Category: Meeting Previews

100 training wins for two northern trainers, a campaign to keep our roads safer, a flash fund-raiser for the Horse Ambulance Trust,  and a dual sulky race with a difference all feature in this week’s News Briefs. Hopkins  and Sharpe with 100th winners  Two northern trainers had big milestones over the weekend. Tate Hopkins and Craig Sharpe both had their 100th training wins at Alexandra Park on Friday night. Hopkins’ victory was with Cyclone Rebel who won at big odds ($70) for driver Matty White in his Woodlands Stud Sires’…

Check out this week’s The Box Seat with hosts Matt Cross, Brittany Graham and Greg O’Connor.   

Alta Meteor has been the biggest mover in this week’s rankings for the IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup, to be held at Addington Raceway on Tuesday, November 11. The Steve and Amanda Telfer-trained pacer made it back to back wins this campaign when he was victorious in last Friday’s Avon City Ford New Brighton Cup. As the race is an automatic qualifier for the Cup Alta Meteor is guaranteed a place in the $1m race, if nominated He is now fifth in the rankings, up eight places from last week. The rest of the…

By Adam Hamilton  Star Aussie trotter Arcee Phoenix took a giant step towards another successful Kiwi raid with the first few steps of his Melton trial yesterday. The Inter Dominion trotting winner pleased trainer-driver Chris Svanosio with how well he stepped away from a rare standing-start task when a late-closing second to fellow Inter Dominion finalist Parisian Artiste in the 2240m trial. “It was great to get a standing trial given his main (NZ) target is the (Group 1) Dominion from  a stand,” Svanosio said. “It was his first trial…

Two new schemes, with the joint goal of getting more mares in foal, have been announced in time for the 2025 breeding season. The New Zealand Standardbred Breeders Association (NZSBA) has created a database of mares that are available right around the country while the North Canterbury-based Wai Eyre Farm has come up with a new “Lease to Buy” programme. NZSBA : The NZSBA’s live table of all available mares is an interim step before it launches its Breeders Exchange platform later this month. It is an easy to use…

By Mike Love  Nearly two years after making his debut Verducci broke his maiden status at start number 29 at Methven yesterday. The six-year-old Sportswriter gelding took out the Mt Hutt Motels Mobile Pace for West Melton trainer-driver Jessica Young-Grant, after placing eight times previously. It was Young-Grant’s 128th success in the sulky and her third as a trainer. “It was a good win. He’s been an enigma. He’s a super track worker,” said Young-Grant.  Young-Grant said her expectations had been set high early in the gelding’s career. “When he…

By Mike Love  Ashburton trainer-driver John Hay returns from winter hibernation to line up his well-thought-of gelding Moonshiner on the grass at Methven today. In what could be the omen bet considering the full moon this weekend, Moonshiner is a $3.50 favourite in Race 7, the Peter Lagan Standardbreds Pace over 2400m at 2.49pm. “I haven’t raced anything over the past few winters. I went on holiday for a month, so he (Moonshiner) had five weeks off. “I’m working eight at the moment. All just young ones and qualifiers. He’s…

By Michael Guerin As one door closes, another opens. That tells the tale of Cyclone Rebel, who caused a mammoth upset winning on debut at Alexandra Park on Friday night at $70 on the tote. The son of Bettors Delight had to be good too, overcoming a second line draw in the hands of Matty White to divebomb Andretti, whose drive from Andre Poutama to be trailing early from barrier eight deserved better. But the winner did what very few juveniles do, particularly in Woodlands Sires’ Stakes heats and trainer…