Service, scale and playing their part at Nevele R Stud

For more than 50 years, Nevele R Stud has held a prominent place in the New Zealand Standardbred breeding landscape, but in talking with General Manager Ged Mooar, the clearest message is not really about profile or longevity. It is about purpose. In a breeding season where confidence needed nurturing and breeders needed support as much as ever, Nevele R set out to do what it has long tried to do, play its part in the wider industry.

Established in 1973 by Canterbury property developer Wayne Francis and Tasmanian bloodstock agent Bob McArdle, Nevele R was built around the idea of sourcing quality North American stallions with the race performance and bloodlines to strengthen the local breed. Today, under the direction of Wayne’s daughter Helena Francis, the 450-acre Prebbleton property remains one of the largest full-service Standardbred operations in Australasia, serving and foaling down hundreds of mares each season, weaning around 100 foals a year, and continuing to invest in stallions, bloodstock and breeder support. The partnership with Alabar has only strengthened that model, helping Nevele R continue to secure access to leading pacing and trotting sires for New Zealand breeders.

But for all the scale of the operation, Mooar was quick to bring the conversation back to the basics. Service. Communication. Welfare. Listening to breeders. Finding ways to keep mares in the system. In his view, that was where the stud’s 2025/26 season should really be judged.

“Our numbers were held up pretty well this year overall to our stallions.”

That was the starting point, and it was an important one. In a season where every breeding decision carried a little more weight, Nevele R’s roster held together well. Captain Crunch served 70 mares, Pebble Beach 79, Tactical Approach 45 and Vincent 14. On the trotting side, Father Patrick served 44 mares, up 10 on the previous season, Marcoola rose to 20, an increase of 15, and Creatine served nine. Always B Miki, of course, did not shuttle for the 2025/26 season because of injury, and his absence was keenly felt.

For Mooar, there was clear encouragement in the support shown to Captain Crunch, whose momentum has continued to build through the deeds of his early Southern Hemisphere crops.

“Captain Crunch is siring winners every week, some really nice horses out there by him, his numbers of mares served held up, and he’s a very fertile horse. We got good support for him once again.”

That combination of racetrack performance and practical fertility is no small thing in the modern market. Breeders want commercial appeal, but they also want confidence that mares will get in foal and that the resulting stock will be wanted. Captain Crunch is beginning to tick all of those boxes.

The same can be said of Pebble Beach, another horse Mooar spoke warmly about.

“Pebble Beach, couldn’t speak highly enough of him, he served a good book. He’s had three good books now. It’s always good to get nice numbers again in a horse’s third season, and it was fantastic to see how well they sold at the yearling sales.”

That was backed up on both sides of the Tasman, something Nevele R takes real heart from.

“We sold a cracking colt for $115,000, but it’s also pleasing to see that they’ve sold well in the Australian yearling sales as well and are being well received. So he’s off to a really good start.”

The trotting side of the roster remains a major plank of Nevele R’s identity, and Father Patrick continues to provide a level of reliability that is invaluable in that market.

“He’s in the 40s, 44 this year. As you know, he continues to leave particularly very good young two, three and four-year-olds, and he’s continued on and there’s still very good demand for him as a stallion.”

There was also quiet satisfaction in the lift for Marcoola, whose numbers rose sharply.

“Marcoola picked up from the year before, served 20 mares, which was pleasing, and he’s now leaving some winners out there, his oldest crop have just turned four, so for a colonial standing stallion it was good to see an increase in his numbers.”

With Tactical Approach, Mooar’s assessment was measured and realistic.

“That was pleasing enough. We’d obviously like more, but I see the top stallions are in that 40 to 50 range now, and have been for the last couple of years.”

That practical tone ran through the whole conversation. There was no chest-beating, no attempt to oversell the season. Just a clear sense that Nevele R had held its ground well, with a roster that continues to offer breeders genuine depth across both pacing and trotting bloodlines.

The obvious absentee from that line-up was Always B Miki, whose injury-enforced absence left a gap in the market. Mooar made no secret of how eager the stud is to see him return.

“Looking forward to that. I was speaking to Adam Bowden, Principal of Diamond Creek Farm two days ago actually, and they’re really happy with him. He’s going really good in the barn, they’re managing him well, and the plan is that he will return down under and that’s what they’re preparing him for at this stage. Adam expects he will serve over 100 mares up there. So really pleasing to see that, hopefully that will be what will happen because we do miss him.”

And if he does come back, Mooar has little doubt about the level of demand.

“I think there’s a lot of breeders and clients who would have gone to him last year, and he would have got well into three figures, so it’d be great to get him back next season. He’ll be in demand. He’s done such a good job.”

Yet the heart of Nevele R’s 2025/26 story sits a little beyond the individual stallions. What stood out most was the stud’s willingness to respond to breeder pressure points in practical ways. Rather than simply talk about helping the industry, Mooar says Nevele R actively tried to keep mares breeding that may otherwise have sat out the season.

