By Jonny Turner Mark Hurrell has four missions to complete before linking up with one of the south’s biggest chances on New Zealand Cup Day. Hurrell has four drives at Wyndham on Sunday including warm favourite First Light. The mare was only just denied in her first start for the spring when overhauled late by the very impressive Winton winner Muchacho. With several factors looking in her favour this week, First Light looks a big winning chance for Hurrell and trainer Greg Hunter. “She just blew out late in her…
Author: NZHarnessNews
Cup Week Lift-Out
Cup Week is upon us! And we’ve got all the information you need to get involved in the fantastic week of racing Our 2024 Lift-Out includes previews from Michael Guerin, Dave Di Somma and Mike Love; fun facts, selections, full fields for Cup Day, Ashburton happenings and a Sweepstake kit for the office. Click here
Star filly has first hit out at Addington
By Adam Hamilton All the signs are great with glamour Aussie trotting filly Keayang Zahara ahead of her first NZ run next week. Driver Jason Lee was all smiles after taking the three-year-old for her first spin around Addington on Saturday morning, ahead of Friday’s inaugural $500,000 Majestic Horse Floats LP THE ASCENT. Keayang Zahara is unbeaten in 11 starts, five of them at Group 1 level. “It’s another box we’ve ticked-off on a trip where everything has gone to plan, maybe even a bit better than Paddy (Lee, co-trainer)…
Swayzee wins ahead of Tuesday’s NZ Cup at Addington
By Adam Hamilton The first step of Swayzee’s extraordinary IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup title defence went without fuss when he easily won last night’s $60,000 Cherry City Cup (2887m) at Young. The race, which required a seven-hour return road trip from Swayzee’s Menangle barn, was crucial as it kept alive his quest to snare a $1 million bonus for winning all five legs of the NSW Carnival of Cups series. Swayzee won the first leg at Parkes on September 20 and last night’s race at Young was the second…
“Big dummy” wins Northern Metro Final at Alexandra Park
By Michael Guerin Nicky Chilcott had to be kind to be cruel to Village Rebel and it finally paid off at Alexandra Park on Friday night. The five-year-old son of Raging Bull outstayed the more favoured three-year-olds Always B Elite and Hawkeye Pierce to win the TAB Northern Metro Final for the pacers, having to do it the tough way sitting parked. Trainer Chilcott says that is the best way to drive Village Rebel but she hasn’t been letting driver Sailesh Abernethy do that this campaign as she needed to…
Leap To Fame ruled out of IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup
By Adam Hamilton Champion pacer Leap To Fame’s roller coaster IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup raid is over. Trainer-driver Grant Dixon ordered one final precautionary blood test before Sunday’s planned flight from Sydney to Auckland and the news was bad. “It’s over,” Leap To Fame’s owner Kevin Seymour said, “just when we thought things were back on track, his blood is out again. It seems every time we work him hard, it flares something up. “It’s devastating. We’ve planned this trip for so long, but the horse has and always…
Leap To Fame out of NZ Cup
BREAKING NEWS Commanding favourite Leap To Fame is out of Tuesday’s $1m IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup at Addington Raceway. The champion Australian pacer was due to arrive in Christchurch on Sunday and was at short odds to win the country’s biggest race in four days time. But after returning unsatisfactory blood tests he has now been scratched from the Cup and will not make the trip. We will continue to provide updates as they become available.
It’s Show time – get excited about IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup week
The NZ Sires’ Stakes Board wishes everyone racing over IRT NZ Trotting Cup Week all the very best of good luck. Because as quick as Chase A Dream’s quarter last year Cup week is here and there is plenty to get excited about. To find out more about the Sires’ Stakes Cup Week class of 2024 click here Tuesday and Friday, Addington’s two biggest days of the year, will see such feature races as : – Woodlands Stud NZ 2YO C and G Final– Nevele R 3YO Fillies Final– Dunstan Horsefeeds…
Lazarus’ little brother wins at Oamaru
By Jonny Turner The little brother of a New Zealand Cup great scored a timely win as the lead-up to the $1m feature builds to a fever pitch. Just one day short of eight years since Lazarus delivered his first devastating New Zealand Cup victory, Sinai Sermon delivered a strong front-running win at Oamaru in the Brad Williamson Racing Stables Mobile Pace. The younger of the two brothers is trained by David Mitchell who races the four-year-old with Donna Williamson and Gavin Chin. Chin is co-breeder of the two-time…
High Step trots straight into $30,000 Seddon Shields Final
The Bob Butt trained and driven High Step has sealed her place in the $30,000 Seddon Shields Trotting Championship Series Final at Addington Raceway in March next year. The Father Patrick three-year-old qualified for the final after winning the opening heat of the Bob Rochford series, the Lobster Inn/Kaikoura Night ‘n Day Handicap Trot, at Kaikoura on Monday. She was three back the fence mid race before getting into the running line and then peeling three wide around the home turn. She charged to the line to win by a…