Year: 2025

New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR), in conjunction with the Racing Integrity Board (RIB), has today confirmed that all trials and race meetings at the RACE Awapuni track will cease for the remainder of 2025, as RACE Inc. and NZTR work towards a long-term plan for the sustainability of the track. NZTR Chief Executive Officer Matt Ballesty said the decision followed extensive efforts to restore the track and careful consideration of its impact on participants.  “NZTR acknowledges that the remediation process for the RACE Awapuni surface has placed a significant strain…

Trainers Ben, Will & JD Hayes will have one eye on Sydney and another on Melbourne as they prepare for one of the best week’s in racing.  The Hayes camp will be chasing lucrative riches in Sydney this weekend, where Evaporate (NZ) (Per Incanto) contests the A$10 million Golden Eagle (1500m). “His run last start when second in the Toorak (Gr.1, 1600m) was excellent when beaten by Transatlantic who has since come out and won well,” Ben Hayes said. “The form is good and it has been done before. The…

The rescheduling of Monday’s Gr.2 James and Annie Sarten Memorial (1400m) to Saturday at Tauranga could rule both of Andrew Forsman’s pair out of a trip south for New Zealand Cup Week. Forsman was set to line-up stakes placegetter Quondo and the lightly-tried Virgo Viva at Te Rapa on Labour Day, but the meeting was abandoned after a horse slipped turning for home in race two. As for many of the Sarten contenders, it was a crucial final step towards the Guineas races at Riccarton, with the Gr.1 Barneswood Farm…

Rain, rain, go away – that’s the thoughts of many trainers around the country as the wet weather persists through the spring.  One of those trainers is Barbara Kennedy, who has been holding out for better tracks for many of her team, and her patience is starting to wear thin, with the Byerley Park horsewoman set to be met by another Heavy track at Pukekohe on Wednesday.  Kennedy was excited about the prospects of all three of her entrants, however, she said with the track unlikely to improve from its…

Chicflix (NZ) (Sacred Falls) has been knocking on the door of a maiden victory for some time and trainer Paul Mirabelli is hoping she can breakthrough for an elusive win in the Eagle Technology 2200 at Pukekohe on Wednesday.  The six-year-old daughter of Sacred Falls has placed in six of her last starts eight starts, and while Mirabelli said she has yet to fully mature, all signs are pointing towards another bold showing on Wednesday.  “She is very honest,” he said. “Even though she is a six-year-old, she is still…

Andrew Forsman is one of New Zealand’s leading trainers, and recently chalked up his 1000th career win. So where does he feel the industry is at? Where does he see improvement? And what gives him hope? Guerin Report – S2 Ep. 9 Ft. Andrew Forsman

John Thompson and Greg Tomlinson have combined for another major stakes success in Australia. The respective principals of Rich Hill Stud and Nearco Stud bred and sold She’s A Hustler (NZ) (Ace High), who continued her excellent strike rate when she claimed the Gr.3 Tesio Stakes (2040m) at The Valley. The daughter of Rich Hill resident Ace High has won six of her nine starts, with one of her three runner-up finishes posted in last season’s Listed Centaurea Stakes (2017m) at Morphettville. Thompson and Tomlinson previously joined forces to purchase…

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