Author: NZHarnessNews

By Michael Guerin Dance Till Dawn gets the last chance to add the icing to her career cake at Blenheim this weekend. The seven-year-old mare is preparing for her final weekend of racing before being retired to stud, in foal to Downbytheseaside. She is the third mum-to-be from the Dunns’ Diamond Racing team to finish racing this month, following on from Follow Your Dream and I Dream Of Jeannie. Dance Till Dawn has had a superb career for Team Dunn, having won 12 of her 88 starts and earned over…

By Jonny Turner  The Group 3 Pryde’s Easifeed Southern Lights Trot is coming along at the perfect time for Princess Sadie. The Oamaru mare is set to start favourite ($2.40FF) for the Northern Southland Trotting Club feature at Ascot Park today (7.34pm) largely due to her front-line handicap. Earlier in her career, punters may not have been keen to take up short odds on Princess Sadie in a 2700m Group event. While she was known as a speedster as she competed with plenty of merit in top-class age-group events, a…

By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk  Dunsandel trainer Sam Payne will line up two contrasting first starters at Ashburton on Tuesday. After impressing at the trials, Makani ($3.80FF) will start in Race 1, the 4 Blokes Syndicate Mobile Trot while stablemate Major Miss ($6FF) debuts in Race 5, the Betavet / B and T White Racing Stables Mobile Pace. Both will be driven Jonny Cox. Payne bought Makani for $23,000 at the 2024 National Yearling Sales. “I spotted him during the Southland tour looking at yearlings and I liked…

By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk   The country’s leading driver Blair Orange looks to have a stack of each way chances on the second day of Nelson’s Summer at The Trots meeting at Richmond Park on Sunday. The now eight-time premiership winner has eight drives on the 11-race card that starts just before noon. He rates course specialist Nellie Doyle among his best chances on the day. She’ll line up in the Mike Austin Memorial Handicap (Race 8, 3.41pm), a heat of the Trevor Craddock Seddon Trotting Series,…

By Jordyn Bublitz  With four drives at the five race meeting, Brooke Wilkins looks to have some genuine each way chances at Manawatu today. After having nine wins across the Tasman, 2025 was Wilkins’ first driving competitively in this country and despite only taking part in the latter half of the season she had seven wins from 42 race-day drives, with a highly respectable UDR of .2910.  That momentum has carried into the new season.  Wilkins wasted little time opening her account for the year, recording a winner at last…

By Mike Love  Ashburton trainer Wendy Stevenson takes three good each-way chances to Phar Lap Raceway in Timaru for their summer twilight meeting this afternoon. In Race 1, the Brosnan Transport Passing Lane Mobile Pace over 2050 metres Gotta Lather Up ($10.00FF) will be looking for a more economical run after having a couple of torrid trips since breaking maiden status at Oamaru three starts ago.  “We were pleased with him at Motukarara after drawing 16. Even though he only ran seventh he just couldn’t get in, and he’s still…

By Jonny Turner  The race’s first few seconds are likely to decide whether Steven McRae goes home with today’s Shannon Farm Cromwell Cup again. McRae has been a fixture at the Central Otago summer harness racing circuit in recent seasons and is already enjoying another successful trip south before the final meeting at Cromwell.  Cinderella Franco was as impressive as any maiden winner south of the Waitaki in recent times when she sped to victory at Omakau on Friday. The filly will be out to make it two from two…