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Kiwis seeking to recapture Jericho Cup

Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray took out the 2023 edition of the A$304,000 Jericho Cup (4600m) at Warrnambool with Nassak Diamond, and on Sunday they will be seeking to usurp their former stable runner in the marathon feature with Tempest Moon.Ritchie is in Australia with the daughter of Turn Me Loose, who like Nassak Diamond, carries the familiar silks of owner The Oaks Stud.The Cambridge trainer is excited to be back in Warrnambool and said the city gets in behind the race that honours past ser...

Tajana primed to take on the boys at Riccarton

Shaune Ritchie hopes his decision to bypass the fillies’ feature at Riccarton with Tajana will pay off on Saturday when she takes on the boys in the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m).The daughter of Darci Brahma has been one of the best in her age group this spring, winning the Gr.3 Northland Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) and Gr.3 Sunline Vase (1400m) before finishing third in the Gr.2 Soliloquy Stakes (1400m) to Well Written.While the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1...

War Princess soars to Tauranga success

Awapuni filly War Princess (U S Navy Flag) moved a big step closer to a summer target when she ventured to Tauranga on Saturday and scored an impressive come-from-behind victory in the Armory Standing at Mapperley Stud 3YO (1200m).The $40,000 race was the first time War Princess had travelled to the north, the first time she had raced right-handed, and after being left slightly flat-footed in the early stages of the race, the first time she had raced or trialled anywhere other than on the pace.W...

Tajana on target for Soliloquy after Taupo gallop

Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) favourite Tajana warmed up for her next feature assignment with an exhibition gallop between races at Taupo on Friday.The Darci Brahma filly has had two starts as a three-year-old this season for two Group Three victories, capturing the Northland Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) at Ruakaka on August 16 and the Sunline Vase (1400m) at Ellerslie on September 20.Cambridge trainers Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray are building her towards next Saturday’s Gr.2 Soliloqu...

War Princess outclasses Hawera rivals

War Princess was the hottest favourite on the card at Hawera on Saturday, and she lived up to her $1.40 odds with an effortless and confidence-boosting victory in the NZB RTR 3YO (1400m).The daughter of U S Navy Flag showed enormous promise as a two-year-old last season, winning her first two starts by a combined margin of four and a half lengths. She earned herself a shot at the big time, where she finished 11th in the Gr.1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) in March and then seventh when...

Tajana latest star for The Oaks Stud

It’s clear that Sunline Vase (Gr 3, 1400m) winner Tajana (Darci Brahma) is for real.  Her form at two was more than promising but in her two starts this season she has proved best of the fillies and maybe the best three-year-old at this point of the season. Although she performed fairly on top of the ground as a juvenile, her win on a heavy Ruakaka track (normally the best winter track in the country) was the only question surrounding Saturday’s Vase which was run on a Good 4 surface.Si...

Spring campaigns taking shape for The Oaks Stud pair

Cambridge trainers Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray are hoping to spend plenty of time on the road this spring with a pair of The Oaks Stud’s representatives.The training partnership earned a winning treble across the weekend, with two of those carrying the familiar Oaks silks, headlined by Tajana’s gutsy victory in the Gr.3 Sunline Vase (1400m) at Ellerslie on Saturday.The $150,000 contest was pinned as a match race between the Darci Brahma filly and rising star Lollapalooza, and it proved to...

Tajana takes out Sunline Vase in thrilling finish

Many pre-race pundits had labelled Saturday’s Ellerslie’s feature, the Gr.3 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Sunline Vase (1400m) as a two-horse contest between Lollapalooza and Tajana, the two hottest three-year-old fillies of spring racing to date.While that ignored the legitimate challenges of several well credentialled rivals, those early predictions played out exactly as expected with the Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray-prepared Tajana holding out race favourite Lollapalooza by the barest of mar...

Tajana ready to further press Classic claims

Fresh is best for top quality three-year-old Tajana who has thrived since her impressive return to competition last month.The Oaks Stud-bred and raced daughter of Darci Brahma was a resuming winner of the Gr.3 Northland Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) ahead of a second-up tilt at Saturday’s Gr.3 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Sunline Vase (1400m) at Ellerslie.“She was very good last time and has done fantastically well, I’m pleased we ran her at Ruakaka,” said Shaune Ritchie, who trains in partners...

Weekend double for U S Navy Flag

Faraglioni’s retirement has left a big hole in Josh Shaw’s stable this season, but the Group One performer’s half-sister Chart The Stars has started to do her bit to continue the family legacy.Chart The Stars opened her winning account in the second start of her career in the Hoult Contractors & Crowley Forge Master Farriers (1200m) on the Awapuni synthetic track on Sunday.The four-year-old was sent out as one of the outsiders of the five-horse field at $13.30, but she went straight to...

Savaglee crowned Champion Three-Year-Old

The Oaks Studs' Savabeel colt Savaglee was crowned Champion Three-Year-Old on Sunday night, at the New Zealand Thoroughbred Horse Of The Year Awards in Hamilton.Savaglee headed off the hotly contested three year old section to take the title from an age group that included the likes of Alabama Lass, Damask Rose, Leica Lucy, Captured By Love and Willydoit.Savaglee’s haul last season included the Group 2 Hawkes Bay Guineas, Group 2 James & Annie Sarten Memorial Stakes, Group 1 NZ Two Thousan...

