NZ Cup breeding nuggets you can bank on this Cup Week

There are a handful of patterns and curiosities in the New Zealand Cup that only reveal themselves when you look through the pedigrees. Here’s a flowing cut that joins the dots for readers who love the bloodlines as much as the race itself.

No mare in the 126-year history of the New Zealand Cup has produced two individual winners. That could change if the Australian-bred Art Major mare Lettucreason adds a second Cup winner to her record next Tuesday via Leap To Fame for Grant Dixon. The closest precedent sits with the imported matron Berthabell, dam of two-time winner Peter Bingen. Her other son Great Bingen was the champion of his day and long handicaps were all that kept him from lifting the Cup. In 1928, before the photo-finish, many on course swore Great Bingen actually arrived first, with Peter Bingen third; the judge was not aligned with the post and the debate never truly died.

Among Cup-winning mares, two stand above the rest for their lasting imprint on subsequent winners’ pages. Trix Pointer (by Demonio) boasts a record unique in our Stud Book: she won the Cup in 1919 and later produced the 1930 winner Wrackler (by Wrack). She also appears in the maternal pedigrees of Humphrey (by Morano, 1968) and Neroship (by Neros BB, 1990). The 1904 heroine Lady Clare (by Prince Imperial) turns up in the maternal lines of Luxury Liner (1988), Christopher Vance (1991) and the modern dual winner Copy That (2021, 2022). Other Cup-winning mares who continue to echo through the pedigrees include Win Soon (by King Child) in the pages of True Averil (by Fallacy, 1971) and Lunar Chance (by Majestic Chance, 1975); Country Belle (by Wildmoor), grand-dam of Chamfer (by Dillon Hall, 1950); and Loyal Nurse (by Grattan Loyal), who appears behind Thefixer (by Bettor’s Delight, 2018).

Only two horses have completed the rare trifecta of winning the Cup and later becoming both the sire and the damsire of Cup winners. Christian Cullen (1998) sired Mainland Banner (2005) and is the damsire of multiple Bettor’s Delight stars including Thefixer and Lazarus. Lordship (1962, 1966) sired Lord Module and is the damsire of Master Mood. Lordship’s own sire Johnny Globe won the Cup in 1954; while he didn’t add a damsire credit, producing a Cup-winning son and having a Cup-winning great-grandson remains a towering achievement. There is a live chance another name joins the club: Bettor’s Delight could add a damsire tick if Vessem or Merlin lands the 2025 edition.

The foundations of the early Cup pedigrees were laid by powerhouse stallions. Rothschild was the first truly dominant Cup influence, siring Belmont M., Albert H. and Ravenschild, and stamping key descendants such as King Child and the mare Win Soon. In 1912, seven sons, three grandsons and a great-grandson of Rothschild started in the same Cup — a numerical feat only later matched by Light Brigade. That early sire power helped seed families that still matter: Win Soon and Country Belle both trace to the Rothschild line and their branches have produced Cup quality for generations.

The first two decades also belonged to the matriarchs. Marian, Lady Clare, Win Soon, Country Belle, Adelaide Direct, Trix Pointer and the great trotter Reta Peter set a tone that Haughty would later reinforce. Reta Peter remains one of the Cup’s marvels: a trotter who twice beat the pacers (1920–21). Wrackler, the son of Trix Pointer, stands alone as the only horse to win both the New Zealand Cup and the Dominion — a once-in-history gaiting and breeding double. Country Belle founded a branch through her daughter Rustic Maid that produced Chamfer, Tactician, Blaze Away and Loch Moore. And when Haughty (by Nelson Derby, himself a son of Norice, runner-up in the inaugural Cup) won back-to-back editions in the 1940s, it neatly tied the race’s first chapter to a later champion mare.

Family connections added further richness between the wars. Ahuriri (1925–26) was by Cathedral Chimes (1916 winner), making him the first Cup winner sired by a Cup winner. That same vein produced Kohara (1927) and helped the Bryce stable rack up four wins in five years. Full brothers Peter Bingen (1928–29) and Great Bingen (both by Nelson Bingen from Berthabell) dominated their era, a rarity for siblings at that level and a testament to Berthabell’s class as a broodmare. The import Wrack then drove the next shift, siring triple winner Indianapolis (from Estella Amos) as well as Wrackler, and becoming one of the defining stallions of the 1930s and 40s.

A few curios are worth bookmarking. Monte Carlo (1904) is still the oldest Cup winner at 14 and one of the very few feature winners with an unknown dam — almost unthinkable today. Belmont M. (1906) set a record as a 2-year-old at 400 guineas, showing that commercial acumen has long walked hand-in-hand with horsemanship in our code. Indianapolis remains the only three-time Cup winner, his fully imported parentage signalling the moment New Zealand really hit its stride blending international blood with local horsemanship.

Threaded together, these stories show why Cup week is as much about the paddock as the post. The race keeps renewing itself, but the families — from Lady Clare and Trix Pointer through to Berthabell and the Rothschild and Wrack lines — continue to shape who we celebrate on the second Tuesday in November. And with modern giants like Bettor’s Delight now influencing both sides of the page, the next little twist in Cup breeding history may be closer than we think.

In terms of hard numbers, the breeding records tell their own story. Bettor’s Delight leads all sires with six Cup winners, followed by Wrack and Vance Hanover with five apiece, then Johnny Globe, Fallacy and U Scott each on four. The early standard-setters Cathedral Chimes and Rothschild remain in the top tier alongside modern influences like Western Terror and Jack Potts, each responsible for three Cup winners.

On the maternal side, Live Or Die and U Scott share top honours as the most prolific damsires with five winners each, ahead of Smooth Fella and Christian Cullen with four. Others with a lasting presence include Dan Direct, Light Brigade, Noodlum, Dale Axworthy, King Cole and Lumber Dream.

Among the maternal families, the Pride of Lincoln (N1) clan dominates with five Cup winners, while Lady Clare’s (N41) line follows close behind with four — proof of the enduring power of mares that shaped the breed more than a century ago. Behind them sit the Kate by Highland Chief (U301), Bessie B (N2), and Dairy Maid (U30) lines, each with three Cup-winning descendants, joined by several other families that have continued to surface generation after generation.

Together these records confirm what the history books have long hinted — that the New Zealand Cup isn’t just a race, it’s the mirror of a century’s worth of breeding excellence.