By Adam Hamilton The challenges keep coming for unbeaten young Aussie trotting mare Keayang Zahara. Having finished last year with those three feature wins at Addington, Keayang Zahara just did enough to stretch her unbeaten record to 15 races when she returned to racing at Melton last Saturday night. The Marg and Paddy Lee-trained star is on the road this week to chase a 16th win and an eighth at Group 1 level in the $100,000 Group 1 Macarthur Mile at Menangle on Saturday night (11.09pm NZT). While Keayang Zahara…
Month: May 2025
Big stakes on offer for Fillies and Mares
A total of 35 Silk Road races, with stakes totalling around $700,000, will start later this month. It is the second year of the series. The Silk Road’s objective is to create pathways for everyday, emerging and elite Fillies and Mares. It is a key pillar of “The Future Starts Now” strategy launched in 2024. This year’s “Winter Series” heats will be divided among Northern, Canterbury and Southern with heats and finals for both gaits. They will start on May 23 at Alexandra Park with the last Final at Cambridge…
Gillies gearing up for riding return at Wanganui
One of the country’s most successful jumps jockeys in Mathew Gillies will make a welcome return to the riding ranks at Wanganui on Sunday. Originally hailing from Palmerston North, the Auckland-based hoop won the National Jumps Jockeys’ Premiership in the 2013-24 season and has steered home a total of 101 winners, including six in Australia. Through this period, Gillies won a number of prestige races while also spending time on the sidelines through injury, but it was the COVID-19 outbreak that kept him out of the saddle after Grand National…
Tomodachi leading Wexford charge in mares’ feature
Wexford Stables will head to Arawa Park on Saturday with the defending Gr.3 Rotorua ITM Stakes (1400m) champion Karman Line, but her stablemates won’t be making a repeat crown an easy task. The biggest threat on recent form is Tomodachi, a shortening $2.90 race-favourite who earned her first black-type credentials when booming home into third in the Listed City Of Napier Sprint (1200m). The daughter of Tarzino recorded impressive sectionals in that event on a Soft5 track, and with conditions likely to worsen, trainers Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott are…
Pinseeker vying to be a Superstar at Addington tonight
By Michael Guerin Pinseeker may have started in the biggest race of the year but his grand final fortnight actually starts tonight. The five-year-old has been one of our major pacing improvers this season, developing from promising intermediate grade pacer to a big-race player. That was most clearly emphasised in the $1m Race by Betcha last month when he finished fifth, a week after sitting parked to finish third in the Flying Mile also at Cambridge. He drops back in grade for what is still a very strong Continental Event…
Fillies take centre stage at Alexandra Park tonight
By Michael Guerin If Alexandra Park races true to recent form for tonight’s $200,000 Magness Benrow Sires’ Stakes there may be less winning chances in the Group 1 than it appears at first glance. Because while the race is the strongest of the three-year-old pacing fillies season so far the girls covering the least ground should hold a huge advantage. Tonight’s meeting caps a golden six weeks for northern harness racing but the most obvious trend has been the biggest race winners almost always coming from on the marker pegs.…
Addington to livestream Greg Sugars’ funeral
Greg Sugars’ funeral will be live streamed at Addington Raceway on Monday afternoon (May 12). The funeral will be held at Melton just outside Melbourne, starting at 2pm NZT. The service will be live streamed via thetrots.com.au and on the big screen at Spectators Bar and Bistro at Addington Raceway. It will be open from noon on Monday so that his friends and many in the wider harness racing community on this side of the Tasman can pay their last respects. A very popular figure, both here and in Australia,…
Why so many dead heats?
Presenter-driver-trainer Brittany Graham knows a thing or two about racing on both sides of the Tasman and now that the Queenslander is working for Trackside in this country she’s (reluctantly) agreed to write a weekly column. Why are so many races too close to call? By Brittany Graham What is it with all the dead heats that seem to be happening in this country? The latest was at Cambridge on Tuesday when Power N Glory and Beta Prepare couldn’t be separated in the first of the night, the Dunstan Horse…
Miki Bennett impresses with “huge” win at Addington
By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk Despite having the toughest of trips, Miki Bennett produced a powerhouse performance to highlight last night’s meeting at Addington. Driven by Nikita Burton, the Always B Miki five-year-old was last at the 800 in the Ladies’ Night 13 June Book Now Junior Drivers Mobile Pace. But Burton was unphased. She launched at the 600 metres and was forced five and six wide around the home turn before overhauling the leaders to win by nearly two lengths. Miki Bennett covered the last 800 in…
Forgotten galloper makes comeback
After 13 months off the scene, Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young’s stable stalwart Forgot You (NZ) (Savabeel) will make his return to the races on Saturday at Caulfield. After most recently racing in March last year, the dual Group Two winner is set to line up in the Thoroughbred Club of Australia Handicap (1400m). “He did a suspensory ligament, he’s been at Lee Evison’s, he’s obviously rehabbed him,” Busuttin said. “Touchwood, at the moment, he’s looking good.” Forgot You has had two jumpouts leading into his comeback run on Saturday,…