30 September 2013

Sir Patrick Hogan to be awarded University of Waikato’s highest honour

Thoroughbred pioneer Sir Patrick Hogan’s contribution to the New Zealand bloodstock industry will be recognised next month by a University of Waikato Honorary Doctorate – the highest award the university can bestow.

A Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (KNZM), Sir Patrick was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2005 and the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame the following year.

Sir Patrick’s honorary doctorate will be conferred at the 10am graduation ceremony on Monday 14 October at the Claudelands Arena.

For more than 30 years Cambridge Stud has been synonymous with horse breeding success and a commitment to excellence that has seen it achieve an unrivalled record as leading vendor by aggregate at the annual NZ Yearling Sale at Karaka.
Founded by Sir Patrick and his wife Justine in 1975 on 135 acres at Hautapu, Cambridge Stud had humble beginnings, with just a handful of broodmares and one staff member. By the end of that first year, the business was down to just one broodmare.

Then came the horse that would dramatically change the fortunes of the stud and its owner, an unfancied and bad-tempered Irish stallion called Sir Tristram. The horse would go on to be named champion sire of Australia and New Zealand nine times and sire 45 individual Group One winners including son Zabeel who was named champion sire of New Zealand and Australia 13 years in a row. Zabeel in turn sired 43 individual Group One winners.

In 2000, Cambridge Stud sold the highest-ever priced yearling recorded in Australasian sales history at Karaka in South Auckland, “Don Eduardo”, which sold for $NZ3.6 million and went on to win the Group One AJC Derby before being retired to stud.

Away from the racetrack, Sir Patrick was an entrepreneurial figure within the thoroughbred industry, using his formidable marketing skills to be the first to introduce hospitality tents at the National Yearling Sales where he would lead his own horses into the ring to ensure potential buyers got the best possible view.

“Sir Patrick’s contribution to the development and international standing of the New Zealand thoroughbred industry is unparalleled and his hard work and passion for horses have won both him and Cambridge Stud a special place in New Zealand racing history,” says University of Waikato Vice-Chancellor Professor Roy Crawford.

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