Velocious aims for Aussie success in Listed Queensland race
By Paul Vettise, LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
Velocious will bid to add Australian black type to her impressive domestic record when she steps out at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
The Stephen Marsh-trained daughter of Written Tycoon will run in the Listed U & U Queensland Day Stakes (1200m) with multiple Group
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
6 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Injunction ‘last lifeline' for racing
File photo: Stephen Jaquiery A High Court interim injunction is the "last lifeline" left for the greyhound racing industry, a former trainer says. Greyhound Racing New Zealand is seeking the injunction to stop the government's plan to end greyhound racing in New Zealand. The hearing will be held in Wellington tomorrow. In December last year, Racing Minister Winston Peters announced the government's 20-month plan to wind down the industry to enable the re-homing of racing dogs and to provide a transition period for people involved in the industry. The first race of what could be New Zealand's last season took place last Wednesday. There are six trainers in Southland and Otago and about 40 greyhounds, but not all the dogs race. Southland Greyhound Racing secretary-manager Bronwyn Eade said an interim injunction could buy the industry some time. If the injunction was successful it would stop the process of closing down the industry until a court hearing could be held. "There's a little bit of hope." It would also allow racing to continue beyond July next year when it was scheduled to stop which would extend the time trainers and owners could earn an income, Mrs Eade said. When there was no more racing the owners would be left with the dogs. "The government has said there won't be any compensation for the greyhound owners and trainers." Throughout the country there were about 1500 dogs that would need to be re-homed, Mrs Eade said. Every year about 670 dogs were re-homed at a cost of more than $8 million to Greyhound New Zealand. "You take the racing away, how is that going to be funded?" While the prospect of the sport ending was sad, people were more angry than anything else, she said. Animal welfare was the reason given but the industry had made big improvements in the past eight years, Mrs Eade said. It was hard to know why the government had decided the dogs were not well looked after when the opposite was true, she said. What she found even more puzzling was why the government would continue to allow New Zealanders to bet on Australian greyhound races, which equated to about $48m gross revenue coming into the economy. "There's a double standard and its hypocritical." She said the Australian dogs were not better cared for because New Zealand dogs were the most regulated greyhounds she knew of anywhere in the world. To add insult to injury, the government planned to requisition $15m of Greyhound New Zealand's money. To take money from an incorporated society the government had to prove there was financial misconduct, insolvency or failure to submit returns, she said. As there was no evidence of this the government would need to "fabricate a new law" to allow the money to be taken, Mrs Eade said.
NZ Herald
9 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Results season confidence drives NZ sharemarket up
'New Zealand is still not really into the heart of results season, so I think it's pretty much still wait-and-see mode ahead of results,' Goodson said. 'There was a bit of a strange lead from the US overnight. Their market rallied quite strongly despite the fact that inflation data was a touch higher than expected.' On the main board, Goodson pointed to Napier Port's strong nine-month result, despite its share price falling 1.89% to $3.12. The business reported its revenue increased 16.4% to $42.5m from $36.5m in the same period last year. 'They're clearly seeing extremely good export volumes at present, so they've reiterated guidance at the top end of their guidance range. 'The stock has been very strong in recent months, partly on the improved macro outlook, partly on index inclusions, but I think that result certainly strengthened the name.' Elsewhere, Infratil had a minor independent valuation update. Its share price dipped 0.005c to $11.78. Vital Healthcare Property Trust's share price lifted 0.51% to $1.99 after it released its full-year financials. Goodson said Vital's gearing was relatively high at almost 42% on a committed basis, with no significant progress on further investments. 'The Australian healthcare property sector is in a real state of turmoil at the moment due to the receivership of Healthscope, the second-largest hospital chain in Australia. 'Investors just have some question marks about the rental affordability for some of the hospital tenants and the valuations attached to some of the hospital assets in Australia.' Meanwhile, My Food Bag investors sold off in high volume today after the company gave an update to the market at its annual general meeting. While the business's revenue growth continued – with sales up 3.8% over the first four months of trading compared with the same period last year – gross margins for the first half of 2026 were expected to be below those for the first half of this year because its price increases have lagged food price inflation. My Food Bag shares fell 4% or 1c to 24c after 545,194 shares changed hands. Wall Street stocks surged to fresh records on Tuesday local time after US data showed stable inflation despite worries over President Donald Trump's tariffs, lifting expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. Major indices spent the entire session in positive territory, with both the broad-based S&P 500 and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index finishing at fresh records. 'We're in a bull market,' said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments. 'The bulls are strong and getting stronger.' The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 1.1% at 44,458.61. The S&P 500 also gained 1.1% to 6445.76, while the Nasdaq jumped 1.4% to 21,681.90. The consumer price index rose 2.7% from a year ago in July, the same rate as in June. – Additional reporting AFP Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.
