Author: NZHarnessNews

The Kaikoura Cup will celebrate its 100th running this year. To mark the occasion Kaikoura Trotting Club historian Phil Gourdie is looking back at the history of the great race.  This is the sixth and final part – The Kaikoura Cup / New Zealand Cup double. By Phil Gourdie  In Cup number 43 in 1968 Humphrey was off a handicap of 36 yards over the 12-furlong journey (2400m). A solid pace was set, W E Lowe and Humphrey were required to cover the 12 furlongs in 3min 6.1seconds, the last…

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. By Brittany Graham  Is Kingman coming? That question will be answered tomorrow (Thursday) by his owner Mick Harvey on whether the $28,750 late payment is lodged for the IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup. Another hurdle was jumped today, however, at Club Menangle when the four-year-old stallion safely negotiated the tapes to gain his standing…

And now there are eight. Four more trotters and pacers have been announced for the two big Show day slot races at Addington Raceway on Friday, November 14. Habibti Pat (Habibi Inta) and Rogue Hero (Ford Contracting) will join Tarragindi and Meant To Be in the field for the Majestic Horsefloats THE ASCENT while Fate Awaits (Solid Earth Pty Ltd) and Greased Lightnin (Diane Reilly) are the two latest additions to the Hill Lee and Scott THE VELOCITY  alongside Got The Chocolates and Marketplace. Habibti Pat is a filly in…

The Kaikoura Cup will celebrate its 100th running this year. To mark the occasion Kaikoura Trotting Club historian Phil Gourdie is looking back at the history of the great race.  This is Part 5 – Driver/Trainer records  By Phil Gourdie  The five winningest drivers at Kaikoura are: Blair Orange 35, Colin DeFilippi 34, Maurice Holmes 23, John Dunn 21 and Mark Purdon 19. Blair drove his first winner at Kaikoura in 2000. He overtook DeFilippi when he landed a treble last year. He also won the Kaikoura Cup with Harnetts…

By Michael Guerin The argument is over, now the real fight begins. That was the undeniable feeling after Republican Party again thrashed most of our best pacers in the $60,000 NZBS Flying Stakes at Ashburton on Monday. The little pacer with the oversized motor recorded his third straight comprehensive victory over our pacing elite and in more or less in the same style. Step safely, settle then launch, spending the invaluable currency that is respect to wrest the lead and from there play catch-me-if-you-can.At the moment, they can’t. Northern star…

By Michael Guerin The brave move that won Muscle Mountain today’s $40,000 Tactical Landing Flying Sprint at Ashburton could have left driver Ben Hope with egg all of his face. But it might not just have won him this Group 3 but prove to be the blueprint to a late-career renaissance for the wonderful trotter. Co-trainer Hope went against the pattern of the day when he led on the hot favourite in the feature sprint but elected to hand that role to last season’s winner and second favourite Bet N…

By Mike Love  It was a day of milestones at yesterday’s Waimate meeting held at Phar Lap Raceway in Timaru – Maureen Hutchison secured her first training success, 17-year-old Thomas Borcoskie had his first in the sulky and Robbie Close brought up career win number 600. In Race 2, the Catering South Canterbury Trot over 2100m Waimate training partnership John Lemon and Maureen Hutchison produced Lemon’s first win since 2001 and Hutchison’s first career win with Della’s Fella. Driven by Jonny Cox, Della’s Fella stepped well to lead then trail…