Cambridge Stud Gavelhouse Plus Sale Live

Cambridge Stud have a select draft of 10 mares plus a share in Ocean Park now live on Gavelhouse Plus https://plus.gavelhouse.com/ with bidding running through until 7pm (NZT) on Friday 20 May.

“At Cambridge Stud we have a business plan to breed off 150 mares. With a large racing team, we have mares retiring to stud every year, so we have to make room for them. This creates great opportunity for breeders to tap into commercial bloodlines,” Cambridge Stud Sales and Nominations representative Cameron Ring said.

“The majority of the mares are young and in foal to commercial stallions. Highlights include an unraced daughter of champion race filly Katie Lee by Almanzor and a mare in foal to Almanzor. 

“We will continue to support gavelhouse.com’s fortnightly sales throughout the year but having our stand-alone sale for the better-quality stock makes sense to us.”

Other covering sires represented in the catalogue include Ocean Park, Reliable Man, Ribchester and Embellish. 

Inspections are welcome by appointment with the in-foal mares based in Cambridge while the off the track fillies are located at the Karaka property.

The gavelhouse.com team are available to assist buyers with their registrations and bidding by contacting +64 9 296 4436 or email info@gavelhouse.com

Brownes secure first metropolitan win

Former New Zealand trainers David and Emma-Lee Browne recorded their first metropolitan win since their move to Cranbourne earlier this year when Bifrost was victorious over 1000m at Sandown on Wednesday.

The husband-and-wife duo were pleased with the win and are enjoying their move across the Tasman from their previous Cambridge base.

“It is definitely a big moment after making the big move, and especially to get this horse back,” Emma-Lee Browne said.

“He performed well here in the spring, but things then went a little bit amiss, so we took him home and it is good to see him back to his best.

“We have had a great advantage using Cranbourne jumpouts to get his behaviour a little bit better. He does tend to over-race and overdo things.

“Having the 1000m races here is good to get him focussed and hitting the line, which he did very well today.

“The tracks there (Cranbourne) are amazing. The advantage we have had is that we have spent so much time there, it was like a second home to us, so that made it a lot easier when moving.”

Browne said she would now like to extend the son of Turn Me Loose out in trip.

“He has got the speed to go shorter distances, but I would like to see him stretch out a little bit further, but we will just take it as it comes,” she said.

Butter Chicken resumes at Flemington

Group Two performer Butter Chicken is set to make her return to Flemington on Saturday in a 1400m contest.

The daughter of Savabeel last raced in the spring after a couple of disappointing results and trainer Grahame Begg said she has appreciated the break from racing.

“She is first-up after having a long layoff,” Begg told Bensley.

“We just had a few little issues in the spring and we had to give her a big break.

“Everything has settled down, she just had a bit of bone soreness, but she seems to be over that and has been going on quite nicely.

“She has drawn barrier two and is probably going to get back a bit. 

“She will probably need a bit of luck but I am sure she will be hitting the line hard.”

Butter Chicken was purchased by bloodstock agent Dean Hawthorne on behalf of Pinecliff Racing out of Pencarrow Stud’s 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 1 Yearling Sale draft for $800,000.

She is out of the impeccably bred Group Three winner Scintillula, a Group One placed daughter of Galileo.