The season also aligned with a number of initiatives aimed at stimulating breeding participation across the industry. Harness Racing New Zealand, under the leadership of CEO Brad Steele, introduced several incentives including the Harness 5000 programme, Paddock To Podium initiative and the Fillies and Mares Credit Scheme, all designed to encourage breeders to keep mares active and strengthen the future racing pipeline. Nevele R complemented those industry-wide measures with its own on-farm support packages for the 2025–26 season.

These included a 50 percent discount on veterinary breeding packages for mares served by Nevele R owned or managed stallions, a period of free grazing for mares arriving at the farm through to the end of their first month, loyalty grazing discounts for permanent mares, and free horse float hire within a 50 kilometre radius to assist with mare transport. Together, the initiatives helped reduce some of the upfront cost pressures facing breeders while encouraging greater participation in the breeding season.

“We leased a selection of mares that had a bit of quality, some quality about them and had things going for them that we took on board. Most of them went to Captain Crunch or Pebble Beach, and they all got in foal, but it just gives those mares that may not have been bred another opportunity.”

The structure of those arrangements was important too.

“There were some nice mares amongst them, and that’ll give the owners of those mares, in the way that we’ve structured the deal, an opportunity to own that progeny if they wish, but we’re pleased to play a part in that, which helped, I’m sure, increase mare numbers because they might not have been bred.”

That phrase, “play a part”, came up more than once and it felt central to how Mooar sees the stud’s role.

The same thinking sat behind a significant lift in activity under the Spreydon Lodge banner. Nevele R’s breeding arm expanded notably this season, breeding 52 mares including those lease arrangements, and putting 23 foals on the ground.

“We also had quite a substantial increase in our own mares being bred as well. Under the banner of Spreydon Lodge, we bred 52 mares this year, including those lease ones, which was somewhat of an increase on the year before. So I’d like to think that we played our part.”

The commercial arm of the operation backed that up at the 2026 National Yearling Sale in Christchurch. Spreydon Lodge finished fifth on the leading vendors list by aggregate in the Christchurch session, selling all eight yearlings it offered for $432,500. That produced an average of $54,063 and included a top price of $140,000 for Lot 151.

Mooar said the nursery continues to balance commercial sales with strengthening its own broodmare band.

“Usually we keep fillies, but we do sell some fillies, particularly when we’ve got families where we already have plenty of fillies and mares from that line. They may go to the sale, but generally we send colts to the sales and retain some ourselves as well. That’s always been the policy.”

The stud has also continued to invest in new bloodlines. One recent addition has been Rhapsody Franco by Art Major, a half-sister to Group 1 winners Ultimate Sniper and Ultimate Machete and a full sister to Major Reality.

Her first foal, a colt by Bettor’s Delight, sold for six figures to Nathan Purdon at the yearling sales.

“When you’re buying quality, you’re getting a return on them.”

“We bought a couple of nice mares just last season as well, well-bred mares, one off the track and one that had a filly foal at foot and was served this year. So always looking for quality and always in the market for that.”

That same approach carries through to the stallion roster, where the partnership with Alabar has helped Nevele R remain competitive in securing new bloodlines.

“We’re always looking for connections up north and throughout Australasia. As you know, we’ve done a lot of business and joint venture arrangements with Alabar, and that’s worked really well with the likes of Pebble Beach, Tactical Approach, Always B Miki and Captain Crunch. It’s something that’s worked really well with the partnership and we’ll always continue to look for the next thing.”

“Obviously we’ve got to look at the financials, and the board and management analyse that. We’re certainly not going to take everything on if we don’t think it stacks up financially, but we will consider everything that comes through on the desk or if we go out hunting for it.”

For Mooar, though, the most important element of the operation remains the people and the standards behind the scenes.

“We’ve got a great team here, led by Sarah Elliott.”

“Horse safety and welfare is paramount. As is communication to the client, and we put a lot of importance on that as a team here. We’ve got a really good team and they know that, and we can’t thank our clients enough.”

Last season we were proud to report a high percentage of in-foal rates on farm with over 88% mares in foal via fresh semen. Some stallions recorded 100% in foal rates. This is important not only to us but for the breeder.

That focus on communication and care underpins much of what Nevele R does day to day. The size of the operation means the stud works closely with a large number of breeders each season, and maintaining strong relationships with those clients remains central to the farm’s philosophy.

It is a culture that has been part of Nevele R since its foundation more than five decades ago. Through the vision of Wayne Francis and Bob McArdle, and under the continued leadership of Helena Francis, the stud has remained deeply embedded in the New Zealand breeding industry while continuing to evolve with it.

That includes ongoing investment in stallions, support for race sponsorship and the continued prominence of the Nevele R Fillies Series, which reaches its 26th year this season.

Across stallions, broodmares and yearlings, the operation continues to play a significant role in the industry’s breeding pipeline. And in a season where supporting breeders mattered as much as ever, Mooar believes the farm stayed true to the role it has long held.

“We just wanted to play our part in the industry.”

For Nevele R, that part remains a significant one.