Kingsclere Stables

18/10/2025

ARABIAN SONGBIRD UPSTAGES TARDELLI IN CAMBRIDGE SHOWDOWN

By Richard Edmunds, LOVERACING.NZ News Desk

Stephen Marsh ran rampant with wins in four of the first seven races at Ellerslie on Saturday, but his hottest favourite of the day had to settle for a placing as another Cambridge stable stole the show.

The Roger James and Robert Wellwood-trained Arabian Songbird took flight from the back of the field to upstage Tardelli in the $65,000 Elsdon Park (1400m).

Marsh had been an unstoppable force until that point of the afternoon, winning the Gr.2 Windsor Park Stud Soliloquy Stakes (1400m) by almost seven lengths with Well Written along with undercard victories by Miss Fladgate, Swiss Prince and On The Town.

“Someone had to stop him,” Wellwood quipped. “But I have to give a big shout out to Cambridge. Today’s results are testament to the quality of training centre we work at.”

While all eyes were on Tardelli following his dominant first-up victory over the same course and distance as Saturday’s race, Arabian Songbird also boasted a one-from-one record so far this season. She stormed home to take out a 1300m Rating 75 on September 6.

The Pierro mare was sent out as a distant second favourite at $5.70 on Saturday while Tardelli jumped at $1.90. The race appeared to be following that script as Tardelli cruised to the lead with 300m to run, but then Arabian Songbird turned that on its head.

After rounding the home turn with only two horses behind her, Arabian Songbird was angled to the outside by jockey Masa Hashizume and let rip. Capitalising on her 6kg advantage at the weights, she swept past Tardelli in the final 100m and went on to win by three-quarters of a length. The favourite’s stablemate Bourbon Empress also edged him out to fill the runner-up position.

Arabian Songbird has now had 10 starts for five wins, two placings and $158,025 in stakes for owners Barneswood Farm. Four of those wins have come from only five appearances at Ellerslie.

“With the prize-money on offer here and the fantastic surface to race on, it’s a pretty good track to like,” Wellwood said.

“She was very impressive today. Masa gave her a patient ride and she showed a wonderful turn of foot.

“She’s an exciting mare and we’ve got a lot of options available to us from here. We’ll have a team talk with Barneswood Farm and come up with a plan. We could take her to Riccarton for the TAB Mile (Gr.3, 1600m), or there’s the Breeders’ Stakes (Gr.2, 1400m) at Pukekohe and even the possibility of a Group One at Trentham (TAB Mufhasa Classic, 1600m). We’ve got a lot to look forward to, wherever we end up going with her.”

Hashizume now boasts a four-from-five record with Arabian Songbird.

“She’s a fantastic mare, she’s very special,” he said. “She’s just the easiest horse to ride.

“The favourite is a good horse, but I knew he had a lot to weight to carry with 60.5kg. I knew from quite early in the straight that we were going to catch him.”

Arabian Songbird was bred by Jamieson Park and is by Pierro out of Rare Delight, which makes her a half-sister to the Group Two performer Saint Alice.

That mare raced in the tangerine and white colours of Barneswood Farm, who went back to the same well and bought Arabian Songbird for $260,000 from Book 1 of Karaka 2022. – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk.

📸: Arabian Songbird stormed home from the back of the field to win the Elsdon Park 1400. Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images)

18/10/2025

🎥 Robert talks future plans for Arabian Songbird, and a shout out to WTR at Cambridge Racecourse.

18/10/2025

Wonderful to get another win at Ellerslie with Arabian Songbird taking out the Elsdon Park Handicap 1400.

Congratulations to owners Sarah Green and Ger Beemsterboer and thanks to Masa Hashizume for the winning ride.

10/10/2025

Hasstorock gets her win at just her second raceday start. A beautiful ride by George Rooke, ridden handy to then break away and score by 2 lengths at Taupo today.

An exciting filly to follow going forward into the summer months for her ownership group R & CM Hasall Family Trust.

Big congratulations to breeder Gordon Cunningham and all connections.

Curraghmore

03/10/2025

🤞🏻🤞🏻

Three Kiwi-trained contenders, one Melbourne Cup dream 🏆

Tomorrow at Flemington, three New Zealand-trained stayers will chase the ultimate prize, a Golden Ticket into the Gr.1 Lexus Melbourne Cup when they line up in the Gr.3 Bart Cummings.

Mark Twain – Prepared by Roger James & Robert Wellwood of Kingsclere Stables, the son of 2009 Cup hero Shocking carries the bloodlines of a champion.

Mister Wolfgang (Wolfgang) – The Peter & Shaun McKay Racing -trained stayer stamped his staying credentials with victory in the Gr.3 Wellington Cup earlier this year, proving he thrives over the longer distances.

Trav – The durable stayer from Raymond Connors’ stable, who claimed the Gr.2 Auckland Cup, adds further Kiwi firepower to the line-up, partnered by jockey Masa Hashizume.

