Category: Harness

By Jonny Turner The chance to take his hometown’s biggest piece of harness racing silverware awaits Jonny Cox at Winton on Saturday. Cox will return to his home patch with his exciting pacer Pinseeker who has the Winton Cup in his sights. If the trainer-driver’s raid from his base in Canterbury can be successful, it will mean a lot to him. “I always love getting back to Winton,” Cox said. “It is obviously where I grew up and learned how to drive.” “I always love coming back home, I still…

by Jonny Turner The proven and the unknown will clash in the inaugural running of the Group 2 Entain Two-Year-Old Fillies Stakes at Winton on Saturday. Southland’s newest group race, which comes courtesy of the new operators of the New Zealand TAB, is part of a bigger and richer than ever Winton Cup Day. It is also the first Group race to be held at Winton in its more than 100 year history. Forever Dream is set to start a warm favourite after putting the Group 2 Leonard Memorial Stakes…

By Michael Guerin Nathan Jack has already sprung the biggest tactical shock of the trotting season but don’t be surprised if he doubles down in the $600,000 TAB Trot at Cambridge tonight. The first ever trot slot race in this part of the world has drawn one of the strongest fields in decades and is dominated by Victorians, who have not only drawn barriers 1-4 but occupy the top three places in the market. The standout and obvious favourite is two-time Inter Dominion hero Just Believe and all things being…

Racing journalist and presenter Michael Guerin’s five plays for Cambridge’s Night of Champions tonight. 1: The big one, The $1m Race by Grins. Don’t Stop Dreaming (R9, No.2) has more ways to win this race than his rivals and less ways to lose it. The $2 available is a fair price because if he leads he should win and even sitting in the running line he is the one to beat. 2: The other big one, the $600,000 TAB Trot. Callmethebreeze (R6, No.4) isn’t as safe a bet as Just…

Check out this week’s Box Seat with hosts Greg O’Connor and Michael Guerin for their Cambridge Night of Champions special.  

By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk  A brand new series targeted towards lower-rated, older pacers kicks off at Addington tonight. Called the Canterbury Plains Challenge Series, it is designed for 5YO and older pacers rated R35 to R39. Tonight’s first heat (8.56pm) features a capacity 14-strong field. “The idea was first proposed by Addington Raceway and after some analysis, discussion and wrangling we have come up with this,” says Harness Racing New Zealand’s handicapper Andrew Morris, “and so far the concept looks to have been well received.” There will…

Today’s Cheviot Businesses Cheviot Cup at Addington has changed complexion, and quickly. Back markers Franco Indie and Mossdale Ben have been scratched from the event and that’s seen a wide open market, with eight of the ten runners now in single figures. Franco Indie opened an early favourite for the 2600m feature and with him now out, Waimate Cup winner Mo’unga has come into a $4.50 favourite. There’s also a lot of support too for the likes of Heisenberg, Dashing Major and southerner Tact McLeod. The well bred Mo’unga has…

By Jonny Turner With two evenly matched horses, Tyler Dewe thinks race patterns could split his pairing of Jordy and South Seas Rock at Ascot Park today. The two pacers are set to start the first and second favourites for race 9, the meeting’s feature pace. Moving from standing start racing looks like a big advantage for Jordy who has missed away in several recent standing starts. After staging big recoveries in those recent runs in tougher fields, the ex-Canterbury pacer looks right up to winning today’s 2200m event. “The…

Check out this week’s Box Seat with hosts Greg O’Connor and Michael Guerin. 

By Adam Hamilton Caretaker trainer Cran Dalgety admits Thursday night will be a big learning curve for Aussie raider Rock N Roll Doo. The former Victoria Cup and Len Smith Mile winner opens his NZ campaign from a back row draw in the star-studded $60,000 McMillan Equine Feeds Pacers Flying Mile at Cambridge, against the likes of Don’t Stop Dreaming and Merlin. It’s a key race, just eight days out from the $1m Race by Grins, also at Cambridge. “He hasn’t been here long, but he’s a big, raw, rubber-neck…