Trainers Mick Brown and Sue Thompson greet winning jockey Kate Hercock as she unsaddles Everending following the horse’s impressive debut win in a maiden race at Whanganui on December 29.
There was no more impressive winner at last Sunday’s Whanganui meeting than the Hastings-trained debutant Everending.
The Alamosa 3-year-old, prepared by the Hastings husband and wife team of Mick Brown and Sue Thompson, was twice inconvenienced in the running but still managed to come from near last on the home turn to snatch a last stride win in a 1360m maiden event.
It was an extraordinary performance given that Everending was severely hampered when another runner, Agent Black Hand, clipped heels and fell with 1100m to run.
Rider Kate Hercock had to take evasive action, meaning Everending was a long way off the leaders coming to the home turn.
She then had no option but to angle the horse to the outside to make a run but again had to change her mount’s direction early in the home straight to get a clear run.
When he finally got clear and balanced up, Everending was still giving the leader Coulthard a big head-start but he unleashed a paralysing finishing burst to get up and win by a nose.
It was a run that certainly impressed the horse’s co-trainer Mick Brown.
“Only good horses can do that and win,” Brown said.
“A horse clipped heels and fell so Kate had to take evasive action there and then she had to change ground when that horse moved in on her in the straight.
“When she was able to give him a smack with the whip he really took off and was pretty impressive.”
Brown said Everending was timed to run his last 600m in 33s and his final 200m in a stunning 10.9s.
Everending was coming off a second placing in a 1000m Foxton trial on December 17 and had also shown up well in jumpouts.
He is one of a number of horses raced by Christchurch businessman Colin Wightman, who purchased him from a Wellfield Stud dispersal sale.
Everending is out of the Zabeel mare Zatiger, who recorded three wins and six minor placings from only 19 starts and finished third in both the Group 3 Manawatu Cup (2300m) and Listed Marton Cup (2200m).
He is also a full-brother to Tiger Tim, a horse that won four races in New Zealand up to 1600m.
“With that sort of pedigree you would think that he will get over more ground and the long-term plan is to get him to the New Zealand Derby,” Brown added.
The $1.25 million New Zealand Derby (2400m) is run at Ellerslie on March 8 and Brown and Thompson will now plot a path towards that Group 1 event.
“He’ll run over 1600 next time and then we’ll look for a 2000 metre race and then, hopefully, into the Derby,” Brown said.
Bedtime Story caught her rivals napping
Hastings-trained Bedtime Story returned to her best with a game win in a $40,000 Rating 75 race at Ōtaki on Boxing Day.
The Per Incanto mare, prepared by Guy Lowry and Leah Zydenbos, was recording her fourth win from only 10 starts but her first since she took out a 1300m 3-year-old race at Ōtaki in March last year.
The Lowry/Zydenbos stable has always held Bedtime Story in high regard and the mare showed immediate potential when winning two of her first three starts. She was tested in top 3-year-old company last season and finished a game fourth in the Group 2 Wellington Guineas (1400m).
The now 4-year-old indicated she was close to another win with two second placings from her first two starts this campaign but started at the lucrative odds of six to one in the 1400m race at Ōtaki.
Apprentice Lily Sutherland has been aboard Bedtime Story in each start this campaign and decided to push forward on her at Ōtaki to take an early lead. She then rated the horse well in front and, although challenged in the home straight, her mount still had enough in reserve to win by a neck.
Bedtime Story races in the colours of her breeder, Henrietta Duchess of Bedford, who owns her in partnership with a group that includes Hawke’s Bay couple David and Jan Henderson, former Hawke’s Bay Racing Board member Tim Gillespie and the estate of the late Colin Bremner, who was a former president of the Waipukurau Jockey Club.
The mare is out of the unraced Tavistock mare Happy Endings, who is a daughter of the former high-class racemare Snap.
Snap was the winner of 11 races including Group 1 victories in the Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m), New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m), New Zealand Oaks (2400m) and the Waikato Draught Sprint (1400m) and was the joint top 3-year-old filly of her year.
Hercock notches notable milestone
Hawke’s Bay jockey Kate Hercock highlighted a busy time over Christmas and New Year with a Group 2 success as well as notching up the 400th win of her career.
