WS NEWS | Woodlands Sires Dominate Worldwide
/WORLDWIDE WINNERS FOR WOODLANDS SIRES
It was a big week of racing across the globe, and once again Woodlands-sired progeny stepped up to the mark to represent our World Class stallion roster.
From Breeders Crown weekend in North America to NSW Breeders Challenge Finals at Menangle and Magic Monday at Ashburton, our sires and their progeny stood tall on all fronts.
With another 66 winners for the week across Australasia (not including yesterday’s results), Spring continues to be a very successful time for our stallions.
Read more about their success below.
Photo: Sweet Lou
ONE, LOU, THREE!
The progeny of SWEET LOU were in the spotlight once again, dominating the NSW Breeders Challenge Finals night at Menangle.
Remarkably, of his seven starters in the Group 1 events, every single one finished first, second or third, and only beaten by other Sweet Lou's - in an incredible feat of consistency and class.
He claimed three of the four Group 1 events, including a trifecta and two quinellas, further underlining his dominance and the strength of his progeny across both male and female divisions, and with a range of different broodmare sires.
Results:
3YO Males Final – 1:49.9
DOUBLE LOU (Bettor’s Delight dam)
Sinaloa (Somebeachsomewhere dam)
Sweet On Lexy (Roll With Joe dam)
3YO Fillies Final – 1:50.4
GUNNA RELOAD (McArdle dam)
Sugar Pie Honey (Christian Cullen dam)
2YO Males Final – 1:50.6
HOLLYWOOD STRIP (Sportswriter dam)
Berocca Bernie (Well Said dam)
Every one of these performances reflected Sweet Lou’s hallmark of brilliant speed, strength, and tenacity.
Congratulations to all the winning owners, trainers, drivers, and especially to the breeders whose support of Sweet Lou continues to shine through on racing’s biggest stages.
Photo: Loua Dipa
BREEDERS CROWN BRILLIANCE
Across in North America, the season is starting to reach its crescendo with the prestigious Breeders Crown taking place over the weekend, and once again, Woodlands stallions were at the forefront of success.
Our sires produced two of the major Final winners, both world record breakers, showing that Woodlands stallions and their progeny deliver under pressure and at the highest level.
2YO Fillies Final
LOUA DIPA (Sweet Lou x Pet Rock dam) added another commanding victory to her brilliant season, recording a 1:49.1 mile rate to take her earnings to over $733,000. This outstanding filly continues to enhance Sweet Lou’s reputation as a sire of early, fast, and durable stock.
3YO Males Final
SIPPINONSEAROC (Downbytheseaside x Big Bad John dam) showed his class and strength, downing the hot favourites to take out the 3YO Males Final in 1:47.3. He headed a Woodlands-sired quinella, with DANDY IDEAL (American Ideal) finishing second in the $822,000 feature.
BETTOR’S DELIGHT and AMERICAN IDEAL also added more winners to the impressive two days of racing, picking up further winners at both of the meetings.
Across the board, the Breeders Crown results reinforced that Woodlands Sires are truly proven on the world stage.
North American Leaderboard snapshot:
Sweet Lou – Leading the All-Age List (Bettor’s Delight 3rd, Downbytheseaside 4th, American Ideal 6th)
Downbytheseaside – Leading the 2YO Leaderboard with Sweet Lou close behind in 3rd
Photo: Ya Rite Darl as a weanling
MAGIC MONDAY AT ASHBURTON
Back home in New Zealand, Magic Monday at Ashburton lived up to its name as Woodlands-sired horses once again dominated the feature events with six progeny winners on the card.
The feature races of the day began with YA RITE DARL, a daughter of What The Hill and Woodlands bred, taking out the Group 3 Neumanns Tyres Hambletonian for 3YO trotters. Driven superbly by John Dunn, she led from start to finish and proved a true professional, trotting boldly down the long Ashburton straight to record her 7th career win in 1:56.4 (MR) over 1700m.
In doing so, she broke the New Zealand record for trotting fillies and mares over the distance, defeating several top-quality male trotters in the process.
Later in the day the son of Bettor's Delight, REPUBLICAN PARTY (American Ideal dam, and bred by John & Katrina Price) continued his outstanding form with a decisive victory in the Group 2 NZB Airfreight Ashburton Flying Stakes.
Eased down with his ear plugs still in place, the entire cruised to his third win in a row, taking his career earnings to over $961,000 and cementing his status as New Zealand’s leading chance for the NZ Trotting Cup in just a couple of weeks.
But the winning didn’t stop there:
BETTOR’S DELIGHT recorded a treble, including RIPPLES (Mach Three dam) winning a heat of the Dunstan Sires Stakes for 2YO Fillies, and the Woodlands-bred FREEZE FRAME (Artsplace dam) securing a heat of the Woodlands Stud Sires Stakes for 3YO Males.
SWEET LOU also picked up a double, with the Woodlands-bred ARAFURA (Bettor’s Delight dam) taking a heat of the Nevele R Fillies Series, and SECRET AGENT MAN (Bettor’s Delight dam) capping off the day with a commanding fresh-up win, his 4th from 8 starts.
LEADING THE WAY
When it comes to consistency and quality, the results speak for themselves.
Woodlands Sires are leading nine of the ten stakes leaderboard categories across North America, Australia, and New Zealand.
BETTOR’S DELIGHT – Leading every New Zealand leaderboard (All Age, 2YO, 3YO, 4YO, and 5YO+)
SWEET LOU – Leading both the US and Australian All-Age Lists
DOWNBYTHESEASIDE – Leading the US 2YO Leaderboard
World-class sires. Proven results. Global success.
Woodlands Stud continues to lead the way – from Australasia to North America, with progeny that perform at the highest level week after week.
When you breed with Woodlands, you’re not just breeding a horse, you’re choosing the best chance of success.
Contact our friendly team today if you have any bookings or queries regarding our sires for the 2025-26 season.
Cameron Grant (NZ): +64 22 096 1897 or cameron@woodlandsstud.co.nz
Mark Hughes (AU): +61 451 650 707 or mark@woodlandsstud.co.nz
Office: +64 9 292 8250 or office@woodlandsstud.co.nz
