By Adam Hamilton All eyes will be on star Kiwi trotter Bolt For Brilliance on Inter Dominion night at Ballarat on Saturday. The barrier gods were kind with gate two over the 2200m, but he’s got top-class local and probably leader Majestuoso draw right inside him. Trainer-driver Tony Herlihy’s anxious times with Bolt For Brilliance his Addington flop and illness have been well documented, so it’s as much about running well and getting through night one in good order as it is winning. This Inter Dominion needs Bolt For Brilliance…
Author: NZHarnessNews
Ray Green “feeling okay” and out of ICU
By Michael Guerin Just two weeks after Copy That gave him the greatest victory of his training career Ray Green is in an Auckland hospital after being kicked by a horse, with his wife Deb saying “he is not out of the woods yet.” But the remarkable 77-year-old has been moved out of Middlemore Hospital’s intensive care unit and was soon asking for his phone so he can keep tabs on his Pukekohe stable. The enormously popular trainer was on top of the harness racing world at Addington on November…
The countdown is on to Harness Racing’s new Grand Prix
By Michael Guerin If the appetiser is anything to go by we are in for a stunning first Grand Prix meeting at Addington on December 4. The new multi-Group 1 meeting on Sunday week was always going to be spectacular but being a new meeting it is still very much a journey into the unknown. But the road map there is Addington’s prelude meeting on Friday night and it will whet the appetite for what comes nine days later. Many of the big names who will head to the Grand…
James Stephens : “stoked” to be raising money for mental health
James Stephens has already got his sights set on a second half marathon after raising more than $4000 for the Mental Health Foundation at Queenstown over the weekend. The 24-year-old, who’s well known as the strapper for pacing star Self Assured, completed his first half marathon in two hours 17 minutes and six seconds. “I knew it was going to be a long way and I got a little bit tired but it was a lot of fun and I met a lot of really nice people,” Stephens says. But…
Curtin’s poignant victories at Addington
By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk The late Murray Edmonds is never far away from Jim Curtin’s thoughts and that’s what made yesterday’s successes at Addington all the more special. Curtin had a driving treble at Addington, with two of the wins coming from two ex-Edmonds horses that he now trains, Izacheapee and Teds Legacy. “I think of him every time I see his horses …it’s terrible what happened.” The double came just weeks after Murray Edmonds died from a brain tumour, aged 62. His death shocked the harness…
Seven hour operation can’t keep Ray Green down
By Barry Lichter Debbie Green always knew her husband Ray was tough. But when the phone rang this morning and it was the hopsital nurse telling her Ray had woken up after a seven hour operation last evening, she was reminded of the resilience of horse people. “I could hear Ray asking for his own phone so he could call the boys at the stable and tell them what to do for the day.” Green, who just two weeks ago was the toast of the harness world after winning back-to-back…
Addington today – first race 3.21pm
The re-scheduled Motukarara meeting will be held at Addington today, starting at 3.21pm. Yesterday’s meeting on the grass was abandoned because of surface flooding on the track by the winning post, after torrential rain hit Christchurch on Friday and Saturday. Today there will be 11 races, finishing at 7.42pm. To view the fields for Monday click here
Allamericanlover leaves rivals with no excuses
By Jonny Turner Allamericanlover left her rivals with no excuses when running to a powerful victory in the Timaru Summer Cup on Saturday. The Steve and Amanda Telfer trained mare gave her opposition a head-start from her 30m back mark before working around the field three-wide and then toughing out an epic victory in the 2600m feature. The grit and determination Allamericanlover showed in her win are the reason she wasn’t seen over the New Zealand Cup Carnival. The mare ran a strong and unlucky fourth in the Kaikoura Cup…
Bolt For Brilliance confirmed for IDs
By Michael Guerin Inter Dominion glory is a possibility for New Zealand again after trotting series favourite Bolt For Brilliance booked his tickets for Victoria with a private workout on Saturday. The Trans Tasman series, one each for pacers and trotters, has long been one of harness racing’s great annual events but has struggled to hold the same allure for Kiwi horses in the last two years because of Covid, reduced stakes compared with other feature races and increased travel. That means Bolt For Brilliance was the only big-name New…
Harry flies Kiwi flag across the Tasman
By Adam Hamilton Exciting young trotter Harry Stamper added the most Kiwi flavour to last night’s stellar Breeders Crown meeting. The former Kiwi gelding was driven aggressively and confidently by former champion Kiwi driver Anthony Butt for an all-the-way win. The key part was the first 150m when Plymouth Chubb blasted out of gate three and looked a chance of crossing Harry Stamper in two, but Butt burrowed through and that proved vital. Once in front, Butt steadied for a 31.6sec split while heavily backed favourite and main danger Cravache…