Author: NZHarnessNews

Milestones for Michael and Wilson House at Manawatu,  the first Warriors – harness racing joint promotion, and a new driver for Keayang Zahara all feature in this week’s News Briefs.   Dual milestones for Michael and Wilson House  The country’s leading junior driver Wilson House celebrated his 21st in a most unusual way yesterday – he drove three winners at Manawatu. He started his run by winning the first with Matai Harry, then won race 5 with Jaccka Baylis before bookending the programme with hot favourite Nickel And Dime in…

Don McKenzie is being remembered as “an absolute gentleman” who bred plenty of winners. Since the 1970s McKenzie bred and/or raced more than 50 horses either on his own account or in partnership. Among his best known horses were $1m earner The Vulcan, Genius and more recently Invictus. He died at his North Canterbury home over the weekend after a battle with cancer. “He was just the most marvellous person,” says Jenny Butt, who bred 32 horses with McKenzie over the past 40 or so years. “We said our goodbyes…

By Mike Love  Father-daughter trainers Steve Clarke and Hayley Stewart will be looking for their first training success as a partnership today at Addington Raceway.  It is their fifth season of partnership from their Norwood base just outside Christchurch and so far they have recorded five placings – three of which have come this season with maiden trotter Big Al ($3.70FF) who lines up in Race 2, the Mid-Winter Christmas On Sale Now Trot over 2600m (5:04pm). Big Al, who will be driven by Steve Clarke, comes into today after…

By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk Tuesday could well be Josh Dickie’s time to shine at Manawatu. The Raceway had new lights installed last week and they will be on show for the first time tonight and on Thursday. Costing around $300,000 the project was planned and co-ordinated by Andrew Neal and local committee member/trainer Stephen Doody with funding from the club, the Racing Safety Fund and the Manawatu-based Central Energy Trust. Dickie has seven drives on the day, six of them for his employer Stonewall Stud and trainers…

By Mike Love   West Melton trainer Andrew Drake didn’t have to wait long for Rack’em Up to break his maiden status. The Betting Line three-year-old, who he also co-owns, took out the DMJ Builders-Anne Thompson Graduation (Heat 2) Mobile at Rangiora yesterday.  “It’s super. We are rapt with that,” said Drake.  Rack’em Up, driven by Jonny Cox, settled four back the markers for the majority of the 2600m journey. Gaps presented when the acid went on and Cox was able to work off the fence into a prominent position,…

By Michael Guerin The harness racing community on both sides of the Tasman is reeling after the sudden death of one of its superstars in Victorian horseman Greg Sugars. The 40-year-old was found dead in his hotel room near the Menangle racetrack outside Sydney on Saturday afternoon. He is believed to have died in his sleep. Sugars had driven from Victoria to Sydney on Friday to campaign horses trained by his wife Jess Tubbs, who confirmed his passing on social media on Saturday night. When Sugars didn’t turn up to…