Barbara Kennedy & Kendra Bakker with Pour The Wine post race
- The weather in the lead up to the second day of the Riccarton Park Summer Season had a big part to play but not as big as predicted. Heavy8 conditions were presented for racemorning, but heavy storms forecast for Friday and on the day itself did not eventuate.
- Byerley Park trainer Barara Kennedy made her first foray to Riccarton Park a winning one with POUR THE WINE in the feature Speight’s Timaru Stakes. The 1400 metre event was the first stakes win for Kennedy and was the same for winning jockey, local apprentice Kendra Bakker. The six-year-old mare relished the wet going to easily account for BETTY SPAGHETTI, TOMASINA, and CANDYCANE.
- The good people of the Marlborough Racing Club keep their Club alive through supporting the Woodbourne Tavern & Motels Bottle-O Renwick Marlborough Cup. The $70,000 2000 metres race drew a good field of southern stayers with NOBLE KNIGHT backing up from his previous weeks second placing in the Waikouaiti Cup to score a deserved victory. Ever evolving local apprentice Floor Moerman combined with Prebbleton based trainer Sandy Cunningham for the win.
- On the eve of the 100th National Yearling Sales Ritchies Breeding Ltd, the purchaser of last year’s top lot, had their red, yellow and blue colours carried to victory by MISS TWINKLE in the Karaka 2026 Two-year-old. Andrew Carston prepares Glenn Ritchie’s Canterbury based horses and Brandon May rode the filly.
- The shortest priced winner on the programme was understandably PROFESSIONAL LAD in the second of the 1400 metres maidens. The three-year-old gelding had run second in the War Decree Stakes and sixth in the Al Basti Equiworld Dubai NZ 2000 Guineas at his previous two starts. Long time owner and national administrator Peter Grieve owns PROFESSIONAL LAD with his son Doug with Terri Rae doing the training and Leah Hemi the riding.
- The day produced a good mix of winning connections over the ten races, a good thing on a South Island feature meeting.