Wai Eyre Farm preparing for another innovative breeding season

For more than four decades Wai Eyre Farm in North Canterbury has been providing the very best in equine care and breeding services to the harness racing community.

A farm built on family values, Farm Manager Darryl Brown has been determined to continue to build on the legacy his late father, Mike Brown, started all those years ago.

After a record breeding season in 2025, Wai Eyre Farm has committed to carry on the momentum as they prepare for the season ahead.

Darryl led the charge last year in ensuring breeders were receiving every opportunity and a helping hand to have incentives to put their mare in foal, refusing to simply accept the continuing decline in numbers and instead try and turn it around.

“There had been a lot of talk from breeders that it was simply becoming too expensive to breed their mares, and we were in danger of seeing our breeding numbers fall again,” said Darryl.

“I felt it was time that the breeders felt like they were being supported, instead of constantly having to pay large fees on top of their service prices.”

Thinking outside the square resulted in brand new initiatives offered by Wai Eyre Farm for breeders, and for those that used Wai Eyre Farm services and supported their stallions were offered special inclusions and rates.

Working fees were included in all service fees for mares served on farm by fresh stallions, and the service fee for Lazarus also included the vet package.

This is something that will continue in the upcoming breeding season as part of the stud’s commitment to supporting breeders and the industry.

Darryl also started the ‘Lease To Buy

’ programme, where he invited owners to have their mare leased by Wai Eyre Farm and put in foal.

The deal being that when the resulting foal was eventually weaned, the owner of the mare had the first right of purchase on that foal. Taking the risk out of the breeding process for them, also ensuring that well-bred mares were not left empty.

This received a huge response, but it also meant that Wai Eyre Farm took on the full costs for the mare and foal until weaning. It was something Brown was willing to take on, to stop the breeding number declining again nationally.

“We were thrilled to be offered some wonderful broodmares for the Lease To Buy scheme, and while we couldn’t take them all the response was huge and we thank those who offered their mares to us,” Darryl said.

“The rewarding part is that those mares that would have otherwise not been bred from now have foals due to arrive, and the mare’s owner gets an opportunity to purchase a weanling without taking on all of the initial costs.”

“It does mean we are taking on the risk that they won’t buy them back, but the main thing is for us that’s one more foal born that may not have been bred.”

In what was a record-breaking year, over 300 mares were served on the farm last year, that number doubled on the previous year’s total, and so too did the foaling number, with just under 300 mares foaling at Wai Eyre Farm.

The national number of individual mares served in 2025 was 1670, up on 1571 in the previous year.

Set on 800 acres of lush pasture nestled next to the Waimakariri River in Canterbury, Wai Eyre Farm provides agistment for horses of all stages of life, from young stock to spelling racehorses.

On farm irrigation lends itself perfectly to the rich fertile soil on the property, meaning there is quality year-round pasture available.

Now the first foal has arrived safely on the ground, the team at Wai Eyre Farm have been busy preparing for an influx of mares to arrive for foaling and breeding duties.

Mares that are in foal on farm have had their health and progress checked ahead of foaling by Andrew Bailey of Rangiora Vet Clinic, and every effort is made to ensure the wellbeing and health of the mares and foals are on track.

Andrew is widely regarded as a respected and talented equine vet, with vast experience and success with frozen semen breeding and embryo transfer services.

The ongoing working relationship with Andrew and his staff means that swift and experienced vet care is available to all horses residing at Wai Eyre Farm, especially during the busy breeding season.

The dedicated and skilled team at Wai Eyre Farm includes Anna Murphy, who brings a wealth of experience to her role with over 20 years-experience in stud specialist work.

She started her career with Wai Eyre Farm in 2006 and has come full circle back to the farm, now as Stud Manager.

When it comes to attention to detail and welfare of the horses on farm, Anna and her team are invested deeply. Ensuring every horse there is treated with the very best care and handling.

The team is supported by Office Manager Lisa Clark, who has her own life-long passion for horses and has background in the Show Hunter jumping world at a local and national level, also breeding her own sport horses.

Lisa joined the team in 2014 and over the years has built a strong and trusted relationship with clients, overseeing accounts, bookings and customer contact.