War Princess seeking crowning glory

Awapuni filly War Princess will head up State Highway Three on Saturday to Wanganui in search of all-important black-type in the Listed HS Dyke Wanganui Guineas (1200m).The daughter of U S Navy Flag won two of her three starts as a juvenile, and was unplaced in the Gr.1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) in March, and trainer Peter Didham is pleased with the way she has returned as a three-year-old.She won a 1000m trial at Awapuni earlier this month, which piqued the interest of TAB bookma...

Navy King sails to victory at the Valley

A well-judged front-running ride by Daniel Stackhouse has aided five-year-old gelding Navy King to claim the lion’s share of the prize in the MSC Signs Handicap (2040m) at The Valley on Saturday.The Symon Wilde-trained son of US Navy Flag was able to take the role of pacemaker from a wide draw without too much pressure and despite laying out slightly in the home straight, had half a length to spare over runner-up Bur Dubai.Having shown good potential as a three-year-old, Navy King won one race...

2025 Stallion Parade

The Oaks Stud Stallions (U S Navy Flag, The Chosen One & Roc de Cambes) will be parading on Sunday 24th August at 12.30 pm as part of the Gavelhouse.com Waikato Stallion Weekend.All welcome - 122 Roto-o-Rangi Road, Cambridge. ...

Stud on target for further Guineas glory

High-class filly Tajana has taken an impressive step toward a third Group One fillies’ feature for breeder and owner The Oaks Stud.The Shaun Ritchie and Colm Murray-trained representative opened her classic season at Ruakaka where she overcame trying conditions to land the Gr.3 Northland Breeders’ Stakes (1200m).“I thought the track and the distance was right against her and I told him (Wiremu Pinn) to ride for luck,” The Oaks Stud General Manager Rick Wiliams said.“If she had run on f...

Interprovincial goes to Horowhenua courtesy of Chantilly Lace

Consistent mare Chantilly Lace (U S Navy Flag) carried the colours of Horowhenua to a thrilling victory in the feature race at New Plymouth, the ITM New Plymouth Interprovincial (1600m).The unique contest sees runners discard their traditional silks in favour of the colours of the region they represent with the red, white and blue of Horowhenua adorning the Chrissy Bambry-prepared runner who has been a model of consistency during her current preparation without managing to find the winner’s en...

Tajana makes brilliant return in Breeders' Stakes

The Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) has often been the one that got away for Shaune Ritchie, but Tajana’s superb first-up performance at Ruakaka on Saturday has the Cambridge trainer dreaming of a breakthrough in the Riccarton classic.A last-to-first triumph in the Gr.3 Cambridge Stud Northland Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) was Tajana’s first step along the road to the 1000 Guineas – a race Ritchie has run second in with Keep The Peace in 2009, Bella Gioia in 2016 and Jennifer Eccles in...

The Oaks Stud fillies thriving ahead of Group 3 test

The Oaks Stud homebred filly Tajana (Darci Brahma)...

Breeders target for Cashla Bay

Promising filly Cashla Bay is headed for a Group Three target early in the new season after recording a comfortable first-up success at Ruakaka on Saturday.Bred and raced by The Oaks Stud, Cashla Bay debuted in stakes company when finishing fifth in the Gr.3 Colin Jillings 2YO Classic (1200m) run in early February, won by subsequent Group One winner Return To Conquer.She continued to improve through her juvenile campaign, defeating the older horses over 1400m in April, but headed for a short spe...

Connections in no hurry with high-class Savaglee

Star colt Savaglee is likely to be a notable absentee from all spring feature events.The Group One-winning son of Savabeel has returned from an extended break and is in light work at owner Dick Karreman’s The Oaks Stud.“You won’t see him probably until after Christmas, he could have a run here and then go to Australia,” trainer Pam Gerard said.“Obviously, he’s been off for quite a while for a colt and it’s hard to make a plan until we get him back to the stable and see how he’s w...

U S Navy Flag - already sire of 18 black type horses

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Catalyst enjoying life after racing

Group 1 winner Catalyst (owned by The Oaks Stud) has made a promising start to his eventing career and came 2nd at a recent dressage event in Hamilton.Catalyst, who won the 2000 Guineas in 2019 and over $527,000 in prizemoney, is now ridden by Emma Simons who also works at The Oaks Stud. Photos - Parklane Photography....

Tough Graft takes Listed honours for U S Navy Flag

Graft (U S Navy Flag) took out the Listed Prix La Fleche at Chantilly yesterday for owners Henry Chavancy, Antoinette Kavanagh and Josephine Soudan, the latter also the victorious trainer.Held up in touch in the early stages, he won in a manner reminiscent of his sire and indeed his grandsire, after coasting to the front and repelling the prominent half-length second Super Soldier (Dark Angel), who did well to hold on for minor honours after forcing a strong gallop. Kimi Rey (Kingman) was doing ...

Double for broodmare Italic

Voyage Boss (NZ) strikes on debut...

U S Navy Flag heads The Oaks roster for 2025

Heading The Oaks Stud's 2025 three-strong roster is New Zealand's Champion First and Second Season Sire, U S Navy Flag, his fee has been reduced slightly to NZ$12,500 plus GST. The Thoroughbred Report caught up with The Oaks Stud's General Manager, Rick Williams, to learn more.On Tuesday, one of New Zealand’s premier nurseries, The Oaks Stud, announced its three-strong roster, headed by the royally bred and accomplished U S Navy Flag (USA). The stallion has a slightly reduced fee of NZ$12,500 ...