Laurie Laxon
Trish Dunell
High-profile Waikato racing identities and equine stars of the past and present dominated Friday night's New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame gala dinner at Skycity Hamilton.
All bar one of the latest inductees have ties to the equine powerhouse region.
Pencarrow Stud's supreme staying mare Ethereal, raced by Sir Peter and the late Philip Vela and trained by Sheila Laxon, champion broodmare Eight Carat and the Cambridge-born and bred international superstar So You Think were among them.
Ethereal won four Group One events and her win in the Melbourne Cup created history for Laxon, who became the first female trainer to officially win the great race.
Eight Carat is the latest addition from Cambridge Stud to the Hall Of Fame, joining owner Sir Patrick Hogan and the stud's champion sires Sir Tristram and Zabeel. She is the dam of five Group One winners.
So You Think, a dual hemisphere champion, won 10 Group One races, including two Cox Plates and beat the best gallopers in Europe while the other horse inducted was the Cox Plate and VRC Derby winner Daryl's Joy.
Seton Otway was honoured for his contribution to the breeding industry as the founder of Trelawney Stud, home to the champion sire Foxbridge, who won 11 consecutive stallion premierships.
Ngaruawahia-born Laurie Laxon was also inducted for his training achievements and, after winning the Melbourne Cup with Empire Rose and the Hong Kong International Cup with Romanee Conti, he moved to Singapore and in 2013 he became the first trainer to prepare 1000 winners there, a feat to rival his record of nine Singapore champion trainer titles.
Shane Dye, formerly of Matamata, became a dual Hall Of Famer, having been inducted into the Australian Hall Of Fame two years ago. After being champion NZ apprentice twice, Dye moved to Australia and won two Sydney premierships and rode 90 Group One winners.
Racing writer John Costello began his career as a journalist in Matamata and was inducted for a legacy which covers the full spectrum of reporting, including 11 editions of the New Zealand Racing Annual, two editions of Galloping Greats, The Linda Jones Story and with the late Pat Finnegan the Tapestry Of Turf.
Completing the line-up of inductees is Garry Chittick, a former Wairarapa sheep farmer who moved north in 1994 when he purchased Waikato Stud. He is a five-time Breeder of the Year winner and recipient of the Outstanding Contribution To Racing Award.
A thoroughbred mare whose achievements were outside racing was also acknowledged by the NZ Racing Hall Of Fame.
Bess, was one of more than 10,000 New Zealand horses sent overseas during the World War I and she was one of just four, and the sole thoroughbred, to return home after battle.
All bar one of the latest inductees have ties to the equine powerhouse region.
Pencarrow Stud's supreme staying mare Ethereal, raced by Sir Peter and the late Philip Vela and trained by Sheila Laxon, champion broodmare Eight Carat and the Cambridge-born and bred international superstar So You Think were among them.
Ethereal won four Group One events and her win in the Melbourne Cup created history for Laxon, who became the first female trainer to officially win the great race.
Eight Carat is the latest addition from Cambridge Stud to the Hall Of Fame, joining owner Sir Patrick Hogan and the stud's champion sires Sir Tristram and Zabeel. She is the dam of five Group One winners.
So You Think, a dual hemisphere champion, won 10 Group One races, including two Cox Plates and beat the best gallopers in Europe while the other horse inducted was the Cox Plate and VRC Derby winner Daryl's Joy.
Seton Otway was honoured for his contribution to the breeding industry as the founder of Trelawney Stud, home to the champion sire Foxbridge, who won 11 consecutive stallion premierships.
Ngaruawahia-born Laurie Laxon was also inducted for his training achievements and, after winning the Melbourne Cup with Empire Rose and the Hong Kong International Cup with Romanee Conti, he moved to Singapore and in 2013 he became the first trainer to prepare 1000 winners there, a feat to rival his record of nine Singapore champion trainer titles.
Shane Dye, formerly of Matamata, became a dual Hall Of Famer, having been inducted into the Australian Hall Of Fame two years ago. After being champion NZ apprentice twice, Dye moved to Australia and won two Sydney premierships and rode 90 Group One winners.
Racing writer John Costello began his career as a journalist in Matamata and was inducted for a legacy which covers the full spectrum of reporting, including 11 editions of the New Zealand Racing Annual, two editions of Galloping Greats, The Linda Jones Story and with the late Pat Finnegan the Tapestry Of Turf.
Completing the line-up of inductees is Garry Chittick, a former Wairarapa sheep farmer who moved north in 1994 when he purchased Waikato Stud. He is a five-time Breeder of the Year winner and recipient of the Outstanding Contribution To Racing Award.
A thoroughbred mare whose achievements were outside racing was also acknowledged by the NZ Racing Hall Of Fame.
Bess, was one of more than 10,000 New Zealand horses sent overseas during the World War I and she was one of just four, and the sole thoroughbred, to return home after battle.