Mapperley Stud stallion Contributer has been crowned New Zealand’s Champion second season sire. The son of High Chaparral sired 13 individual winners in New Zealand, notching up 18 separate victories and accumulating a total $354,916 in stakes. His star performer was Llanacord, the winner of the Gr.2 Lowland Stakes (2100m), while he also sired the stakes performers Follow Your Dreams, Lily’s Dream and Miss Dixie. Contributer’s status continued to rise with some exceptional performances in Australia where he sired first crop Gr.1 Randwick Guineas (1600m) winner and million-dollar earner Lion’s…
Month: August 2021
Belardo secures first season sire crown
Haunui Farm shuttle stallion Belardo secured last season’s title of New Zealand’s top first season sire with Yeaboi’s runner-up result in the Listed Ryder Stakes (1200m) at Otaki on Saturday. Belardo finished the season with four winners from 20 runners in New Zealand, including three black-type performers. Avonallo was Belardo’s flag bearing juvenile, having won the Listed Welcome Stakes (1000m) at Riccarton in November before placing in the $1 million Karaka Million 2YO (1200m) at Ellerslie in January. Belardo’s other stakes performers in New Zealand last season included Fonsallette, who…
Mr Brightside tipped for Toorak
The Gr.1 Toorak Handicap (1600m) is on the tongue of trainers Ben and JD Hayes when referencing Mr Brightside after his win over a mile at Sandown on Sunday. It was the first Melbourne winner for the brothers who have recently joined forces at Lindsay Park, and they were buoyed by the win. “It is really good to just get that first metro winner with my brother JD,” Ben Hayes told Racing.com. “We’ve been knocking on the door, lots of seconds and it’s been very frustrating but it’s really good…
First stakes victory for Leighton
Apprentice jockey Erin Leighton drew her family in large numbers to watch her at Otaki on Saturday, and she rewarded them with her first black type victory. Leighton, 29, not only attended the races with her mother Karen but also had much of her extended family present, many of whom live at Otaki. They were rewarded when Leighton produced a patient ride to win the Listed Ryder Stakes (1200m) aboard the $12 shot Ima Roca Bee. “My poppa, who’s in his 80s, lives in Otaki. He hasn’t been to the…
Coonee makes richly deserved breakthrough
It was a case of perseverance rewarded on Sunday when apprentice jockey Yash Coonee landed the first win of his career when promising gelding Some Like It Hot scored an impressive two-length victory at Te Aroha. The 28-year-old from Mauritius has endured a tumultuous last nine months as he waited for a visa to be approved, but the win aboard the Brian Hedley-trained four-year-old was worth the wait, with his dream of becoming a race winning rider becoming reality. It was just the sixth raceday ride for Coonee, who handled…
Wet track specialist extends record at Rotorua
Aero De Paris continued his purple patch of form at Rotorua on Saturday when winning the RG & CM Donaldson Memorial 1215. The Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott-trained gelding has now won two of his four starts this preparation, and finished runner-up in his other two starts. His trainers were pleased with the win and said he has matured a lot since his last preparation, allowing the Matamata conditioners to utilise the claim of apprentice jockey Joe Kamaruddin. “It was his career best performance on Saturday,” Scott said. “It was…
Ferguson and Rogerson enter training partnership
By Joshua Smith, Harness News Desk It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks for Dylan Ferguson. From the high of winning the Waikato Horse of The Year with She Reigns for employer Graeme Rogerson, to the low of watching his partner Jo Stevens recuperate in hospital after a riding incident, Ferguson has experienced a flurry of emotions of late. But he ended the season in pleasing fashion, winning behind stable representative Meetmeinsorrento at Alexandra Park on Friday night, recording Rogerson’s 25th training win of the season and his 33rd driving…
Daily Mail: Ferdinand Boy’s ghostly challenge
Healesville is set to host a cracking final of the Victorian Straight Track Championship today, featuring one of the biggest names in the sport, Ferdinand Boy. The dual country cups winner will be short in betting, but it’s worth noting that Utah Ghost was the fastest heat winner last week in 18.93sec REPLAY, 1.5L superior to Ferdinand Boy’s winning time REPLAY. The brilliant Coolant (11 from 19) will also go around at Healesville today. There will be plenty of interest in how Weblec Blazer (5 from 16) performs in his…
Greyhound racing and living in our community
With community engagement becoming increasingly important as we continue to manage COVID-19 lockdowns, Sale Greyhound Club continues to reach out to a variety of community groups in its local area. Every month the Sale GC invites groups to join them at its venue to raise funds and increase awareness within the community about their group or cause. “We welcome well over one hundred community clubs, non for profit and charity organisations every year and donate many hundreds of thousands of dollars to those same organisations.. we feel it’s an important…
Capuano’s coursing ‘fairytale’
Anakie trainer Clint Capuano, 34, is a self-proclaimed proponent of coursing. He even took to Facebook recently to espouse its virtues. “It’s one-on-one and gets the greyhounds switched on. It’s hugely beneficial,” he said. A self-employed concreter, Capuano mixes work with his greyhound racing passion. And he gave his own example of how coursing can provide a ‘mental spur’ to a greyhound. “I had Fairytale Wish in at Lang Lang (July 18) and she was annihilated in her first course. But she came out at Sandown four days later and…