Techday NZ
9 hours ago
- Techday NZ
ThinkGo launches to guide New Zealand SaaS startups to scale
Auckland-based SaaS startup ThinkGo has been launched to provide growth diagnostic tools tailored for early-stage software companies in New Zealand. ThinkGo is the brainchild of Devin Deen, a former US Marine and Silicon Valley executive who has now settled in New Zealand. Drawing on his international experience, Deen aims to address what he describes as "the messy middle" – the stage in a startup's journey that occurs after product launch but before substantial traction has been achieved. Reflecting on the typical path of early-stage SaaS companies, Deen commented on the challenges faced by founders as they navigate this uncertain period. "It's not the product that kills momentum, often it's the chaos around it," says Deen. "ThinkGo is about helping founders focus on what matters, when it matters." ThinkGo offers a practical system to shift founders from confusion to clarity. Deen explained, "It's that point where you've launched something, you've got a few customers, and now the real work begins. Suddenly, you need structure but not too much. You need strategy but not a 60-page slide deck. That's where most founders get stuck." The toolset leverages established frameworks from organisations such as Strategyzer, The Chasm Group, and Lean Startup. "There are plenty of smart models out there," says Deen. "The trick is making them usable by real people, under real pressure." From military to SaaS Deen's background includes graduating from the US Naval Academy and serving as a communications officer in the US Marine Corps. He credits his military experience with instilling discipline and a systems-based approach, which has proven relevant in the unpredictable world of startup growth. After leaving the military, Deen entered the technology sector, joining a SaaS startup in San Jose during the dot-com boom. Reflecting on this period, he said, "I've been around technology pretty much my whole life – though more on the application of technology side. At that startup, I led the customer success team, onboarding new clients, and that's when I really saw how critical customer experience is - especially with early adopters." This insight has become foundational to ThinkGo's development philosophy. "The product's one side, but it's the stuff around it that really counts and helps you attract and retain customers. Marketing, sales, pricing, customer care. And more than that, it starts with people and culture." Bringing global experience to New Zealand After relocating to New Zealand, Deen became active in the country's tech ecosystem, supporting the growth of several consultancies and software companies. Notably, he assisted in the international expansion of which saw its headquarters move to Austin, Texas. He also played a role in the sale of a local tech firm to an Australian company, which was subsequently absorbed by a multinational. "We had about 170 people in our New Zealand business, around 30 of those were in my team. The Aussie acquisition made sense strategically - both companies had similar growth ambitions and cultures. But when our still-forming company was absorbed by the multinational, these were so different it dampened the fire of growth." This experience reinforced Deen's belief in the importance of structure and culture as growth drivers, principles which are now embedded into ThinkGo's approach. Advice for startup founders With a career spanning over 25 years in startups, SaaS, and consulting, Deen encourages founders to focus on clarity over complexity. "Start with product-market fit, then move to go-to-market fit," he says. "That progression is where the real traction happens." He also advises caution against premature optimisation and overengineering. "Especially in software. Your early adopters are giving you the clearest signals. You've got to build with them, listen to them, and iterate fast." Deen highlighted the necessity of reviews and changes as startups scale. "Tools that help get from zero to USD $1 million in revenue, he notes, don't always take you to USD $30 million. When you feel the speed wobbles in your tools, replace them," he says. "But up to that point, my goal is to help founders get there with more confidence and less chaos." The future for ThinkGo ThinkGo represents the culmination of Deen's global experience in startups and his systems-based approach to business growth. With New Zealand's technology sector undergoing continual development, he intends for ThinkGo to assist local founders in scaling their companies whilst maintaining clarity and cultural cohesion.
