Haunui Farm celebrated a stellar racing season this past year with three Group One winners coming off the farm. Undoubtedly one of the stars of the Melbourne Spring was Railings (Aus) (Zabeel) who was bred by Haunui and Noel Robinson.

"I can’t recollect the last time the farm has produced three Group One winners in a season," said Mark Chitty of Haunui Farm. "To breed the winner of one of the major races of the spring was certainly very satisfying and of course, it is great to see our clients achieve such great levels of success as well," he said. "We have a large number of long-term clients who have been very loyal and we are obviously heavily involved in helping to manage their bloodstock as well so it is nice to be able to share that success," he said. "It also provides a great boost to the staff who work hard throughout the year to make sure mares foal down safely and get back in foal, stallions are well looked after and enjoy their breeding and, yearlings make it to the sales ring in the finest order," said Mark. "These successes stem from all of our efforts," he said.

In total this season (which comes to an end in a few short weeks), seven individual Haunui Farm graduates have claimed stakes races in New Zealand and across the Tasman with an additional nine stakes performers including stakes placings in Singapore and Dubai.

Railings

Perlin

Art Success

Don Eduardo Progress Report
The new racing season will provide some exciting times for Haunui Farm and of course Gooree Park Stud as Don Eduardo’s first crop will start to step out onto racetracks. Reports from breakers and trainers have indicated that we may well see some of "The Don’s" progeny hitting the track a little earlier than expected.

"We have already had a dozen of our home breds through the stables of Gai Waterhouse and Lee Freedman," said Andrew Baddock, manager of Gooree Park Stud. "Three of the fillies have already returned to Sydney to go through their second preparation with Gai with the Run For Roses filly certainly very pleasing at this early stage," he said.

In New Zealand, Paul Moroney couldn’t be happier with the four Don Eduardo’s that he purchased at Karaka in 2006. "I thought he was the standout first season sire at the sales," he said. "They all had balance and substance, were good types and you could see the Zabeel and Eight Carat influence coming through," he said. "We also now have another filly in the stable out of Our Rosalee," said Paul. "She definitely looks to be a two-year-old type, she’s light on her feet, even tempered and has done everything right so far," he said.

The new season is quickly approaching and the bookings for Don Eduardo are coming in nicely. Gooree Park have once again confirmed a number of high profile mares who will be making the trip across the Tasman to be covered by Don Eduardo this Spring, among them multiple stakes winner Beautiful Gem (Aus) (Peintre Celebre) and stakes performer Makarova (Aus) (Thunder Gulch) – a half sister to Hurricane Sky, Umatilla and of course Shantha’s Choice — the dam of Redoute’s Choice and his full brother, Platinum Scissors.

Elusive City is set to arrive in New Zealand at the beginning of August to commence this third Southern Hemisphere season – his first standing at Haunui Farm.

"We carry out weanling inspections each month and the more I see the Elusive City weanlings, the more excited I get by them," said Mark Chitty.

"They all have a great hind quarter and a lot of natural muscle but what pleases me most is the leg he has put into them and, their general correctness," he said.

"Elusive City has left foals that are more correct than he himself which is very pleasing," said Mark. "He is also a dominant sire with all bays or browns – very few of them have any white at all - and at this stage I would have to say from the weanlings we have at Haunui, they are the equal of, if not better than the Almutawakel’s at the same stage," says Mark.

With weanlings out of the likes of Carmel Valley (dam of Hill of Grace), Rationaine (dam of Amalfi), Group One-winner On Air, Group Two winner Scarlet Runner and, Dopff (a group two winner and dam of G1-placed mare Octapussy), breeding to Elusive City in 2006 could prove to be a very rewarding experience.

We will be holding our annual stallion parade on Sunday, 3^rd September. This year, we will be running things slightly differently as our parade will be part of a Stallion Tour that will be conducted by the Auckland Branch of the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association.

We will be parading both stallions along with some first crop yearlings by Elusive City.

The Haunui Stallion Parade will begin at approximately 3.50pm (to fit in with the Auckland Stallion Tour) and being the last stud visited on the day, there will be the usual Haunui hospitality to be enjoyed.

