Dunstan Horsefeeds | NZSBA Cup Eve Function 2026

The Dunstan Horsefeeds NZSBA Cup Eve Function is the marquee event on our calendar, held on the eve of the IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup each year to celebrate the breeders behind the horses that carry the sport, and it brings together breeders, studmasters, owners and industry people from across the country in one room for the night.

The awards celebrate the people whose decisions were made years before the horses they produced ever reached a racetrack. Recognition went to the breeders of every starter in the 2026 IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup and the Renwick Farms Dominion Trot, to the breeders of last year’s winners of both races, and to every member who bred a New Zealand Group or Listed winner or an Australian Group 1 winner during the 2025/26 season.

Michael Harvey was honoured as the breeder of Kingman, winner of the IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup, while Nathan Williamson was recognised as the breeder of Gus, winner of the Renwick Farms Dominion Trot.

The 2026 NZB Standardbred Broodmare of Excellence Awards, our premier recognition of a mare’s lasting contribution to the New Zealand stud book, went to Eyre To The Throne for the pacing honour and Regal Volo for the trotting honour.

Life Membership of the Association, awarded for sustained service to standardbred breeding in this country, was conferred on John and Rebecca Mooney and on Colin Hair.

The evening was run as it always is, with drinks, canapes and presentations rather than a formal sit down dinner, and a full room of people who understand exactly what the names on the trophies represent.

The full lists of New Zealand Group and Listed winners and Australian Group 1 winners bred by our members during the 2025/26 season are set out below, grouped by breeder.