Author: NZHarnessNews

By Michael Guerin Steven Reid says his driving days may be over after a freak accident at Alexandra Park on Friday night. But he realises it could have ended a lot worse. Reid was driving Take The Miki, the talented pacer he trains with partner Simon McMullan, in race two when the sulky seat came loose and slipped off, dumping Reid on to the track around the 180m mark. That wasn’t much fun but Reid was relatively unscathed until Enjoy Me ran over him as he lay on the track,…

by Adam Hamilton  Former high-class Kiwi pacer Triple Eight looks set for another big campaign. The Jess Tubbs-trained seven-year-old returned from a break with a dominant win, thanks to a perfect trip and a lovely Greg Sugars drive. It was Triple Eight’s first start finishing third in the Group 1 Ainsworth FFA on that rain-drenched track on the Miracle Mile night which was postponed straight after that race. Triple Eight has thrived in the care of Tubbs and Sugars and now boasts 18 wins and 30 placings from his 82…

By Jonny Turner Trainer Chelsea Faithful dedicated Pay Me Speedy’s win at Ascot Park on Saturday to the memory of Dunedin horseman Leon Crawford following his passing earlier in the week. Known as a man of many talents with horses, Crawford was a successful trainer and driver, farrier and worked on many horses’ ailments through his work as an equine therapist, chiropractor and acupuncturist. The former Tomahawk trainer died peacefully, surrounded by his family, in Dunedin on Thursday. Crawford was a close family friend of Faithful’s and he also treated…

By Joshua Smith, Harness News Desk The connections of in-form trotter Musclyn are starting to reap the rewards for their patience with their four-year-old mare and they are hoping her purple patch of form continues in the Goodwin Contracting Trot (2000m) at Rangiora on Sunday. The daughter of Muscle Mass won first-up in April before posting two placings and trainers Phillipa Wakelin and Lance Noble believe she has finally started to mature. “We have always held her in very high regard,” Wakelin said. “From when we broke her in we…

By Jonny Turner Port Pegasus is at the right place to break his run of second placings at Ascot Park on Saturday. The four-year-old will be out to secure a deserved win when he heads a team of eight starters from Brian Norman’s stable. Port Pegasus was nailed late by Top Pocket Chance at Winton in his last outing after running second to his big brother Andy Hall at Ascot Park. Like many of his followers, Norman thinks the trotter deserves a win in race 4. With both of his…