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All the latest racing news from New Zealand.
Trainer looking to future
With an eye on domestic summer features, Cambridge trainer Emma-Lee Browne has called time on Rollout The Carpet's winter campaign in Brisbane.
The Group One-winning mare entered quarantine in Brisbane on Wednesday and is booked to fly home on Sunday.
Rollout The Carpet improved from her 11th placing in the Prime Minister's Cup (1300m) at the Gold Coast on May 3 to finish sixth in last Saturday's Lord Mayor's Cup (1615m) at Doomben, but Browne felt it prudent not to press on with her preparation.
"It was a better run the other day but she was still a little bit flat after her preparation at home," she said.
"The owners want to race her next season as well so we thought rather than really flatten her, we'd just head home."
Browne said Rollout The Carpet would spell for six weeks before she was set for 1600m summer features such as the Gr.1 Captain Cook Stakes at Trentham in December or the Gr.1 Thorndon Mile at the same track the following month.
Pimms Time’s racing career over
Lightly-raced Group Two winner Pimms Time has been retired due to suspensory ligament injuries.
“It’s a real shame as she was only just growing into herself,” co-trainer Guy Lowry said.
“She came through the grades last time and we were looking at aiming her at some special races.”
Pimms Time won five of her 16 starts, including a defeat of O’Fille and Quintessential in the Travis Stakes, and her retirement is another blow to the stable which recently lost the Gr.1 Telegraph Handicap winner Irish Fling to injury.
“It’s tough but you can’t do anything about it and you have to look to the future,” Lowry said.
Rainfall forces cancellation
An unusually wet autumn has forced the Canterbury Jockey Club (CJC) to cancel its June 6 meeting at Riccarton.
The decision was made by the club and New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) and as a replacement venue was unavailable the scheduled races will be added to the Waimate Racing Club’s meeting on June 8 and the South Canterbury Racing Club’s fixture on June 13.
Christchurch has experienced the wettest April in history, which led the CJC and NZTR to consider priorities for the next seven weeks and then onto the three-day Grand National Carnival in August.
The meeting this Friday will be run on heavy going and with another feature meeting scheduled for June 21 the course proper will benefit from a three week period or rest.
Dee returning next week
Apprentice Michael Dee will be back in action next week after furthering his experience in Hong Kong.
The 18-year-old will return to New Zealand on Monday and he will resume at either Matamata next Wednesday or the following day at New Plymouth.
Apprenticed to Kevin Myers, he is in Hong Kong on a working scholarship and has been riding trackwork and at trials.
Dee is in his second season of riding and has posted 58 winners this term and he recorded his first black type success with Hera in the Gr.2 Eight Carat Classic.
Kiwis feature in top ten
New Zealand-bred gallopers It's A Dundeel and Sacred Falls are rated in the top ten on the ARF Racehorse Rankings for 3yos and upwards which raced between January 1 and May 4, 2014.
The Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained It's A Dundeel, who retired to stud following his breath-taking Queen Elizabeth Stakes victory, is rated 122 by the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings Committee.
The Chris Waller-trained two-time Doncaster hero Sacred Falls is rated two pounds inferior at 120. Sacred Falls initially commenced his career in New Zealand for Cambridge conditioner Tony Pike, for whom he landed the NZ 2000 Guineas.
Japanese star Just A Way, who romped to victory in the Dubai Duty Free in March, is rated the world's best racehorse at 130, ahead of South African galloper Variety Club on 126, recent winner of the Champions’ Mile in Hong Kong.