By Jonny Turner Nathan Williamson is seeking a different kind of Group 1 winning feeling at Addington tonight. Williamson enjoyed dual Group 1 success during New Zealand Cup Week, though not in his colours. The Southern horseman is the breeder of Aussie trotting star Gus, who won both the Dominion Trot and the New Zealand Trotting Free-For-All during an epic raid on his homeland. While it may have appeared to many that Williamson enjoyed a handy Cup Week with decent results, behind the scenes it has been a chaotic month…
Category: Punting
It’s on – Got The Chocolates and Marketplace square off in tonight’s NZ Derby
By Michael Guerin Driver John Dunn blames himself for the one glaring anomaly in harness racing’s hottest arch rivalry. Dunn drives Got The Chocolates, the hot favourite for tonight’s $300,000 Garrards NZ Derby at Addington (9.07pm) even though he is up against Marketplace, who has been considered superior for much of the last year. That has changed in their last three clashes and Got The Chocolates landed the killer blow in their personal battle when he sat outside Marketplace and crunched him in the $500,000 THE VELOCITY slot race last…
Spirit of Atlanta good chance to break maidens at Rangiora today
By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk Spirit of Atlanta has the look of a readymade winner at Rangiora today (Thursday). The Lather Up three-year-old has placed three times in five starts and was an eye catching second to the highly-rated Transonic who gave Tim Williams his 100th winner on debut at Ashburton during Cup week. It certainly looked the run of a “next-upper” and she certainly hasn’t been missed by anyone, opening a red hot $1.60 favourite. “She is a tough wee thing,” Holmes says of Spirit Of Atlanta,…
New GPS-RTK timing and tracking system transforming New Zealand racing
New Zealand racing is taking a major leap forward with the rollout of a new 4G real-time GPS-RTK (real-time kinematic positioning) timing and tracking system that is transforming how races are run, viewed, and enjoyed for Kiwi racing fans. In a partnership between Entain Australia and New Zealand (the operators of TAB, betcha and Trackside), the regulatory body TAB New Zealand, and technology provider tripleSdata, the next-generation 4G GPS-RTK system is being implemented across 30 racecourses nationwide, covering more than 90 percent of all race meetings across both thoroughbred and…
Dalgety with six drives at Invercargill today
By Jonny Turner One heated battle went unnoticed during the excitement of New Zealand Cup Week. A crucial move in the National Junior Drivers’ Premiership has made it all the more important that Carter Dalgety hits the road again and heads to Ascot Park on Wednesday. Dalgety now sits eight wins behind leader Wilson House after the latter racked up six wins during Cup Week. House reined home a winner on both New Zealand Cup Day and Show Day while also taking out four races at Manawatū. Dalgety won just…
The New Zealand Derby – 100 Years Ago
Ahead of Friday’s huge race night at Addington that features five Group 1s, including the Garrards NZ Pacing Derby, we look back at the Derby exactly 100 years ago. By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk A century ago there wasn’t just one Derby – there were two. The first one was at New Brighton in March, the second at Addington in November. Kohara’s win was the last at New Brighton before the shift in date and venue with Native Chief (pictured above) being the first at the “new”…
Huge test for The Lazarus Effect in Friday’s Christian Cullen
By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk Just how good is The Lazarus Effect? It seems we will find out the answer in Friday’s $125,000 Group 1 Christian Cullen at Addington. The Bob Butt-trained pacer has created a lot of buzz with seven wins from 10 starts and now takes on a star studded line-up that includes recently crowned New Zealand Cup champion Kingman. “I don’t know how good is he to be honest,” says trainer Bob Butt. “He just keeps improving and I haven’t found the ceiling yet. I…
12 drivers confirmed for NZ Junior Driver Championships
Top northern driver Crystal Hackett will be back to defend her title when the New Zealand Junior Driver Championships are held later this month. The three legs of the Championship will be held over four days at Cambridge, Addington and Methven. Last year Hackett won the Championship at her third attempt, edging out Kerryn Tomlinson and Olivia Thornley. She’ll be joined this year by other young guns like Wilson House, Carter Dalgety and Sam Thornley and three newcomers in Harrison Orange, Hayden Douglas and Mia Holbrough. The 12 drivers are…
Owners get great return with Bowlem Over
By Jonny Turner The Bowl A Bouncer Syndicate took a throw at the stumps and it keeps paying winning dividends. The ownership group enjoyed their second win in three weeks when Bowlem Over produced a strong victory for trainer Robin Swain and driver Matthew Williamson at Winton on Sunday. While he is clearly in brilliant form now, the six-year-old wasn’t at the top of his game through periods earlier this year. When it was clear that something needed investigating, the Bowl A Bouncer Syndicate weighed up their options and decided…
Tubbs opts for Oaks over Derby with Tracy The Jet
By Michael Guerin Bad news for New Zealand’s best trotting fillies comes as a bonus for the boys heading to Friday’s $200,000 NZ Trotting Derby at Addington. Because trainer Jess Tubbs has decided to target the Oaks with last Friday’s $500,000 Ascent winner Tracy The Jet. The outstanding filly made a mess of her rivals of both sexes when leading throughout in Friday’s slot race and is the TAB Futures favourite for both the Trotting Oaks and Derby back at Addington this Friday. But Tubbs says Tracy The Jet will…