For further information or to indicate your attendance, please contact Shannon at the office – 09 530 8736

Haunui became yet another stud to invest in the success of the Redoute’s Choice phenomenon when Mark Chitty paid A$650,000 at the Magic Millions June Sale for a colt out of the lightly raced mare Mascara Magic.

"He is a cracking type and considering he didn’t go through a full preparation because he was a late entry into the sale, he certainly looked the part," said Mark Chitty.

"We have purchased the colt in partnership with Richard and David Moore of Soliloquy Lodge with the initial intent to put him through the sales ring at Karaka however, with a colt like this, there are a myriad of opportunities," he said.

The colt has arrived safely back in New Zealand and his settled into life at Haunui. "Like many of the Redoute’s’, this colt has a fantastic temperament and just seems to take everything in his stride," said Mark. "He’s settled into the routine here at the farm and is enjoying some of the greener pasture here in New Zealand although I guess the rain has been a bit of a shock to his system!" says Mark.

From the family of Savana City, Hong Kong Champion Mr Vitality, multiple Group winner Rose O’ War, Gunnamatta and Danehill Express, this colt becomes yet another son of Redoute’s Choice to have a future as a sire.

After a successful come back to racing, Octapussy (Aus) (Octagonal—Dopff) has been retired to stud and will join the Haunui broodmare band in 2006.

"We sent her across to Australia last year with the intent of getting her in foal," said Mark Chitty, "but she unfortunately missed so, we decided to put her back into work and try to pick up some blacktype in Australia," he said.

Octapussy went to the John Hawke’s stable and from five starts, won first up, finished second in the G2 Emancipation Stakes over the Sydney Autumn and second in the G1 Doomben Cup at the Queensland Winter Carnival.

Octapussy will visit Exceed and Excel this Spring.

It is scary to think that in a few weeks time, our 2005 foal crop will be yearlings! Our sales fillies have all been through the system and have been boxed and rugged while we have already separated the first dozen or so colts.

With yearlings to present in 2007 by Redoute’s Choice, Zabeel, Flying Spur, Red Ransom, Danzero, Stravinsky, Pins, O’Reilly, Elusive Quality, Pentire, Reset and of course our very own Don Eduardo, Elusive City and Van Nistelrooy, we look forward to the sales with a good deal of optimism and enthusiasm.

Luke Geddes, our Yearling Manager, is also in charge of our breaking and pre-training programme. So far, 35 plus yearlings have been broken in here at Haunui by Luke and his team of riders – Rachel, Michelle, Mel and Freddie (who has joined Haunui for a few short months from Germany).

"Basically we spend the first five to seven days just mouthing them with side reins on in the yard," said Luke.

"The next step is then long reining them, teaching them to turn and that sort of thing before we back them (put someone up on their back) in the round yard. Once they are happy with that, we walk, trot and canter around the farm track which is about three and a half km’s," he said.

"We also do some figure eight work and things to keep them supple and well mouthed and to make sure they are responsive to any rider," said Luke. "It’s the traditional way of breaking them in and we can adapt to the individual horse," said Luke. "They aren’t put under too much pressure, that will come soon enough, and the whole process takes about five to six weeks – all going well," he said.

Of the 35 yearlings already broken-in, a large number of them have already headed to trainers to gain some experience in the stable environment. "We have already sent off a number of the Van Nistelrooy yearlings that we have broken in," said Luke. "We have broken in seven Van Nistelrooy’s and they all broke in well showing good temperaments – they were willing to learn and were nice fluid movers," he said.

Haunui have a number of racehorses that have been spelling over the winter months. Exciting young horses like Opportunity Knocks (a half brother to Opportunity by Traditionally), Freeform (an Octagonal daughter of Fayreform). Fragrance (a Faltaat filly from the Haunui foundation family) and Skimmio (an O’Reilly daughter of Surfin Bird) have headed back to their respective trainers in preparation for Spring and Summer campaigns which we hope may bring some success.

Spring isn’t too far away and foaling is due to start here at Haunui in early August. "We have more than eighty mares of our own and resident mares to foal down this season and there will be more to come with having the two stallions standing here at the farm," said Mark.

As always, if we can be of assistance at anytime, please feel free to contact either Mark or Shannon and we look forward to another successful breeding season in 2006.