A race for the greats: NZ Breeders Stakes history written in hoofprints

The 54th running of the time honoured Group One NZ Standardbred Breeders Stakes will be held at Addington Raceway this Friday, with a stellar field of 14 mares set to square off in one of the most prestigious contests on the calendar for the fairer sex.

With any race of this magnitude comes a depth of significance and history that is impossible to replicate elsewhere. As one of only two Group One events restricted to pacing mares, the NZ Breeders Stakes has long been reserved for the elite, a proving ground for champions and a stepping stone to immortality.

The inaugural running dates back to 1973, when Royal Belmer (Thurber Frost), trained and driven by Jack Smolenski, defeated her bracketed stablemate Royal Chevel by two lengths in a time of 2:03.8. A figure that might raise eyebrows today, but one that serves as a reminder that the first 19 editions of the race were contested over a mile.

The final mile edition was staged in 1991 and produced one of the most remarkable performances in the race’s history. The Derek Jones trained Blossom Lady (Farm Timer), partnered by his grandson Anthony Butt, claimed her maiden Group One victory and the first of three NZ Breeders Stakes titles. She stopped the clock at a New Zealand record 1:56.0 despite facing the breeze for much of the journey, cementing her status as Addington royalty.

Blossom Lady’s historic threepeat was not without precedent. That honour belongs to Bonnie’s Chance (Majestic Chance), trained and driven by Richard Brosnan, who remains the only mare to win the race twice in the same calendar year. The 11th running took place in January 1983, with the 12th staged that December. Together, Bonnie’s Chance and Blossom Lady stand alone as the only mares to complete the hat trick.

Several others have flirted with history. The Alex McDonald trained Lento (People’s Blue Chip) finished second at her first attempt in 1994, one placing ahead of a Blossom Lady chasing an unprecedented fourth title, before returning to win the following two editions in consecutive seasons.

Frangelico (Golden Fulla) captured the 1987 edition when trained and driven by Richard Brosnan. A year later she was third, beaten less than half a length by Bionic Chance, before returning once more in 1990 under the guidance of Terry May, with son Ricky May combining for her second NZ Breeders Stakes success.

The Alan Beck trained and driven Shorty’s Girl (New York Motoring) was a dual winner in 2002 and 2003, her only appearances in the race. Her brace came just a year after Kyms Girl (Man Around Town), trained and driven by Colin De Filippi, secured her second Breeders Stakes victory in 2001. That win made Kyms Girl just the third mare to win both the NZ Breeders Stakes and the NZ Cup in the same calendar year, following Bonnie’s Chance in 1982 and Blossom Lady in 1992, a remarkable feat given the depth of open class talent during that era.

She would not be the last. Adore Me’s Breeders Stakes triumph in 2014 foreshadowed her crowning moment in the NZ Cup ten months later. Mainland Banner (Christian Cullen) also completed the double, winning the NZ Cup on Cup Day in 2005 before claiming her sole Breeders Stakes success in 2006. The 1981 NZ Cup winning mare Armalight (Timely Knight) contested the Breeders Stakes just once, finishing second to Bonnie’s Chance in January 1983.

A race defined by firsts

The roll of honour is not merely distinguished, it is defined by firsts. Time and again, the NZ Breeders Stakes has been the moment careers were launched, barriers broken and names etched into the record books for the first time at Group One level.

Dexter Dunn secured his maiden Group One driving success with a stunning upset aboard Time To Fly (Sands A Flyin) for his father Robert in 2008. Tact Lizzie (Christian Cullen) delivered Stephen McNally his only Group One driving success to date in 2010, while that same victory provided Trevor Procter with his sole Group One training success. Tartan Lady (Holmes Hanover) gave Ray Faithful his only Group One training triumph in 1994. David Miller recorded his lone Group One success as a trainer with Kyms Girl’s first victory in 2000.

Patrick Heffernan claimed the first of his three Group One training wins with Royal Illusion in 1981, a race that also provided Peter Shand with the first of his two Group One driving successes. James Stormont’s sole Group One driving success came aboard the Lindsay Turner trained Tigerish (Butler B G) in 1994. Few races on the calendar can lay claim to opening so many doors at the sport’s highest level.

