By Adam Hamilton Victoria Cup winner Kingman could be a shock late entry for the $1m IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup at Addington Raceway on Tuesday, November 11. Owner-breeder Mick Harvey dropped the bombshell on Melbourne radio this morning. “We’ll see how the next few days go once Luke (McCarthy, trainer-driver) gets him settled back home, but if you asked me now … I’d say he’ll go,” he said. “The horse came through that win so well. He was strong on the line and he’s at the top of his…
Day: 20 October 2025
The Kaikoura Cup through the years – Part 3
The Kaikoura Cup will celebrate its 100th running this year. Over the next few weeks Kaikoura Trotting Club historian Phil Gourdie will look back at the history of the great race. This is the third installment – Back to back winners By Phil Gourdie After Diamond Moose became the first horse to back to back in 1983-84 (as mentioned in a previous column) it didn’t take long to get a second. Spry Joker, owned by Ray Winter and trained and driven by Hall of Famer J A (Jack) Carmichael, repeated…
Important Notice – Kaikoura Two-Day Meeting (November 2-3, 2025)
Over the past week, there has been discussion regarding planned road closures on State Highway 1 between Waipara and Kaikoura, which had the potential to impact travel to and from the Kaikoura meeting. We’re pleased to confirm that the Kaikoura Club has successfully worked with Downer to delay the scheduled works, meaning full road closures will now not commence until Tuesday, 4 November. However, please note that traffic management will be in place from 9:00 p.m. on Monday, 3 November, including stop/go operations and potential delays of up to 10…
O’Reilly back in winning form at Oamaru
By Jonny Turner It might have just been a maiden race, but Sarah O’Reilly got an extra buzz when winning with Molly Maeve Estelle at Oamaru on Sunday. O’Reilly was having her first drive at just her second meeting back in the sulky after sustaining a nasty arm injury in a trackwork incident in July last year. With 304 victories to her name, the winning feeling is nothing unusual for the talented reinswoman. But she admitted she got an extra kick out of getting back into the winner’s circle with…
Perseverance pays off for Furlong with sharp 3YO
Riccarton trainer Anna Furlong felt a real sense of satisfaction when her promising three-year-old Champagne Diblu turned his form around to win the Agraforum Growing Innovation 1300 at Ashburton on Sunday. Champagne Diblu had been an impressive juvenile trial winner and subsequently contested a stakes race, but showed his inexperience on that occasion and was sent for a spell. It was a similar story for the gelding when resuming at three, travelling well in the running but fading in the straight in a big field. Knowing the ability he had,…