Casey Lock was questioning her father’s (trainer Peter Lock) sanity when he outlaid $2,000 for a two-year-old filly at New Zealand Bloodstock’s 2019 May Sale, but now she is hailing him a genius. That filly was Sierra Sue (NZ) (Darci Brahma) and she gave Casey Lock her first taste of Group One success as an owner on Saturday when she won the Gr.1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield for trainers Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young. The Waikato horsewoman was working in Australia at the time her father purchased the now…
Month: February 2022
A Love Letter to Hastings
Hastings trainers Guy Lowry and Grant Cullen are hoping to snare top honours in the Gr.2 Little Avondale Lowland Stakes (2100m) at their home track on Wednesday with Love Letter (NZ) (Wrote). The Wrote filly heads into the race in good form, having won one of her five starts and placed in three others, including the Gr.2 Desert Gold Stakes (1600m) behind Gr.1 Vodafone New Zealand Derby (2400m) favourite La Crique (NZ) (Vadamos) at Trentham last month. Lowry is pleased with his filly ahead of Wednesday but he admitted to…
White Noise heads stable’s Derby attack
Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman will be represented by a trio of Gr.1 Vodafone New Zealand Derby (2400m) contenders at Ellerslie this weekend with White Noise (NZ) (El Roca) given the nod as their top seed. The Cambridge trainers will be chasing their third victory in Saturday’s feature, having prepared Mongolian Khan (Holy Roman Emperor) to triumph in 2015 and Vin De Dance (NZ) (Roc De Cambes) three years later. The stable will also run Regal Lion (NZ) (Jakkalberry) and Privileged Son (NZ) (Savabeel) and while both also have genuine…
Shepparton’s ‘super sideshow’
Some of the state’s most promising female and male sprinters set sail for Shepparton in tonight’s heats of the Matchmakers and Classic – both over 450m. The two Matchmakers heats, for the girls, are headlined by ‘starlets’ Idolize, Devine Empress and She’s Refined while the three Classic heats, for the boys, see ‘leading roles’ for tyros Fearless Rory and Orson Thunder along with the more experienced Earthworm Jim and Kysaiah. Here’s a summary, including several italicised prognostications from expert form analyst The Watchdog. “Devine Empress obliterated the clock at Warragul…
Hawera Cup heading to Palmerston North
Originally scheduled for Waitangi Day, the Hawera Cup will now be held at the Manawatu Raceway on Tuesday, March 29. The race was to be held at Hawera on Sunday, February 6 but bad weather forced the meeting to be abandoned. Now Harness Racing New Zealand has re-scheduled it to the end of the month. The Hawera Cup will be held two days before the Manawatu Festival Cup (Thursday, March 31). Both are qualification races for the $100,000 Country Cups championship that will be held at Addington on Easter Saturday…
Christen Me hits half ton in USA
by Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk Christen Me’s heroics in North America have us got thinking. The former New Zealand Horse of the Year, owned by Dexter Dunn, chalked up win career number 50 over the weekend at Miami Valley Raceway in Ohio. Now based in the USA, the champion driver claimed Christen Me for $US30,000 in September last year saying at the time – “I feel like I’m his family. He’s from back home and I’m from back there. He was Horse of the Year one year and…
Wendy Devenport and her winning “rogue”
by Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk Training a horse like Uncle Drew isn’t always easy – and can sometimes be very painful – but it has its rewards. The Sir Lincoln seven-year-old has compiled a tidy record of six wins from 63 starts. He won both days at the recent Hawera meetings, including the Taranaki Cup last Wednesday for driver Andre Poutama. “He’s a grinder who’s suited to the grass,” says trainer Wendy Devenport, who’s based at Otaki on the Kapiti Coast, “I was very very pleased to win…
Kembla Grange tips, odds & quaddie picks | Tuesday, March 1
What Kembla Grange Races Where Tuesday, March 1, 2022 When Kembla Grange Racecourse – Princes Hwy, Kembla Grange NSW 2526 First Race 1:15pm AEDT Watch Live Streaming Live at Sportsbet HorseBetting’s New South Wales form analyst brings you his best bets and quaddie numbers for a very wet Kembla Grange on Tuesday. With torrential rain hammering the east coast of Australia over the past few days, the meeting has to be in some serious doubt of going ahead. The track is currently rated a Heavy 10, while the rail is…
Daily Mail: Young idols racing at Shepparton
She’s Refined showcased her ability during the Melbourne Cup Carnival, but she faces her toughest test this evening against G1 National Futurity winner and G1 Temlee runner-up Idolize in a heat of the Shepparton Matchmaker. G2 Laurels finalist Devine Empress contests the other heat of the Shepparton Matchmaker, while her kennelmate and G2 Warragul Cup winner Robbie Rotten headlines a Mixed 4/5 450m race. Jungle Panther, High End and G3 placegetter Earthworm Jim clash in the first heat of the Shepparton Classic, while G3 finalist Zigzag Cabang, Brewski Bruce and…
Bendigo racing tips, top odds & quaddie | Tuesday, March 1
What Bendigo Races Where Bendigo Jockey Club – Heinz St, White Hills VIC 3550 When Tuesday, March 1 2022 First Race 1:30pm AEDT Watch Live Streaming Live at Sportsbet Racing heads to the Bendigo Jockey Club on Tuesday afternoon, and HorseBetting.com.au’s Victorian racing analyst presents his best bets and free quaddie picks for the eight-part card. The track has come up a Good 4 and the rail is out 7m for the entire circuit, meaning it could prove to be advantageous to be up on speed. Racing is set to…