Author: NZHarnessNews

By Michael Guerin The fact trainer Brendon Hill has never won a Derby might be a surprise. But the fact his good mate Ricky May have never won one is flat out remarkable. The pair head to Addington on Friday to try and remedy that with Renegade in the $300,000 Garrards New Zealand Pacing Derby, a great race won by great horses. It may not actually contain many truly great horses this year with this three-year-old crop struggling to produce a standout star who has open class hero of the…

A 23-race Friday night, the re-appearance of a champ, and a milestone for the Smiths all feature in this week’s News Briefs.  Bumper dual venue Friday night  This week will see the first 12-race card on a Friday night at Alexandra Park since April 7, 2017. Starting at 5.24pm the meeting will feature the $40,000 Thames Goldfields Summer Cup, the $40,000 Caduceus Club Northern Breeders Stakes and the $40,000 Thames Members Handicap Trot. There will also be an 11-race card at Addington including three Group 1s, the Garrards Pacing and…

Check out this week’s The Box Seat with Matt Cross and Greg O’Connor      

By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk In 2023 Lesa Clarke made her first ever purchases at the National Yearling Sales in Christchurch. Today at 5.57pm at Addington she’ll find how good a judge she is when Vin’s Deal makes her race day debut in the Still Time To Breed With Woodlands 2YO Fillies Mobile Pace. “Sometimes there’s a horse that just takes your eye, as soon as she walked out of her box I knew,” says Clarke. Clarke has owned around 20 horses over the years -“I have five…

By Adam Hamilton  Friday night has all the hallmarks of the Grand Final for freakish filly Keayang Zahara. On face value, most expect the three-year-old to just turn up in the $200,000 Garrards NZ Trotting Derby at Addington, and win again. But driver Jason Lee sees it a little differently. “We think it’s her biggest test for a few reasons,” he said. “It’s as strong a field as she’s met, it should be a real staying test and it’s at the end of a long first (racing) campaign for her.…

HRNZ :  Foal update December 2024  Application forms to register this season’s foals were posted out recently to the person who according to our records is the first named owner or lessee of any mare with a 2023/2024 service record. If you have not received an application form and believe you should have, please contact this office. Remember the cost of registration is $195 per foal if application and payment is made by 1 April 2025. The form should be lodged and paid for by the due date even if…

Addington will run two contrasting meetings this week, with its First December Midweek meeting tomorrow ahead of Derby Race night on Friday. There’ll be eight races on Wednesday, starting at 5.19pm. Friday’s meeting, starting at 5.01pm, is highlighted by the Trotting and Pacing Derbies, as well as the inaugural running of the $200,000 Christian Cullen for the four-year-old pacers. The features of Auckland’s Friday meeting include the $40,000 Thames Goldfields Summer Cup where the likes of Sooner The Bettor and The Big Lebowski will battle it out, the $40,000 Caduceus…