Super Seth steps into New Zealand's elite stallion ranks
Super Seth's season could not have come at a better time as the stud's phenomenal Savabeel nears the end of his breeding career but the legend showed he isn't willling to give up the top dog title just yet.
Savabeel will remain New Zealand's only six-figure stallion, standing at an unchanged $100,000, plus GST.
Sitting $2.7 million clear of his nearest contender on the New Zealand sires' premiership, Savabeel will secure his 10th New Zealand champion sires' title and will be inducted into the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame in May.
This season alone he has sired three Group 1 winners: Atishu, who claimed her third elite-level victory in the Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes, along with two new Group 1 winners in Savaglee and Provence, bringing his Group 1 tally to 35.
This year, Savabeel produced his highest-priced yearling yet and set a new record for the highest-priced filly ever sold at Karaka – $2.4 million for the full sister to Orchestral.
'He deserves every accolade and we are very proud of everything he's done and is doing for the New Zealand industry,' said Chittick.
'He has great vitality and we're heading into the season with a bright, happy and healthy horse – the only thing we will avoid breeding this year at his age is maidens. He's had another incredible season on the track and in the sales ring, and he just keeps reminding us why he's so special.'
Waikato Stud will also stand Ardrossan ($20,000), Noverre ($10,000) and Banquo ($3000) at unchanged fees next season while the ever-consistent Ocean Park will stand at a slightly reduced of $15,000, all fees being plus GST.
Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
3 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Lotto wars: Global gambling syndicate blocked from buying Powerball tickets
He said overseas sites 'on-sell lottery tickets from a range of jurisdictions' and offer copycat versions of national lotteries. 'It's generally difficult to detect the acquisition of physical tickets from Lotto NZ for resale internationally because the initial purchases can be made anonymously in store' Hine said. Lotto NZ would not be drawn on how it detected the attempted ticket purchases by the gambling syndicate, or how it then blocked the sales. Lotto fever gripped New Zealand ahead of last year's $50 million Must Be Won draw. Photo / Sylvie Whinray Purchasing tickets here and reselling them on overseas websites, is 'in contravention of our rules' he said. 'They may be sold without responsible gambling controls in place, marketed using dated and inaccurate information, and could cause confusion for purchasers through the misuse of Lotto NZ's brand imagery and intellectual property.' The global online gambling market – including online casino, lottery and sports and racing markets - is estimated at $97 billion, with a study by market research company FNF Research predicting it will grow to $306b by 2030. This comes as Lotto NZ considers a facelift for Powerball, considered its flagship game. TheLotter's version of Powerball sees the same draw details and gameplay as Lotto NZ's game. Photo / Michael Bradley The Herald revealed last month that Lotto NZ bosses are keen to increase the number of balls in the Powerball draw. Lotto NZ chief innovation and product officer Ben Coney told the Herald the five-year strategy to 2029 includes 'changing the odds by adding more balls to the Powerball machine' and evolving the game. The change will require government approval and Lotto NZ is already seeking permission for what has been described as a 'matrix change' for the game. The current odds of winning Lotto Powerball are 1 in 38m. Should Lotto add one extra Powerball number, the odds would decrease to 1 in 42.2m. Lotto NZ says ticket sales are the highest they've ever been - meaning Powerball is being struck more regularly. More regular wins means fewer of the more exciting mega-jackpots - like the $50m draws that attract 'exponential' ticket sales. 'The details of exactly what we will change and what it would mean for subject to regulatory consultation and ministerial approval' Coney said. 'We continue to our government stakeholders about the potential shape of any change.' Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 33 years of newsroom experience. Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
a day ago
- NZ Herald
Tiny number of new pay equity claims expected – but first is ‘very close'
Last week, the Herald asked Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden for an update on the number of claims brought or likely to be brought under her new regime. Van Velden's office said the matter was better handled by the agencies responsible for the claims, and forwarded the Herald's query to them. When asked whether she was happy with the way the new regime was working, van Velden said it was 'early days to see how it will roll out in practice'. 'I do believe we got the law correct,' she said. Health NZ Te Whatu Ora's funding and investment director, Jason Power, told the Herald it purchased 'services from a large number of third-party providers but we are not the employer of the workforces that deliver these contracted services'. 'We are not aware of any new pay equity claims across the third-party providers we purchase services from,' Power said. The Ministry of Education's hautū (leader), Anna Welanyk, told the Herald 'no new pay equity claims have been raised since the amendments were made to the Equal Pay Act'. She said the ministry 'has ongoing obligations under the amended Equal Pay Act to respond to and investigate new pay equity claim/s that are raised, once it's been determined the claim meets the required thresholds applying to new claims. Our responsibility to respond to new claims continues under the amended Equal Pay Act.' PSA not intending to use new law The Herald also spoke to the unions responsible for the workforces likely to take claims. Public Service Association (PSA) national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons, who ran as a Labour candidate at the last election, told the Herald the union 'had no intention to file any claims under the new amended Equal Pay Act'. Fitzsimons said the union had 'no confidence women will get equal pay through that legislation'. 