Category: Harness

Seth Hill gets first drive on The Lazarus Effect

NZHarnessNews

By Michael Guerin Young driver Seth Hill will get a golden opportunity to impress his new boss at Addington tonight. Not that Bob Butt isn’t already impressed. Butt trains The Lazarus Effect, one of the more promising pacers in Canterbury and a $2.50 favourite for the IRT Thanks Bettors Delight Pace at Addington even though he faces a second line draw in the big field. Hill will do the driving for the first time tonight. If The Lazarus Effect wins with the talented junior driver in the cart he only…

Mediator the one to beat in Metro Heats at Alexandra Park tonight

NZHarnessNews

By Michael Guerin Trainer Matty White thinks Mediator is edging closer to being the finished product. And that should be good enough to win at Alexandra Park tonight at a meeting where White has a strong hand. The South Auckland trainer has five of his 23-strong stable racing tonight, with smart horses in Mhai Surfer Girl (R1) and Lord Popinjay (R10) taking on good fields at either end of the programme. But it is Mediator (R7, No.4) who gives White his best chance in the TAB – Northern Metro Pacers…

Ellis with twin hopes in Cambridge trot tonight

NZHarnessNews

By Jordyn Bublitz Taranaki horseman Brodie Ellis may not have a barn full of Group 1 stars, but he represents the beating heart of New Zealand harness racing – the grassroots participants who keep the industry alive.  Tonight at Cambridge Raceway, the dedicated trainer lines up two of his stable favourites, Cool Phelan and Ordained, both stepping out fresh from a spell in the Join Us For Xmas At Cambridge Raceway Trot (6.28pm). Racing has always been in Ellis’s blood. He was introduced to the sport by a stalwart of…

The Kaikoura Cup through the years – Part 4

NZHarnessNews

The Kaikoura Cup will celebrate its 100th running this year. To mark the occasion Kaikoura Trotting Club historian Phil Gourdie is looking back at the history of the great race.  This is the fourth installment – “they just keep getting faster” By Phil Gourdie    With the exception of the meeting held under Covid restrictions, the last 16 Kaikoura Cups, over the 2400m from a stand, have been run in under 3.00 minutes.  In 2021 the race (2600m) was held at Addington with Classie Brigade winning the third of his…

Ashburton Flying Stakes – 70 years ago

NZHarnessNews

By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk Monday will mark 70 years since the first running of the Ashburton Flying Stakes. In that time only 11 horses have won the race and then gone on to win the New Zealand Cup in the same year. Only two horses have done it twice – Lazarus in 2016 and 2017 and Terror To Love in 2012 and 2013. The first horse to do the Stakes- Cup double was Our Roger. He won the very first Ashburton Flying Stakes on Oct 1, 1955…

$2500 for trainers in WDC

NZHarnessNews

Trainers who line up their horses in the up-coming World Driving Championship will be in the running for a “cash” bonus. Five Garrards vouchers, each worth $500, will be won by trainers, with each starter entered automatically into the draw for the following meetings :   Kaikoura (November 2 and 3)Cambridge (November 5)Winton (November 9)Addington (November 7)Addington November 11 There’ll be one winner at each of the above, with all five drawn on Wednesday, November 12. The results will be announced on hrnz.co.nz “We want the best horses possible to…

Orange inching closer to major milestone

NZHarnessNews

By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk It’s a matter of when, not if, for the country’s top driver Blair Orange. The seven-time premiership winner is vying to become just the fourth driver in this country’s harness racing history to crack the 3000-win barrier, joining Tony Herlihy (3717 wins), Maurice McKendry (3429) and Ricky May (3189). With his career tally now at 2996, he has six drives at Addington today. Any win will of course inch him closer to his milestone, though he’s hardly brimming confidence ahead of the midweek…

Aussie stablemates make their move in latest rankings

NZHarnessNews

Aussie invaders Keayang Zahara and Jilliby Ballerini have made their presence felt in the latest Renwick Farms Dominion Trot rankings. Fresh from running one-two in the Group 1 Bill Collins Sprint at Melton, the two Margaret and Paddy Lee-trained stablemates are now sixth and seventh on this week’s leaderboard. The pair were highly impressive on Saturday night, clearing out from what was a stacked line-up. Last year Keayang Zahara was a dominant winner of all three starts on this side of the Tasman. She now has career record of 17 wins from 18…

First horses confirmed for Show Day slot races

NZHarnessNews

The first horses have been announced for the two $500,000 slot races at Addington Raceway on Show Day (November 14). And they won’t be a surprise to anyone. Top three-year-old trotters Tarragindi and Meant To Be have been confirmed for the Majestic Horse Floats THE ASCENT while the Hill Lee and Scott THE VELOCITY will feature pacing stars Marketplace and Got The Chocolates. The pair clashed at Addington earlier this month with the Robert and Jenna Dunn-trained Got The Chocolates prevailing by a neck. But Marketplace, rated as a potential…

IRT Race Night at Addington this Friday

NZHarnessNews

Each year leading into the IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup, IRT has a race night at Addington and in recent times, we have used it to celebrate the many different heroes associated with the great sport of harness racing. We’ve used it to acknowledge legends of our industry – both horse and human – and last year we gave thanks to the Unsung Heroes of the game, those who put in the hard yards behind the scenes such as the stable hands and the volunteers that ensure trial days and…