helping on the farm.

 

“I always had a liking for animals and started working in the stables around 12 or 13, mucking out boxes and getting horses ready for the sales, which eventually evolved into full yearling preps,” says Mark.

 

Mark’s sisters, Anna and Sarah, were interested in racing and the farm, but never got involved the way Mark did, Anna is in advertising, living in Shanghai as the CEO of a major media company and Sarah lives in Auckland and has two children.

 

Mark went on to study a Bachelor of Veterinary Science at Massey University, specialising in equine from 1985 – 1989, returning to the farm during summer holidays to help with the yearling sales.

 

He fondly remembers his last couple of years at university as some particularly special years for Haunui horses in New Zealand.

 

“There was Weston Lea and The Gentry, Weston Lea won the 2000 Guineas in 1987 and was a favourite for the Derby but broke his leg,” explains Mark. “Then, The Gentry came out the next year and won the Derby in 1988, it was a very special time.”

 

After graduating in 1989, Mark spent 1990 to early 1992 working on the farm, while doing vet work, before he began working as an equine vet for Auckland Veterinary Centre, where he worked full time until 2001.

 

When the Ra Ora Stud partnership ended in 2001, Ron gave Mark the opportunity to come back to the farm in a management role, and Mark eventually took the reins from his father as studmaster in 2004.

 

Despite taking on the big job of running the place, Mark has always continued to do the Haunui Farm vet work, particularly enjoying reproduction work.

 

“I still do the vet work today and my enjoyment factor is the reproductive work, I get a big kick out of seeing a mare that hasn’t had a foal in a few seasons go on to produce a live healthy foal,” he says. “The process from when they start in utero to when we sell them as yearlings and see rewards for our client makes me very proud.”

 

At the end of 2009, the Chittys bought the 230-acre property in Karaka and embarked on an almost two-year process to set the property up and relocate the Haunui operation from Whitford to Karaka.

 

“The bones of the property were here with lots of good fencing in the front 20 acres, an office block, and 12 box barn,” says Mark. “We added things like stallion paddocks, yearling paddocks, a 30-box yearling barn, broodmare barn and it took until August 2011 to have the property set up fully to operate from.”

 

 

Mark and his family didn’t move into their new home however until January 2012, with Mark remembering a particularly hectic end to 2011 as he commuted between Whitford and Karaka.

 

In addition to setting up the property, they also took on different lease blocks around Karaka, all within 10 minute’s drive of the main farm, meaning they operate across 500 acres in total now.

 

As well as continuing to produce quality yearlings year after year - we’re talking the likes of multiple group one winner Melody Belle, 2012/13 Filly of the Year Fix and 2017 Australian Derby winner Jon Snow, just to name a few – Haunui Farm also utilise their onsite track, taking around 25 breakers and pre-trainers each year for their clients.

 

It’s always busy at Haunui - for example they took 55 yearlings to the yearling sales in January and foaled 220 mares during last year’s foaling season – so there’s something major going on all year round.

 

During the breeding season, there are two stallions in residence, shuttled from the northern hemisphere to be used for their own mares and walk-in mares too.

 

Eighteen-year-old Iffraaj has been coming to Haunui since 2008 and continues to be a huge asset to their breeding programme.

 

“He’s the longest serving shuttle stallion in New Zealand and has ended up being an internationally proven stallion,” says Mark. “His first crop of yearlings sold really well, a lot went to Australia but didn’t do well there, however, he’s battled back, siring the likes of Fix, Gingernuts, and Jon Snow. He’s sired 65 individual stakes winners worldwide.”

 

Younger stallion Belardo completed his first breeding season at Haunui in 2017, with his first foals on the ground last year. Both Iffraaj and Belardo served 118 mares each last season.

 

With Iffraaj nearing the end of his breeding career, Mark hopes he’ll have a season or two left, but is always thinking about who will be the next sire to make its mark on Haunui.

 

“It’s always on your mind, it is really part of a long-term plan and you’ve got to make sure you choose the right stallion,” he says.

 

Part of being in the thoroughbred game for so long is learning to enjoy the success and thrills of breeding champions of the racetrack, but also remaining resilient and positive in the harder times.

 

For Mark and the Haunui team, the 2019 Karaka Yearling Sales was a tough time, with Mark saying it had been one of the hardest sales they’ve had, but he remains positive and is looking forward to seeing what the horses they’ve sold go on to do on the racetrack.

 

“It was tough for us, our clearance rate was ok in the end with only six out of 55 not sold, but when you’re selling horses for under cost, it’s not a pleasant feeling and not a sustainable model,” he explains. “But yearling sales are a point in time and it all goes in ebbs and flows, and the nice thing is I’m confident there will be some good horses come out of it.”

 

Despite the sale results, Mark was thrilled to see $160,000 fetched by one of their Showcasing colts, of which the proceeds were shared between 11 of his full time permanent staff.

 

“It’s the first time we’ve done it and they’ve already got a colt on the ground for next year, it involves all permanent staff that have been with us for more than 18 months and isn’t just the horse staff,” he explains. “It’s been a great initiative, Haunui Farm is not about me, it’s about the people, you can’t have this size of an operation without people.”

 

The other people that Haunui is about is Mark’s own family, his wife Sara and four children, Liv (18), Ella (16), Matthew (13) and Daniel (11).

 

Of all the children, Liv is the only one to have ridden, though she is currently selling her horse as she is starting a nursing degree in Wellington this year.

 

“Matthew is a budding racing manager, but doesn’t want to muck out boxes,” laughs Mark. “He can actually read a race though, he gets it and the girls like the social side of racing. Daniel’s the one who doesn’t like it all!”

 

Asked whether he sees Haunui one day passing hands to a fourth generation, Mark says it’s a possibility, but he and Sara are not pressuring any of the kids.

 

“It’s not something you want to get into until you love it, we haven’t pushed it at all, if it evolves it will, it’s their lives, so they need to spread their wings and maybe one day they’ll come back to it,” says Mark.

 

In the immediate future, Mark still has plenty more he’d like to achieve while he’s at the helm of Haunui Farm.

 

“I like to put goals in front of us and always aim high, breeding a Derby winner and Oaks winner in the same year is something I’d like to do and it is an achievable goal,” he says.

 

Whatever lies ahead, Mark will be happy to see horses they’ve bred performing on the racetrack, whether they are part of the team of horses Haunui have in training around New Zealand, or horses they’ve sold.

 

“We have 15-20 racehorses we’ve bred scattered amongst trainers across the country that we race under Haunui Farm, owned with various people from my generation and my parent’s,” says Mark. “Although we sell most of the horses we bred, when they are off your farm you still feel a real connection to them and share the excitement when they win. The thrill of winning racehorses is like nothing else!”