Over the busy breeding season the farm provides 24-7 foal watch services, with staff on site around the clock and monitoring mares as they prepare and start the foaling process.

Wai Eyre Farm also provides a one stop shop from breeding to foaling to weaning, offering specialist weaning care and education for young horses on farm.

Along with being a semen transport base, Darryl and his team at Wai Eyre Farm have also commenced freezing semen for export from the on-farm stallions, ensuring that if for any reason semen can’t be exported there is a supply available.

Wai Eyre Farm is the only stud in the South Island to freeze semen for export.

Wai Eyre Farm have also ensured this season that the partnership with Yabby Dam Farms continues to go from strength to strength.

After standing Breeders Crown winner On A Streak last season at Wai Eyre Farm, Yabby Dam Farms have furthered their support by sending multiple European Group winner, Classic Connection, and Enchauffour, a 2YO Breeders Crown Champion and a son of Volstead, to stand in Canterbury in 2026.

Classic Connection

Yabby Dam Farm also recently announced the launch of a new Classic race for two-year-old trotters to be held in New Zealand in 2030 worth $75,000, where all foals sired by their stallions (fresh or frozen) will be eligible.

That race will coincide with similar races launched by Yabby Dam Farms in Australia, in which the New Zealand bred foals will also be able to compete in.  

Enchauffour

To celebrate this, they are offering an early booking discount of 20% until the end of September on their fresh stallions standing on farm at Wai Eyre.

To obtain the discount breeders need to book their mare, have their service contract signed, and pay the semen collection and processing fee of $250+gst before September 30th, 2026.

Resident pacing stallions Lazarus and US Captain complement an outstanding roster of stallions on farm this season.

Interest in the living legend, Lazarus, has been buoyed by the recent success of The Lazarus Effect, who guaranteed himself a start in the New Zealand Cup with his Maurice Holmes Vase win at Addington recently.

Lazarus

Fellow Lazarus five-year-old Jeremiah is also nominated for the New Zealand Cup this year, and has started his campaign with promising performances in the North Island.

Remarkably, The Lazarus Effect and Jeremiah are from a crop of just 15 five-year-olds in New Zealand, once again highlighting the impressive strike rate Lazarus has at stud.

While US Captain will stand his second season in New Zealand, after serving an impressive book of 94 mares last year – the third highest supported stallion in the country.

The son of World Champions Captaintreacherous and American Jewel is one hundred percent New Zealand owned, in partnership between Wai Eyre Farm and Macca Lodge in Southland.

He has seven foals of racing age in the United States, all of which have either raced or trialled to date, and two have won.

Including the exciting two-year-old Hawaiian Warfare (4 starts, 3 wins, 1 third), who is Delaware Sire Stakes bound at the end of September.

US Captain

Standing at Wai Eyre Stud at exceptional value again is trotting sire, Carlton.

The son of Dream Vacation and Love You mare, Another Love, has had a season to remember already.

With five starters for three individual winners so far in 2026, including Brooks Spirit (2 starts, 1 win, 1 second) who is Trotting Derby bound later in the year.

He has also produced talented three-year-old filly, Just For Today (3 starts, 2 wins), and she is aiming to take on the Trotting Oaks as well.

From small crops Carlton continues to leave well mannered, well gaited horses who get up and run early.

Carlton

The exciting stallion roster and number of foals due to arrive has the Wai Eyre Farm team excited about the future, but they know that the hard work isn’t over and are committed to building on the momentum of last year.

“We are once again committed to making a difference to the industry, we know that last year will be hard to top but we are determined to keep working with breeders to help them achieve their goals,” said Darryl.

“Being able to partner with Yabby Dam Farms and Macca Lodge means we are all able to work together to offer incentives that actually help keep breeding affordable.”

Breeders are encouraged to speak to the team at Wai Eyre Farm to find out more about their services and packages, as every effort is taken to ensure the breeding process is as efficient and affordable as possible.

They continue to lead the way when it comes to innovative breeding options and plans, to ensure the breeding industry doesn’t just survive, that it thrives for those already committed to it and for the future racing generations to come.