'It guts the heart of pay equity. It undermines the ability for women to even be heard,' she said. She said that in some cases, the legislation barred claims from being lodged. This was the case with care and support workers' claim. That claim, which was fought in the courts and sparked the creation of the old pay equity scheme, expired at the end of 2023. In some cases, these workers are now earning the minimum wage. The new regime prevents settled claims being revisited for 10 years after they were initially settled. This means if a pay equity settlement is eroded as a result of male-dominated workforces' wages rising faster, it cannot be litigated until 10 years after the settlement. 'There isn't any ability for those women to even advance a claim under the current legislation – it's not a choice we've made, the legislation itself bans the claim,' Fitzsimons said. She said in the case of other workforces such as probation officers, library assistants, and administration and clerical workers, the union would not be taking pay equity claims but is 'seeking improvements to their pay through collective bargaining'. Nurses' union to take claims soon The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) is taking a different approach. It had 12 claims that it took or was a party to – covering 13,200 members – extinguished by the law change. NZNO chief executive Paul Goulter told the Herald 'we decided pretty much immediately after the announcement the issue was too important for us not to pursue any chance at all of continuing pay equity claims'. 'Our members are very strongly in support of us doing that,' he said. Goulter said the Government's changes were 'intended in our view to rule out advancing pay equity claims under the guise of making it easier and more transparent'. He said employers in the funded sector, the private employers who deliver mainly government-funded services, were also keen to have pay equity established because it would help to grow the workforce. He said the union was 'very close' to lodging claims relating to Plunket and hospice workers. Goulter also raised concerns with the 10-year rule. He noted a large claim relating to nurses employed by Health NZ could not be reopened until 2033. It covered 35,000-40,000 nurses. Education union analysing law's effects Education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa is still delving into how the new regime will function. Because it was passed in mere hours under urgency, without consultation or a select committee, unions had very little time to come to grips with the way the new regime works. NZEI's national secretary Stephanie Mills said her union was still 'analysing' the new regime. 'We've asked the ministry a number of questions about how they would interpret the new act in relation to a claim or claims,' she said. Mills said many of the things her union is looking at include 'technical' problems, such as the new regime's changing of the threshold for raising a claim to one of 'merit'. The old system allowed claims to be raised if they were 'arguable'. What that means in practice is still not clear to NZEI. Asked whether the union would take a claim in future, Mills said NZEI wanted to 'keep looking'. 'We do want to do the best by members. In the end we'll have to make a call about whether we do or don't [lodge a claim]. 'In the meantime we'll be making the argument that the legislation does need to change and does need to be fixed,' she said.
NZ Herald
a day ago
- NZ Herald
Horse racing: Top trainer explains what punters should look for on heavy tracks
'It is very satisfying and we have some nice horses for next season too.' For all Forsman's experience and ability he admits the chances of many of those he sends to Te Rapa and Ōtaki tomorrow come down to a factor the eye simply can't see. 'At this stage of the season what sort of heavy track you get and whether they can handle it dictates so much,' he explains. 'The difference between a Heavy 8 and a bottomless Heavy 10 is huge and once you get to the really heavy tracks, it is nearly impossible to know whether they will handle it or not. 'If they don't, they simply can't win.' Forsman says the best indicator he can come up with as to whether a horse will handle trench warfare-level tracks is strength and size. 'Those bigger and most importantly stronger horses tend to handle the really heavy tracks better, because it can be a battle of who is strongest. 'But it is still really hard to predict and a lot comes down to how heavy it is and whether there is rain on the day, or even the day before.' The best example of the winter unknowns for Forsman tomorrow is Force Of Nature (race six, No 7) at Te Rapa, who has come a long way in a short time but may even skip tomorrow's open 1300m if the weather deteriorates. 'He won here on a Heavy 8 last start but I'd prefer it to come back a point from the Heavy 10 it was today [Thursday],' Forsman said. 'He is a really nice horse who I think will get black type but we don't want to be running him on anything too heavy.' Saint Bathans (R5, No 1) is a one-time Rich Hill Mile runner-up who has shown only glimpses of that ability since, so Forsman has opted for a different approach tomorrow, putting him in an R75 with a carded 63.5kgs but dropping to 59.5kgs with apprentice Sam McNab aboard. 'We know the abiility is there but he hasn't been showing it,' Forsman said. 'We put blinkers on the last two runs but they didn't help so we are taking him back the track where he last went well [second three starts ago]. 'He is big enough to carry a decent weight but it is up to him now.' Forsman has two other reps wearing the No 1 saddlecloth early in the card, with Richard And I (R2) and Rio Grande (R3) both getting star jockey Michael McNab. 'They can both win but it comes down again to how they handle the track. But I do like Richard And I and think he will improve on last start.' Forsman also sends one-from-one filly Accentuate to Ōtaki for the $80,000 Ryder Stakes and an ideal opportunity to get black type and again says how deep the track ends up will be crucial. 'She was really good winning on debut at when it was pretty heavy so she should handle it,' he said. 'I really like her but it is a nice field with a couple of horses with a fair bit more experience than her. 'So a lot will depend how they all handle the track.' Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald's Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world's biggest horse racing carnivals.
