Author: NZHarnessNews

By Joshua Smith, Harness News Desk Canterbury horseman Terry Chmiel is a big fan of the Winter Rewards series and he is hoping to grab some of the riches on offer this weekend. He will be after the lion’s share of two $20,000 purses at Addington Raceway on Sunday with Lizzie Richter in the Storer Motors Winter Rewards Mobile Pace (2600m) and U R The One in the First Direct Taxis Winter Rewards Mobile Pace (2600m). “It’s great to be running for $20,000, especially for these sort of horses,” Chmiel…

By Joshua Smith, Harness News Desk In-form trotter Liaison continued his rich vein of form at Alexandra Park on Friday night when taking out the Alabar North Island Winter Rewards Handicap Trot (2700m). It was the Dave and Clare McGowan-trained gelding’s third consecutive win and he did it in his customary front-running style. “He is awesome to drive when he is up front, he just keeps an eye on all of the other horses and he just keeps that distance in front. He is just an awesome little horse,” said…

After 35 years of training horses Steve Lock had an emotional farewell at Addington last night. The 70-year-old announced he’s retiring from the sport after producing 80 wins from 3377 starters dating back to 1987. He also had one win as a driver, Latelastnight in Invercargill in 2009 (see video). “I’ve had a lot of fun ..but it’s also a sad night for me,” Lock told Harness Racing Unhinged’s Nigel Armstrong after his horse Honour Scroll finished eighth in race 2. At times Lock got choked up as he talked…

By Michael Guerin Zachary Butcher believes he can win three of the best races at Alexandra Park tonight even though all three horses may have to do it the hard way. As one of New Zealand’s superstar harness drivers Butcher knows better than most the importance of leading and trailing at Alexandra Park but he, like his father David, has also built a reputation from dramatic swooping drives with some of his greatest wins being last-stride nail-biters. The younger Butcher may need to employ those skills with Call Me Trouble…

By Joshua Smith, Harness News Desk Nathan Delany will realise a dream at Alexandra Park on Friday when Golden Fire makes her debut in The Omah Group Mobile Pace (1700m). The daughter of Gold Ace was gifted to the young horseman by breeder Pinelea Farm and he is looking forward to her first outing. “Pinelea Farm asked me if I wanted a horse, and I was keen to start on something young,” Delany said. “They gave her to me as a broken-in yearling, so I was very pleased, and I…

We caught up with Zachary Butcher and Zarias ahead of the Hydroflow North Island Winter Rewards Mobile Pace on Friday night at Alexandra Park

By Jonny Turner Carter Dalgety will be out to make up for missed opportunities at Addington on Sunday. The junior driver had to miss out on a book of quality of drives on Friday night after bad weather caused his flight back to Canterbury from Auckland to be cancelled. Somewhat ironically, it was North Island reinsman Zac Butcher who filled in on a number of those drives. Dalgety is back at home base and ready to continue working on his excellent strike-rate in the sulky this season when combining with…

By Jonny Turner Tim Williams could be the factor that helps Heisenberg break through for a long-awaited and well-deserved victory at Addington on Friday night. The last time Williams combined with the Robert and Jenna Dunn trained pacer the pair set a new national record for 2400m when winning the Central Otago Cup. Reuniting with the reinsman for the first time since January 2020 could be the spark Heisenberg needs to score on the back of four consecutive second placings. “He is doing everything but getting into the winner’s circle,”…