Cover image courtesy of Kenton Wright (Race Images)
Waikato Stud have announced that recently retired G1 Sistema Stakes winner Return To Conquer will be joining their roster in 2026. The son of Snitzel is the latest stallion to emerge from Te Akau Racing, having worn the same blue and orange colours as successful young sire Sword Of State, Cool Aza Beel (NZ), Xtravagant (NZ), Noverre (NZ), and Move To Strike.
A kind colt into a million dollar prospect
Bred by Philip Campbell and Mike Howard at Blue Gum Farm, Return To Conquer is the second foal out of Vaujany (Lonhro), an unraced full sister to G2 Surround Stakes winner Ghisoni, dam of Listed-winner Renosu (Exceed And Excel), as well as a half-sister to stakes-performed, six-time winning metropolitan sprinter Andermatt (Snitzel) and Aspen (Exceed And Excel), dam of G3 Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes winner Larkspur Run (Shamardal {USA}).
Return To Conquer as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Second dam Portillo (Red Ransom {USA}) also won the Surround and was placed in both the G1 Golden Slipper Stakes and the G1 Flight Stakes, and is a half-sister to G1 Galaxy Handicap winner Snowland (Snippets) and sire Snippetson.
Blue Gum principal Sean Dingwall shared that the son of four-time Champion Sire Snitzel was always a nice foal, but that the older he got, the more he blossomed.
“As he grew into his weanling stage, he became exceptional,” Dingwall said. “He always had a great walk and a great manner about him. He always had a very good temperament and he got better with age.”
Sean Dingwall | Image courtesy of Blue Gum Farm
Offered in Blue Gum’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale draft in 2024, Return To Conquer was a popular horse on complex and Te Akau principal David Ellis CNZM (BAFNZ) had to reach to $1.3 million to secure the colt.
“One of the things that everyone loved about him was he was probably as close to Snitzel as anyone had ever seen,” Dingwall said. “He was never a big horse, but he was always very Snitzel. He always had a very good eye, and was a very kind horse in general as well. That is what sold him - every time he came out to walk, he walked the same. He did everything we asked of him. He was just there to please, always.”
"One of the things that everyone loved about him (Return To Conquer) was he was probably as close to Snitzel as anyone had ever seen." - Sean Dingwall
“From the moment I first inspected him at the Magic Millions' sale, he stood out,” said Ellis. “He was a magnificent individual - strong, athletic and beautifully balanced - with the pedigree to match.”
David Ellis | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
"He (Return To Conquer) was a magnificent individual - strong, athletic and beautifully balanced - with the pedigree to match." - Davis Ellis
With a page thick with black-type and the physical to match, it isn’t hard to understand what drove more than one bidder to push past the seven-figure barrier.
Talented from the start
Entrusted to Te Akau trainers Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson, Return To Conquer was amongst the first batch of 2-year-olds to trial in his crop, stepping out to secure victory by a neck on August 6 in 2024. The colt would win his next two trials before debuting in the Listed Counties Challenge Stakes where he was a dominant winner by two and a half lengths.
He returned the following January to remain undefeated at the trials, before adding the G3 Colin Jillings 2YO Classic and the G3 Matamata Slipper - a race also won by leading first season sire Sword Of State - to his record in February.
Sam Bergerson | Image courtesy of Trish Dunell
“He was always very natural and showed us plenty of talent from day one,” said Bergerson. “He always did things very effortlessly. His temperament always held him in good stead. He was just so straightforward to train, especially as a young horse and being a colt where you may expect him to do the odd thing wrong, but he just never seemed to falter on anything we asked of him.
“The more we did with him, the better he got. He just knew what he was there for.”
"The more we did with him (Return To Conquer), the better he got." - Sam Bergerson
Return To Conquer’s New Zealand career culminated in the G1 Sistema Stakes in March, where he took command of the race with 150 metres left to run and fended off a late challenge from Landlock (Merchant Navy) to remain unbeaten. He joins Sword Of State and Cool Aza Beel as recent winners who have gone on to success at stud, both of whom are also graduates of Te Akau.
“It was a massively exciting journey for the team here at home and especially myself,” Bergerson said. “He's always going to hold a really sort of special place in my heart - there have been many stallions to come out of Te Akau, but he is the first that I have trained. He is very special, and I am excited for New Zealand that he is coming home to stud.”
"He's always going to hold a really sort of special place in my heart ... he is the first (stallion) that I have trained." - Sam Bergerson
Injury prevented Return To Conquer from pursuing an Australian campaign as intended, but he signs off his career unbeaten by a single horse in a trial or on race day.
Return To Conquer winning the G1 Sistema Stakes | Image courtesy of Kenton Wright (Race Images)
“He developed into an elite racehorse under Mark (Walker) and Sam's (Bergerson) guidance, retiring unbeaten in four starts,” said Ellis. “All four of his victories were at stakes level, including the G1 Sistema Stakes. Records like that are seldom found.”
“Just as importantly, he has a beautiful temperament and a real presence about him. We buy these well-bred colts to compete and win at the highest level and Return To Conquer did exactly that. To see him retire unbeaten and now head the renowned Waikato Stud is immensely satisfying - it gives him a tremendous platform, and it is a wonderful result for the New Zealand breeding industry.”
The right fit for New Zealand
“We’re very excited and proud to stand such a top-class racehorse with a beautiful pedigree and impeccable looks,” said Waikato Stud principal Mark Chittick. “He will complement our broodmare band extremely well and to have Kia Ora Stud remain in him adds to the excitement; the Australasian industry will get every opportunity to support him at this introductory fee.
"We’re very excited and proud to stand such a top-class racehorse with a beautiful pedigree and impeccable looks." - Mark Chittick
“To stand a horse bought by one of the best judges in the industry is a real privilege, and it’s a testament to the Te Akau Racing team to have him retire with an unbeaten stakes record.”
Mark Chittick | Image courtesy of Waikato Stud
Harry and George Chittick visited Return To Conquer at the Te Akau Cranbourne base ahead of the stud’s announcement and were pleased to ratify Te Akau’s impression of him.
“Ben Gleeson showed him to us and he was really impressive, he has a good brain on him, and he’s such a dude,” said Harry. “Speaking to Jamie and Chanel (Beatson, Ohukia Lodge) he was the best they broke in that year. Everything about him is impressive - from his pedigree to his performance, temperament and physical presence.”
George Chittick | Image courtesy of Waikato Stud
“He’s a beautiful horse and very precocious,” George said. “One of the things I took away was, yes, there is plenty of Snitzel in there, but there is a touch of Lonhro, too. I’d be very pleased walking out to get him from the paddock each day and bringing him to the barn or showing him to clients. We’re very excited and proud to be a part of the next stallion for Waikato Stud.”
"(Return To Conquer is) a Group 1-winning son of Snitzel and a good specimen. To get all those things together is not easy." - Garry Chittick
Return To Conquer will join the likes of Savabeel, Super Seth, and Ocean Park (NZ) on Waikato Stud’s roster, where he will stand for an introductory fee of NZ$15,000 (plus GST), with a life foal guarantee.
“At the end of the day, (he’s) a Group 1-winning son of Snitzel and a good specimen. To get all those things together is not easy,” said Garry Chittick. “We have a very good spread of stallions, so he fits into our mix well.”
Garry Chittick | Image courtesy of Waikato Stud