Hercock spent the holiday period constantly on the move, riding in the Central Districts one day before heading to the South Island the next, racking up a string of wins in both islands.
She brought up her first black type success of the season when kicking Marotiri Molly to victory in the Group 2 $150,000 Manawatu Stakes (1400m) at Trentham on December 21 and that was the start of a six-win haul in the last few days of 2024.
Hercock chalked up a winning double at Whanganui on December 29, aboard Everending and Miss Balvenie, but it was her victory aboard Movie Girl at Kurow the following day that held more significance.
It may have only been a Rating 65 race worth $18,000 but it brought up win number 400 for Hercock in a career that, although spanning 30 years, was punctuated by a 10-year break from race-riding between 2010 and 2021.
Movie Girl drew reasonably wide in the 1400m event and Hercock settled the mare midfield and three-wide in the early running.
She got rolling on the horse coming to the home turn and Movie Girl produced a strong finish down the outside of the track in the straight to win by half a length.
Hercock was back in the North Island and riding at New Plymouth the following day where she picked up another brace of wins, aboard Belle Tribute and Grit, and she is now in the top 10 on the national jockeys’ premiership.
Zambezi Khan back in winning form
Zambezi Khan, who was crowned the Hawke’s Bay/Poverty Bay-owned 3-year-old of the Year for the last season, returned to winning form with a strong performance in an A$70,000 race at Flemington on New Year’s Day.
Taradale couple Mark Evans and Lynette Hammington own a 50% share in the 4-year-old daughter of Mongolian Khan, with an Australian couple owning the other 50%.
Zambezi Khan was having her third start back from a spell when she lined up in a Benchmark 70 race over 1700m on Wednesday and came in for plenty of support after a last start second over 1500m at Moonee Valley on December 6.
Ridden by apprentice Tom Prebble, Zambezi Khan settled well, just in behind the pace, in the running and kept up a strong sustained finishing burst over the final stages to win by a long head.
Zambezi Khan started out in the Hastings stable of Guy Lowry and still races in his stable colours. He prepared her to win on debut over 1000m at Tauherenikau in January 2023 and she had two more New Zealand starts before being transferred to the Victorian stable of Patrick and Michelle Payne.
She then recorded two wins in Australia last season and produced her best performance when second in the Group 3 A$170,000 South Australian Classic (2500m) at Morphettville.
New Year Honours for dedicated racing pair
The New Zealand Thoroughbred racing industry is celebrating the exceptional achievements of two of its most dedicated figures, legendary jockey Noel Harris and top club administrator Terry Campbell, who have received prestigious New Year 2025 Honours for their contributions to thoroughbred racing.
Harris has been appointed to the New Zealand Order of Merit in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to thoroughbred racing. This prestigious award highlights a lifetime of exceptional achievements, dedication and service to the industry that has defined Harris’ life and career.
Known to most as “Harry”, Noel Harris is a name synonymous with success in New Zealand’s jockey ranks. Across a career spanning more than 40 years, Harris achieved 2167 victories, including multiple Group 1 triumphs both in New Zealand and internationally. His career stands as a testament to his incredible skills and resilience.
“I’m deeply honoured to receive this recognition and humbled by the journey that has brought me here,” Harris said.
In addition to his remarkable achievements on the track, Harris continues his dedication as the Northern Apprentice Jockey Mentor for New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing. Over the past few years, he has mentored countless young apprentice jockeys, sharing his wisdom and experience with the next generation of talented riders.
Terry Campbell of Taupō has been awarded a King’s Service Medal in recognition of his outstanding contributions to horse racing and governance. His decade-long dedication to the Taupō Racing Club and the wider racing industry has transformed the club into a thriving and sustainable organisation.
Shortly after relocating to Taupō in 2012, Campbell immersed himself in the local racing scene, joining the Taupō Racing Club and assuming the role of club president in 2013. Under his leadership, the club has achieved significant milestones, including financial stability through effective fundraising initiatives and sound management practices.
Since the Taupō Racing Club’s separation from other local racing entities in 2018, membership has grown by an impressive 40%. The club has also secured an increased number of fixtures on the New Zealand thoroughbred racing calendar, generating greater economic activity.
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