Category: Meeting Previews

By Adam Hamilton Cran Dalgety summed up Republican Party’s Hunter Cup draw the best. “It’s the draw he needed to be a winning chance in such a hot race,” he said. “Drawing the pole is a hell of a bonus. It’s the quickest way home.” Republican Party firmed from $12 to $4.60 after drawing gate one for the $250,000 feature at Melton on Saturday night.  Defending champion Swayzee ($3.60) is next door in gate two, while Leap To Fame ($2.40) has six and NZ Cup hero Kingman ($4.40) is off…

By Jordyn Bublitz  Tracy Cadwallader has two last-start winners heading to Manawatu today as she looks to improve on an already successful start to 2026. Indisposed (Race 1) and The Big Bang (Race 4) will be driven by Michael Hay.  A son of A Rocknroll Dance, Indisposed comes off a solid win at Hawera on January 20.  “I was very happy with the win …. I know he’s a seven-year-old but he’s only just started to come to it now, he’s pulled up from that run great, and he’s come…

By Jonny Turner  Wag Star brings the best form reference to today’s Transport Services Ltd Wairio Cup, now he just has to live up to it. The third placegetter in the recent Group 1 Invercargill Cup will start a hot favourite ($1.80) at Central Southland Raceway on Sunday. The 20m backmarker comes into the Wairio Cup on the back of a very narrow second in the Riverton Cup behind The Big Lebowski. Trainer-driver Craig Ferguson saw both positives and negatives in the performance. “He was travelling like the winner but…

By Mike Love  Canterbury trainer-driver Sam Thornley has several each-way chances at Methven today for the Hororata meeting at Mt Harding racecourse.   Thornley has nine drives in total, six of which are offering each-way odds under $10. The first of those comes in Race 2, the Peter Craig Memorial Trot over 2400m, where Neil William ($5.50FF) lines up for trainer Sam Payne.  “He should be a good chance. He’s shown a bit of ability in his first couple of races. He just got a bit lost in front last…

By Jonny Turner  Georgia Goodman will be out to keep up her winning form on Transport Services Ltd Wairio Cup Day at Winton.  The junior driver comes into Wairio’s big meeting on Sunday after notching the second win of her career in the sulky with Beaudiene Quick Step at Ascot Park last week. Goodman links up with two serious winning chances at Central Southland Raceway, one of which clashes with her last start winner. The reinswoman will combine with the Alister Black trained Captain Amore on the back of his…

By Michael Guerin The queen of trotting may have two impressive last-start winners heading to Alexandra Park tonight but she thinks her rep with the worst form line might end up being the punter’s friend. Michelle Wallis and husband Bernie Hackett had a career-best season last year when training 57 winners capped by Hillbilly Blues capturing the Group 1 National Trot on New Year’s Eve. Remarkably of those 57 wins, 55 came in trotting races with the majority at Alexandra Park where it feels like the stable wins a trotting…

By Michael Guerin Some simple maths suggests Roydon Muscle can win the feature trot at Addington tonight. That is if trainer-driver Bob Butt’s prediction of what his stable runner is capable of is on the mark. Roydon Muscle is a relative newcomer to Butt’s care who after two disappointing performances at Nelson has been excellent in his subsequent two Addington starts. “We was working so well before Nelson I thought he had to be hard to beat up there but he didn’t race up to it,” explains Butt. “I thought…

By Michael Guerin Nathan Delany can’t decide which one of the three-year-old pacers he takes to Alexandra Park is the best chance. But the goods news for the Pukekohe trainer and partner Ray Green is he thinks they can both win. Their stable have an army of talented young pacers in work including Sammy Lincoln (R2, No.3) and Lincoln Wave (R6, No.6) in early races at the shortened Auckland meeting tonight. The pair clashed at last Friday’s soaked Alex Park meeting and Lincoln Wave led throughout while Sammy Lincoln stormed…

By Michael Guerin  Ben Hope says Muscle Mountain is ready to give punters what they want tonight and the way they want it too. The big boy returns after six weeks away from the races in the $40,000 Continental Summer Cup Trot at Addington, a race he has won three times before. There is no doubting Muscle Mountain is the best horse in tonight’s 1980m mobile as the winner of 39 races and over $1.1 million in stakes so the question punters taking the odds-on want to know is: is…