By Michael Guerin The two highlight winners at Alexandra Park on Friday may be at different ends of their careers but they are both heading in the same direction. And that is the Golden Gait Finals at Alexandra Park next month for both Lord Popinjay and Captain Sampson. Veteran trotter Lord Popinjay continued the best form of his life when he overcame a 30m handicap in the main trot for in-form driver Monika Ranger. He had every reason to be beat at it looked like he would struggle to catch…
Year: 2025
Swayzee unlikely for third New Zealand Cup
By Adam Hamilton Champion stayer Swayzee’s quest for a slice of IRT NZ Cup history looks over. The mighty seven-year-old was scratched from a vital lead-up race at Menangle tonight (Saturday) with a suspected cold. Given Swayzee hasn’t raced since October 4 and the NZ Cup is just 10 days way, it’s hard to see any way he’s on the scheduled flight tomorrow (Sunday) week to Christchurch via Auckland. Trainer Jason Grimson told Melbourne’s SENTrack radio the trip was now unlikely and plans would be finalised after he spoke with…
Gary Hall’s mad dash to get to the WDC
By Adam Hamilton Champion driver Gary Hall Jr’s quest to win the World Driving Championship was almost over before it started. Just hours before the Hall Jr was due to fly to Perth to Christchurch, via Sydney, he lost his passport. If not for a woman at the passport office working a remarkable two hours past closing time, he would have been out of the series, which starts at Kaikoura tomorrow. “When I get home, I’ll be straight back to the office with a big gift for her, she was…
Never say die attitude pays off for Gigi
Local runner Gigi produced a herculean performance to claim an amazing home track victory at Tauranga on Saturday in the Bayleys Tauranga 2100 (2100m). The consistent six-year-old looked to be a forlorn chance when he had to sit three wide for a greater part of the early stages in the open stayers contest before tracking pacemaker Khan Hunter and then moving forward to lodge his claim rounding the home bend. Quickly caught and headed by eventual runner-up Solidify, Gigi and rider George Rooke appeared to have spent their winning chips…
War Princess soars to Tauranga success
Awapuni filly War Princess moved a big step closer to a summer target when she ventured to Tauranga on Saturday and scored an impressive come-from-behind victory in the Armory Standing at Mapperley Stud 3YO (1200m). The $40,000 race was the first time War Princess had travelled to the north, the first time she had raced right-handed, and after being left slightly flat-footed in the early stages of the race, the first time she had raced or trialled anywhere other than on the pace. With the first two races on Saturday’s…
High-flying Agera delivers milestone for Pike
A rare visit to the Wairarapa on Saturday produced a milestone for Tony Pike, who brought up his 800th winner in New Zealand. The Cambridge trainer, who had saddled only three starters at Tauherenikau in his career before this weekend, made the 500km trek south with four runners and went into the meeting with 798 wins to his name. Pike trained two winners on the eight-race card to reach 800, with Thooza taking out the Power Related Services Rating 75 (1300m) before Agera added the Pete’s Kitchens Feilding Cup (2050m)…
Glamour Tycoon shows fighting qualities in Tauranga victory
Wonderfully consistent mare Glamour Tycoon showed all her fighting qualities to down a talented field of open class sprinters and capture her fifth career victory in the Bayleys Mount Maunganui (1300m) open handicap at Tauranga. The daughter of Written Tycoon has fashioned an enviable record that has seen her out of the first three placings on only six occasions in her 20 starts to date and that record was extended on Saturday in the hands of rider Wiremu Pinn. Pinn jumped her away nicely from an inside draw to stalk…
Swiss Prince heads Sarten quinella for Marsh
A sensational few weeks for Stephen Marsh’s three-year-olds kept rolling on at Tauranga on Saturday when Swiss Prince led home a quinella for the Cambridge trainer in the Gr.2 James and Annie Sarten Memorial (1400m). Marsh had previously won the Gr.2 Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m) with Magic Carpet on September 27 and the Gr.2 Soliloquy Stakes (1400m) by almost seven lengths with Well Written on October 18. Well Written is unbeaten in two starts and is a $2.50 favourite for the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton. For…
Marotiri Molly all class at Tauherenikau
Class mare Marotiri Molly showed she will be a force to be reckoned with for the rest of the summer as she overcame some home straight traffic issues to take out the Valley Plumbing Redcraze Bowl (1400m) at Tauherenikau on Saturday. The Matt Dixon-prepared seven-year-old had taken out the corresponding event when run at Trentham last year, completing a winning treble before finishing runner-up in the Gr.2 Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1400m) and then capturing the Gr.2 Manawatu Challenge Stakes (1400m) during a purple patch of form. Given a decent…
Winton winner earns trip to Cup week at Addington
By Jonny Turner Brett Gray had to change his New Zealand Cup Week plans immediately after Friday’s Winton meeting. Gray’s talented trotter Julie Jaccka burst back into winning form, putting a frustrating run behind her and booking her ticket to Addington in the process. Julie Jaccka starred on New Zealand Cup Day when winning a middle-grade trot, but her chances of returning to defend her victory this year looked slim after a run of ordinary form. Though two of her recent misses had come in Group races, the five-year-old wasn’t…