Meg Wade has made Australian endurance riding history by taking a fourth win in the prestigious annual Tom Quilty endurance ride held in Nanango Queensland. This year's win aboard China Doll has further emphasized Meg's dominance of this event with each of her four wins being taken out in partnership with four different horses. Meg and China Doll found themselves 45minutes behind the leader and made up enough ground to take the win by 5 minutes. Meg Wade and Chris Gates have been breeding and training internationally competitive endurance horses for the past 20 years under the Castlebar banner. China Doll has been carefully brought along by Meg to reach international stardom and will go on to compete in the World Endurance Championships later this year in Malaysia. To top off a sensational weekend China Doll was awarded Best Conditioned horse and the Castlebar team won the overall teams event. .

Two horses, two trainers, a one-two race finish...and one feed! In the 149th running of the million-dollar Queen's Plate at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Not Bourbon crossed the finish line in first place, closely followed by Ginger Brew for second place. Trained by Roger Attfield and Brian Lynch, respectively, the horses led a field of 14 in this mile-and-a-quarter first jewel of Canada's Triple Crown. Both trainers use race-formulated feeds from KER Team Member Hallway Feeds.

At the Plantation Field Horse Trials in Unionville, Pennsylvania, top rider Phillip Dutton scored well in several divisions. Phillip Dutton finished in fifth place on Clifton Imperial in the CIC Two-star; claimed second and fourth places riding Bailey Wick and Loose 'N Cool in the CIC Three-star; and rode Che Kairo to a fourth-place record in the Advanced division. Dutton also piloted Castle Jordan to a win in the Open Intermediate-A section. Dutton is sponsored by KER and its Team Member Pennfield Feeds.

Kentucky Equine Research would like to congratulate the winners at the recent Australian Champion Racehorse Awards. KER has for many years provided a number of the leading Thoroughbred studs with nutrition advice and consultation services and would like to congratulate these studs for breeding or raising champion athletes. The Arrowfield-bred Weekend Hussler took the Horse of the Year title after completing the 2007-2008 season with an incredible six Group 1 victories. The Chatswood-reared Apache Cat took home the Champion Sprinter award. For the third consecutive season, the Meringo Stud-bred Takeover Target was awarded the International Champion award and the Colin Little-trained El Segundo took the title of Champion Middle Distance Horse.

David Hayes has been granted one of the greatest accolades any Thoroughbred trainer in Australia can achieve-induction into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. Having taken the reins of the family business in 1990, David has worked to become one of the most successful trainers in both Australia and Hong Kong and now stands alongside his father in the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. David has for many years consulted with KER's director of nutrition Dr. Peter Huntington as to the latest and most effective feeding practices to assist his horses in achieving their greatest athletic potential.

KER would like to wish all associated studs, trainers and owners the best of luck in the 2008-2009 season.

Saracen Horse Feeds, KER's exclusive Team Member in the UK, achieved fantastic success at the 2008 Doncaster Bloodstock St Leger Yearling Sales, the last week of August, feeding the top-selling colt.

Consigned by Charlie and Tracy Vigors' Hillwood Stud, the colt by Dubawi achieved the highest price of the sale at £220,000, which was also the second highest price ever to be achieved in the history of the St Leger Yearling Sales.

The colt was purchased as a weanling and during his time at Hillwood, was fed Saracen's Level Grow before transitioning onto Prep 14 and Equi-Jewel leading up to the sales. Level Grow is a high-fat, high-fiber feed specially formulated for growing horses, while Prep 14 is one of the most popular feeds for preparing yearlings for the sale ring. Both Level Grow and Prep 14 contain high levels of oils and super-fibres to provide palatable calories, thereby reducing the reliance on starch in the ration. In addition, both feeds are fortified with Stamm 30, a vitamin and mineral supplement. Equi-Jewel, KER's high-fat stabilized rice bran, has become somewhat of a trade secret in the Thoroughbred yearling industry for its incredible ability to "put a topline" on even the most difficult of yearlings. Prep 14, in conjunction with Equi-Jewel, consistently produces yearlings that are well-toned with excellent toplines, muscle definition and shiny coats during their sales preparation.

KER wishes Saracen well for the upcoming yearling sale season, which includes the Tattersalls and Doncaster Bloodstock October Yearling Sales.

A Dubawi colt prepared by Hillwood Stud sold for £220,000 at the recent Doncaster Bloodstock St Leger Yearling Sales. The colt was fed KER-formulated feeds leading up to the sale.

Megan Jones and Irish Jester crossing the finish line on cross-country.

On the winners podium.
(photo by: Peter Jones)

KER-sponsored rider Megan Jones crystallized her Olympic dream by being the highest placed rider on the Australian Eventing Team, leading the squad to an outstanding silver medal victory at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. A precisely ridden dressage test on the first day saw Megan and Jester hold a very handy position in third place on a score of 35.40, just behind Ingrid Klimke of Germany and fellow teammate Lucinda Fredericks. A fast and clear cross-country round allowed Megan to jump one place to hold second coming into the show-jumping phase the following day. After the second day of competition, the scores of the top eight horse and rider combinations were extremely close with very few points separating the riders. An unfortunate rail in the show jumping saw Megan and Jester drop two places in the final standings to fourth individually but still held on to lead Australia to a team silver medal.

The story of Megan and Jester is a truly inspiring one. Megan bred the little grey Irish Sport Horse gelding by Irish Enough and out of Kirby Park Yellow Empress at her family property located in Hanhdorf, South Australia. An important part of Jester's preparation was ensuring that he was in excellent body condition and well hydrated for the humid conditions of Hong Kong. Jester's diet, both whilst training and in competition, combines KER-formulated Barastoc Cool Command and quality forage and electrolytes.