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Retirement deferred for Group One winner; Public granted restricted access to Hong Kong racing; Live racing comes to loveracing.nz; NZTBA to host Educational afternoons

Retirement deferred for Group One winner

Three-time Group One winner Humidor will be transferred to Chris Waller.

Originally trained in New Zealand by Johno Benner and Holly Wynyard, the rising eight-year-old gelding has also had stints with Darren Weir, Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, and most recently Lindsey Smith.

There had been talk of retirement before his last-start unplaced run in the Gr.3 Strickland Stakes (2000m) but the son of Teofilo will now travel to NSW in an attempt to reignite his career.

Humidor has a rich history during the Victorian Spring carnival, highlighted by his two placings behind star mare Winx in the Gr.1 Cox Plate (2040m).

Part-owned by his New Zealand breeders Mark and John Carter, who along with sister Rachel form Jomara Bloodstock, Humidor has won in excess of A$4 million.

Public granted restricted access to Hong Kong racing

Members of the public are allowed to return to Sha Tin on Sunday, with restrictions in place.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club have announced people will be able to attend the meeting, as long as they book a reservation at the restaurant in advance.

After consultation with the government, the Jockey Club estimate around 500-700 members of the public will be able to join owners, club officials, members and their guests.

All will have to complete health declarations and wear face masks.

The public have been barred from race meetings in Hong Kong since February due to COVID-19 restrictions.

"Tracing and traceability is key, so we can only get people in if they have a fixed seat. We will start with the restaurants that we have because that is the easiest," Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges told the South China Morning Post.

"We will probably keep it in that dimension for the rest of the season.

"It will be similar for what we did for Chinese New Year but we have to be even more careful because we have to keep 1.5m [distancing].

Live racing comes to loveracing.nz

New Zealand racing enthusiasts can now get their live racing fix on loveracing.nz.

New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing have added the capability of users to watch Trackside channels 1 and 2 live on the website.

To take advantage of the new service, users will be required to register or log on to the website.

Users can also utilise devices such as a chromecast to stream the channels to their televisions.

For more information visit: loveracing.nz

NZTBA to host Educational afternoons

The New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders' Association will host two pre-season educational afternoons in July.

The sessions will upskill and provide useful information for Breeding Course students, farm staff and members.

Session dates are:

Wednesday 22nd July – Rich Hill Stud  1-3pm – Dry mare care

-   Dry mare management 
-   Reproduction and the transitional mare 
-   Teasing mares
-   Dentistry 
-   Nutrition 

Wednesday 29th July- Windsor Park 1-3pm

-   pre and post foaling care
-   Foaling presentations
-   Procedures
-   Important milestones in the first 48 hours of the foals life
-   Career pathways 
-   Scholarship opportunities 
 

To register interest email nztba@nzthoroughbred.co.nz or 07 827 7727. Sessions are free for NZTBA members.