Koru Thoroughbreds is owned and operated by Kevin and Julie Taylor and was established in 2017.
The stud offers a wide range of services including breeding, pedigree analysis, foaling, weaning and sales preparation, as well as breaking in yearlings and pretraining. Our long-term staff are experienced horsemen and women who have a passion for the horse and the thoroughbred industry and take particular care and attention to detail.
Kevin and Julie Taylor have been involved in the thoroughbred business since 1993 when Kevin worked for a very successful small breeder based at Karaka. Both Kevin and Julie took the opportunity to learn as much as possible about the industry in the four years that they were on the farm. In 1998, Kevin and Julie purchased Kia Ora Station, a large sheep and beef farm just outside of Dannevirke. This was an iconic farm owned by Sir Keith Holyoake.
We purchased their first broodmare, Bali Sugar in 1999 and quickly established a very good reputation in the industry for breeding quality yearlings and racehorses. The legacy that Bali Sugar has left can still be seen in the current broodmare band that we are breeding from today with daughters, granddaughters and a great granddaughter. We also bred G2 winner and G1 placed Viennetta and her son G3 winning Golden Archer who became a stallion.
The broodmare band was built up to eight mares when we came to the decision to focus solely on breeding thoroughbreds. The farm was sold in 2016 and the operation moved to Ohaupo just south of Hamilton and Koru Thoroughbreds was established.
Three years ago, we purchased our beautiful farm in Ohaupo consisting of 75 acres that offers tranquillity, space and high-quality pasture for the mares and their foals to grow to their full potential.
Our philosophy and Julie’s mantra is to build their broodmare band with mares that have strong female families. It is proven consistently that progeny with a strong pedigree are more likely to perform at the highest level on the racetrack. Our aim is to carefully match our mares with the best stallions. With ideal genetics in place, the probability of breeding a successful racehorse is greatly improved. This is reflected in our statistics with 83 horses bred, winning 162 races. These figures will improve exponentially with circa 20 of those 83 horses coming into racing in the next 6-18 months. What makes these statistics even more impressive is our Koru progeny have been bred from a very small broodmare band.
Finally... Kevin and I are excited to work directly with Jeff & Virginia Poole of Aha Racing and their ‘Family & Friends’ syndication program. Their groundbreaking 4-horse model is mitigating loss and maximising upside, thrills and fun for their syndicate members. Their fine eye for horses and outstanding management greatly increases the chances of success for all.
We hope to see you at the races in the future with Jeff & Virginia and their growing family of syndicate owners.
Kevin & Julie Taylor
Kevin & Julie Taylor