With a coveted Cup berth on the line, all eyes will be on Flemington to see if one of these Kiwi raiders can book their place in the race that stops a nation 🇳🇿

23/09/2025

OPPORTUNITY FOR WELL-BRED 3YO TO SHINE

Regally bred c**t Lydiard Park will have conditions more in his favour on Wednesday to add performance to his pedigree.

The son of Wootton Bassett will make his second appearance when he steps out in the TCL Earthworks Maiden (1500m) on the synthetic track at Cambridge.

Trained by Roger James and Robert Wellwood, the three-year-old finished fifth on debut earlier this month at Ruakaka where he raced greenly and was unsuited by the rain-affected going.

“We chanced our arm going there off the one soft trial and it didn’t all go his way, we thought it was a pass mark and certainly hoping to see a bit more on Wednesday,” Wellwood said.

Lydiard Park was a $200,000 purchase at New Zealand Bloodstock’s Ready to Run Sale where he was offered through Woburn Farm’s draft.

He is out of the Northern Meteor mare Ciarlet, a sister to multiple Group One winner and influential sire Zoustar.

“He’s a very nice c**t and a horse that needs a good track. We had options for him next week but the way the weather is we’ll go to the synthetic where we know we’ll get a good surface,” Wellwood said.

“Hopefully, that gets him back on track to look at some nice three-year-old races, but he has to step up and we’re looking forward to it.”

Stablemate Russian Blues will run in the Cambridge Equine Hospital Maiden (970m) off the back of consecutive fourths at her first two outings.

“She had a long time off after she got injured at two, she had trialled up very well,” Wellwood said.

“She’s a big, robust filly and the fitness is there now, and she should go a bold race.”

Meanwhile, the stable is happy with the progress of Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) hope Mark Twain after two outings in Australia at distances well below his best.

“We were happy with his run against Via Sistina and company (Gr.1 Makybe Diva Stakes, 1600m) and at Caulfield (Gr.3 Naturalism Stakes, 2000m),” Wellwood said.

“He raced a bit more dourly and like a horse that needs a mile and a-half, which he’ll get next start in The Bart Cummings (Gr.3, 2500m) on October 4.”

Closer to home this week, the stable has accepted with two runners at Otaki on Friday with Spellbound in the Vets On Riverbank 2YO (800m) and Popsicles in the Aquashield Roofing Maiden (1600m), but their involvement will depend on track conditions.

“We’ll try and leave it to the last minute to make a call, but the weather doesn’t look good,” Wellwood said.

“He (Spellbound) is a horse that has showed a lot at the trials at Ellerslie and Popsicles handles a wet track to some degree, she raced on a very heavy track at Matamata last start and certainly wanted it better than that.”

By Paul Vetisse LOVERACING.NZ News Desk

23/09/2025

👀 Roger James sat down with our good friends at OTI Racing for a chat featured in the OTI Gazette. 👇

In this edition of the Gazette, we sit down for an in-depth conversation with top New Zealand trainer Roger James, who is preparing OTI Cup contender Mark

16/09/2025

🤞🇳🇿🏆

Weights are out!💥OTI’s Cup Dreams remain alive for:

🏆Deakin – Melbourne Cup 52kg | Caulfield Cup 54kg Stokes Racing
🏆Mark Twain – Melbourne Cup 51kg | Caulfield Cup 52.5kg Kingsclere Stables
🏆Athabascan – Melbourne Cup 51.5kg | Caulfield Cup 53.5kg John O'Shea Racing
🏆Golden Century – Melbourne Cup 51kg | Caulfield Cup 51kg Chris Waller Racing

The spring carnival excitement is certainly building!🔥 Racing Victoria Racing.com

10/09/2025

Fairy Dream’s maiden win may have meant slightly more to one half of the training partnership today! What a great achievement for Roger James to have trained his 1300th domestic winner alongside being the most successful trainer in the New Zealand Derby.🐎

Congratulations to Roger James, who celebrated a special milestone today with his 1300th domestic victory as Fairy Dream stormed home on the Cambridge Synthetic under jockey George Rooke 😍

From his Kingsclere Stables base, James has produced memorable moments, including a record six New Zealand Derby triumphs with stars such as Tidal Light, Zonda, Silent Achiever, and, most recently, Orchestral in partnership with Robert Wellwood.

10/09/2025

Fairy Dream gets a dream run to take out her first start today at WTR at Cambridge Racecourse.

A beautiful ride by George Rooke, gave the Proisir filly all favors to get over the top of a handy field.

Congratulations to her owners, Colin and Helen Litt. Here’s to more success with this exciting filly. 🤞🏻🧚🏻‍♀️

06/09/2025

Roger shares his thoughts on Trackside NZ post Arabian Songbird’s win.

06/09/2025

Great to be back winning at The Big E on a Group One day. Arabian Songbird got the job done with ease, beating a good field.

Thanks the Masa Hashizume for the good ride and congratulations to the Barneswood Farm Ltd team.