By Jonny Turner After an all-conquering season, Matthew Williamson hopes to keep his momentum going in 2025 with a big Roxburgh Cup day on Saturday. The trainer produced a personal-best 39 wins in 2024, making him the leading trainer both in Otago and south of the Waitaki River. Though he is undoubtedly the public face of his operation, Williamson was quick to credit those behind the scenes for his breakout season. “If you had told me at the start of last year that we would have ended up where we…
Category: Meeting Previews
Oscar heading back across the Tasman
By Michael Guerin Five years is a long time to wait for redemption. In racing entire careers start, blossom and end much quicker than that all the time. But on Febuary 1, five years after he last raced and finished unplaced in the Great Southern Star, Kiwi speed machine Oscar Bonavena is heading back to Melton for a another shot at the title. The title has of course changed. The Great Southern Star was 2760m mobile back on February 1, 2020 when Oscar Bonavena sat parked and finished a brave…
Echappe makes all the right moves at Rangiora
By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk Canterbury trainer James McDonald’s confidence in his horse was well placed when Echappe won at Rangiora yesterday. The Always B Miki four-year-old raced parked for much of the Keith Woolley Fencing Mobile Pace only to run down the pace-making Newbiemains Arden, winning by just over a length. “She is usually better coming off a horse’s back with one run at them but we thought we would take luck out of play,” says the Ladbroooks-based MacDonald. Driven by Gerard O’Reilly, it was the mare’s…
New Year’s Eve sees 2024 out on a high
Harness Racing New Zealand is delighted that 2024 has finished with a flourish, with Auckland’s New Year’s Eve meeting a success both in terms of crowd numbers and turnover. The Auckland Trotting Club’s twilight meeting was popular with racegoers and turnover was up markedly on last year with latest figures showing the 10-race programme amassing $1.4m, compared to $823K in 2023, and $1m for 10 races in 2023. The increase is in line with a 20 per cent increase in harness racing turnovers across the board this year, compared to…
Mo’unga and Pinseeker dominate market for Central Otago Cup
By Jonny Turner Tactics look set to be the key factor as Mo’unga and Pinseeker go head to head in Thursday’s Group 3 Central Otago Trotting Cup at Omakau. The two star pacers head a field of just five runners confirmed for the 2000m feature. While the pair are closely matched on talent, Mo’unga and Pinseeker appear poles apart on the early tactical speed they’ve shown so far. The Regan Todd trained Mo’unga is a noted mobile speedster who can overcome drawing the outside of the front line with a…
News Briefs : January 1
It’s straight back into action for our best drivers and trainers, Dexter Dunn completes an amazing year and Next Gen heads south in the first News Briefs for 2025. No rest for premiership winners Just hours after clinching their latest drivers and trainers’ premierships, Blair Orange and Robert and Jenna Dunn will be back in action today as the 2025 season gets underway at Rangiora, starting at 1.10pm. The season wrapped up after last night’s big Auckland Cup meeting at Alexandra Park with Orange finishing with 196 wins, and surpassing…
Youth Development Packages from January 1,2025
HRNZ is pleased to announce a new safety gear package is available for some of our younger and newest participants. From January 1,2025 new licence-holders aged 30 and under will be eligible for the package, as long as they have enrolled, are actively participating in or have completed the Harness Horse Cadet Scheme. The new Licence-holder Safety Gear Packages are as follows : New Trials Drivers 30 years of age or younger will receive a Helmet and Safety Vest New Junior Drivers 30 years of age or younger will receive…
New year new goals for Aussie star
By Adam Hamilton As we welcome in the New Year owner Kevin Seymour admits a hunger to chase feature race success in NZ is high on Leap To Fame’s priority list in 2025. As the champion pacer nears a racetrack return, Seymour admits Leap Too Fame’s future stallion career called for Kiwis to see him race in the flesh. “As his stallion career gets closer, there’s certainly value and importance in winning a big race in NZ so they can see with their own eyes how good he is,” he…
Dalgetys and Hopes celebrate after Group 1 success at Alexandra Park
By Michael Guerin Two couples who have put faith in their sons received the ultimate racing reward at Alexandra Park on Tuesday night. Because when Republican Party and Muscle Mountain won their respective Group 1s their trainers were just as proud of their drivers as their horses. Republican Party captured Alexandra Park’s biggest race, the $250,000 Trillian Trust Auckland Cup after a step-trail-and-wait drive by Carter Dalgety on the little pacer trained by his parents Cran and Chrissie. It was the biggest win for the horse, Chrissie and Carter and…
Selections | Alexandra Park
Selections for Alexandra Park tonight Auckland Aaron White Commentator Race 13.13pm 2 Hillbilly7 Pat Yates 1 Rebel Castleton6 Rewiri Hill Race 23.39pm 3 Colonel Lincoln8 Frisco Bay4 Always B Stunning6 Gotta Go Miki Race 34.04pm 1 Abman3 Greased Lightnin2 Roy Kent7 Cheer The Captain Race 44.30pm 7 Invisible5 Hooray Henry1 Sugar Ray Lincoln10 Louezyana Race 55.07pm 12 Magic Dream7 Halberg11 Con Grazia Love4 Father Barry Race 65.47pm 6 Dance Till Dawn7 Mr Kaplan8 Treacherous Gall9 Seaclusion Race 76.19pm 4 Muscle Mountain5 Oscar Bonavena2 One More Moment1 Virginia…