Month: December 2023

Robbie Patterson has already successfully raided the Gr.3 Counties Cup (2100m) this season, and the New Plymouth trainer has another two northern staying features in his sights over the next few days. Patterson trained a career-best 50 winners last season and has started 2023-24 in a similar vein. He already has 20 wins to his name, headed by Puntura in the Gr.2 Manawatu Breeders’ Stakes (1400m) and Gr.3 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile (1600m), along with One Bold Cat in last month’s Counties Cup at Pukekohe. Last-start winner Nom De Plume is…

The race has begun to qualify for the $200,000 ODT Southern Mile Final (1600m) at Wingatui in March, and local trainers Brian and Shane Anderton are keen to once again be in the mix. The father-and-son duo took out this year’s edition of the race with their stakes winner Burgie and they are keen to chase the big prizemoney on offer with a number of their runners this season. “We were lucky enough to win it last season. It was only the first heat the other day so we will…

Mike Moroney and Pam Gerard made a big splash on Boxing Day with a rapidly improving three-year-old at the top of his game, and they are hoping New Year’s Day might bring something similar. The Matamata trainers struck Gr.2 Auckland Guineas (1400m) gold at Pukekohe on Tuesday with the overlooked $21 outsider Pendragon, who was unplaced in the first three starts of his career but has won three in a row since then. Gerard sees some similarities among the New Year’s Day contingent of Lingjun Xiongfeng, Force Of Law and…

The team at Cody Cole Racing got a much-needed boost over the busy summer racing period when they scored a winning treble at Arawa Park on Thursday. “We took six runners there and had three winners and two thirds, so it wasn’t a bad day,” trainer Cody Cole said. “It is a tough time of year, there is a lot of racing, and all the staff are working hard through the holiday period when most people are on holiday. It is nice to boost morale and keep everyone chipper.” Promising…

Stephen Marsh is confident of Velocious giving another bold account of herself at Pukekohe Park on New Year’s Day, although his confidence is tempered by an unfavourable forecast. The Cambridge trainer will run the daughter of Written Tycoon in the Gr.2 Skycity Eclipse Stakes (1200m) ahead of the TAB Karaka Million 2YO Classic (1200m) at Ellerslie on January 27. Velocious has impressed in both of her outings and while Marsh is more than happy with the filly’s condition, it is a factor out of his control that is a worry.…

A pair of rising stars of the South Island’s thoroughbred ranks faced their toughest test so far in the Craigmore Sustainable Holdings Timaru Heritage Cup (1600m) on Thursday, and they rose to the occasion and fought out a thrilling finish. Dazzling Miss and Jon Ol Rocco were unable to be separated at the finish of the time-honoured $80,000 feature, which has been run since 1875. It was the third time that the Timaru Cup has ended with a dead-heat for first, following on from 1944 (Gamble and Honest Sal) and…