In 2016, three year old filly Luisanabelle Midfrew (American Ideal) etched her name into history as the youngest ever winner of the race and the first filly to defeat the mares in an open Group One feature. Five years later, Kirstin Green became the first female driver to win the NZ Breeders Stakes, guiding Watch Me Now (He’s Watching) to victory in a race record 3:07.2 for the 2600 metre journey. Green trained the mare in partnership with Tank Ellis, securing her sole Group One credits as both driver and trainer.

More recently, the race has held special meaning for close friends Robbie Close and Regan Todd. Bettor Talk Art (Bettor’s Delight) delivered the pair their first Group One success as driver and trainer, while Close’s only other Group One victory came aboard the Todd trained Lakelsa (Captaintreacherous) last season.

Bettor’s Delight sits comfortably atop the sires table with eight individual daughters having won the Breeders Stakes. Lumber Dream leads the broodmare sire honours with five wins, courtesy of Blossom Lady’s treble and Kyms Girl’s brace.

From racetrack to breeding barn

Winners of the NZ Breeders Stakes have consistently gone on to exert enormous influence as broodmares, with the race proving to be as much a marker of future breeding success as racetrack brilliance.

Van Glory is the grand dam of Under Cover Lover and features in the maternal lines of Group One winners Major Trojan, Bettor Cover Lover and Amore Vita. Quiet Touch is the grand dam of multiple Group Two and Group Three winner Ohoka Texas. Gina Rosa produced Allstar Blue Jean, a Group Two winning three year old who was exported to the United States, winning 17 races in 1:50 or better and retiring just shy of a million dollars in earnings.

Blossom Lady went on to produce Hunter Cup winner Mister DG, a multiple Group Two and Group Three winner. Tigerish produced Group One winning juvenile filly Tiger Turner, who in turn left All Tiger, a dual Group Two and Group Three winning son of Christian Cullen. Lento produced Group One winner Whanau, the grand dam of Group Three winner Vintage Cheddar in both New Zealand and the United States.

Her grandson Mister Smartee has emerged as a dominant force in Western Australia with multiple Group One victories and stakes earnings exceeding one million dollars, while his half brother Sonofamistery captured the Group Two Kindergarten Stakes last season for Stonewall Stud.

Adio Routine appears as the great great grand dam of Franco Marek. Shorty’s Girl produced Group Three winner JB Mauney. Coburg produced Group One winning juvenile filly Veste, whose son It’s All About Faith claimed the Group One Sires Stakes Final on Cup Day as a three year old. Mainland Banner produced dual Group One winning mare Rocker Band.

Adore Me has already established herself as an elite broodmare, producing Group One winners All You Need Is Me and Sweet On Me, while Remember Me and Darling Me have scored at Group Two level. Her close relative Dream About Me was a finalist for Pacing Broodmare of the Year in 2025, thanks to the exploits of daughters All Of Me, winner of the Group One Sires Stakes 2YO Fillies Classic, and Beside Me, winner of the Group Two Ladyship Stakes.

Adding further intrigue to this year’s renewal is the presence of General Jen (Bettor’s Delight), fresh off her victory in the Group Two Premier Mares Championship and now attempting to complete one of the most elusive doubles in the mares’ programme. Since 1988, only 15 mares have managed to win both races in a calendar year, a statistic that underlines just how unforgiving the elite end of the division can be. For all the prestige attached to each individual contest, combining the two has proven a rare and difficult assignment across nearly four decades of competition.

The list itself reads like a roll call of modern greats. Bionic Chance, Gina Rosa, Blossom Lady and Lento laid much of the early foundation, while Kyms Girl, Coburg, Mainland Banner and Adore Me have come to define the modern era. More recently, the feat has enjoyed a resurgence with Allamericanlover in 2024 and Lakelsa last season going back to back. Should General Jen add the NZ Breeders Stakes to her Premier Mares Championship success, she would become the 15th mare to complete the double and further reinforce the reality that at this level, there is simply no margin for error.

Another name to be written

Notably, none of the 14 starters engaged this Friday carry a direct maternal link to a previous NZ Breeders Stakes winner. There are no return winners, no inherited shortcuts and no guarantees. History tells us that this race does not reward reputation, it creates it.

By night’s end, one mare will add her name to a roll of honour that has launched champions, defined careers and shaped breeding families for generations. That is the enduring power of the NZ Breeders Stakes, and why its next chapter is always worth waiting for.