Author: NZHarnessNews

By Adam Hamilton Star trotter Just Believe capped his preparation for the upcoming Swedish raid with a sharp trial win at Melton last night. With regular driver Greg Sugars nursing a sore shoulder, stable youngster Bailey McDonough took the reins as Just Believe toyed with his rivals to win the trial easily in a 55.8sec closing 800m. “Ideally, we’d have had that lead-up race last weekend, but it fell through,” Sugars said. “Still, he’s had plenty of work at home and the two trials now before he heads across next…

This week’s Box Seat with hosts Greg O’Connor and Michael Guerin. 

By Michael Guerin The attitude of a couple of rival drivers may determine how comfortable punters feel during the $150,000 Garrards Sires’ Stakes Final at Addington on Friday. Because while almost every multi on the night will run through star colt Don’t Stop Dreaming, two of his key rivals have drawn inside him in the Group 1. Don’t Stop Dreaming is set to start red hot in the 1980m three-year-old event after he drew barrier 6 a day after arch rival Merlin pulled out of the final with a hoof…

By Michael Guerin One of the potentially great rivalries of New Zealand harness racing in coming seasons is back on ice before it really got going again. Two-time Harness Million and Great Northern Derby winner Merlin has been sidelined with a hoof abscess and will Friday night’s $150,000 Group 1 Garrards Sires’ Stakes Final at Addington. That was to have been his fourth career clash with Don’t Stop Dreaming after the southern colt took a 2-1 advantage in their personal battle with an easy win at Addington last Friday. The…

Timing is everything for Phoebe Stud’s Grant Beckett and this week is a big one for his Canterbury operation. The boutique breeder, based at Broadfields near Christchurch, is currently offering seven weanlings for sale on standardbred.gavelhouse.com. They are all by his top sires Royal Aspirations and Imperial Count. “As a sheep farmer it’s about to get very busy with lambing so I have to move these weanlings on,” Beckett says. He’s also keen to get one step ahead of the NZB Standardbred Weanling Sales at Karaka on Thursday, May 25,…

by Jonny Turner Henry Maguire pulled out everything he had to seal a special victory in the Paul O’Neill Memorial at Ascot Park on Saturday. The pacer lifted to put his nose in front by the barest of margins on the line, as the late Paul O’Neill’s friends and family willed him home with roars from the grandstand. O’Neill’s memorial race was held 10 years to the day following his passing and with Henry Maguire raced by a syndicate the harness racing enthusiast was an integral founding member of, there…

By Adam Hamilton Champion driver Chris Alford predicted something special and that’s exactly what we saw from brilliant mare Queen Elida at Menangle last night. The Kiwi bred and owned five-year-old blew her rivals away with a stunning display in the $100,000 Group 1 Macarthur Mile for trotting mares’. The Brent Lilley-trained Queen Elida worked forward from a wide draw to sit parked early before Alford planted the foot and took the lead, leaving his main danger Im Ready Jet to sit parked and chase. Queen Elida broke her rivals…

By Jonny Turner Peter Hunter has been around horses long enough to know you don’t just show up in Canterbury and win. On paper, the Southland trainer-driver’s two-year-old filly Rakalou looks well capable of doing exactly that in the King Charles III Coronation 2YO Fillies Mobile at Rangiora on Sunday. Rakalou could barely have been more impressive in her first start at the races. After trialling well, she beat home several of her male rivals when running third behind the smart All Stars pairing of Vessem and Major Hot in…