Move To Strike (I Am Invincible) provided jockey Opie Bosson with a memorable result on Saturday when winning at Te Rapa. The Te Akau Racing-trained two-year-old provided Bosson with his 2000th domestic win and in doing so became the eighth to achieve the feat and joined, in order of most wins, Chris Johnson, David Walsh, Lance O’Sullivan, Noel Harris, Bill Skelton, Michael Coleman, and David Peake. Beautifully drawn in barrier one, Move To Strike was positioned fifth by Bosson before angling clear in the straight and produced a huge finish…
Year: 2023
Patience pays off with Zecora
Promising mare Zecora (NZ) (Power) made a welcome return to the winner’s enclosure at Te Rapa when she stormed home out wide to secure a thrilling victory in the Gr.3 J Swap Sprint (1400m). The six-year-old mare looked to have any amount of ability when winning three of her first nine starts before a fractured cannon bone intervened and saw her spend over a year away from the track for trainers, breeders and part-owners Russell and Robyn Rogers. A quiet run for second in a 1000m trial at Taupo last…
Last chance for O’Reilly at AYDC
Sarah O’Reilly carries New Zealand’s hopes going into the final heat of the 1Equine Australasian Young Drivers’ Championship (AYDC) at Albion Park in Brisbane tonight. The leading Kiwi junior is third equal after nine heats on 64 points with Joshua Gallgher, but within striking distance of the two leaders Angus Garrard (80 points) and Emily Suvaljko (73). O’Reilly had two fourths in heats eight and nine at Redcliffe last night. Tonight’s final heat is part of Inter Dominion Grand Final night at Albion Park and is due to go at…
Unfinished business for Kyle Austin
By Michael Guerin Kyle Austin is heading back to The Coast to try and win the Westport Cup his best ever pacer couldn’t. Austin trained Live On Legend to win the feature pace, the Betavet Mobile Pace, at Addington on Friday night, the four-year-old leading throughout in the hands of Blair Orange to beat a brave Fernetti. “Blair’s drive was a big help, he drove him perfectly,” says Austin of the 26.4 second last 400m quarter that secured him the win. It was Live On Legend’s fourth win and a…
Lady Of The Light’s win is what “racing is all about”
By Michael Guerin Jeremy Young never stopped believing in Lady Of The Light. Not when she went nine starts without winning a race last year. Not when she was beaten by Aardie’s Express in the Breeders Stakes a week ago. Not even when she drew the outside of the front line in the $110,000 Woodlands Stud Queen Of Hearts last Monday. And as it turns out, Young was right. His big, beautiful stable star turned a bad draw into good by using it as the surprise factor in the Alexandra…
Madam Dubai aiming for hat-trick at Ascot Park
Promising Southern mare Madam Dubai has given the extended Anderton family something to celebrate over recent months, and she will aim for a hat-trick of victories at Ascot Park on Saturday. The daughter of Pride Of Dubai commenced her career in Australia under the care of Philip Stokes, recording a win on debut and one further minor placing from six starts before being purchased on an Inglis Online Auction by Jack Stewart. Stewart plays a key role in the running of his grandfather and late grandmother, Brian and Lorraine Anderton’s…
Hasstobeawinner a winner
Patience was rewarded at Tauranga on Friday for the connections of talented four-year-old Hasstobeawinner, who cleared maiden ranks with a performance that was well worth the wait. The Vadamos gelding has shown ability from the beginning of his career, producing eye-catching finishes in his first two starts last season before running third behind subsequent Group Two performer Warsaw. In his first two starts as a four-year-old, Hasstobeawinner finished second behind First Five at Ruakaka and second again at Te Aroha on November 29 – beaten by a mere head by…
Volare looking to extend Williams’ winning run
Peter and Dawn Williams have had an outstanding strike rate over the last few weeks, and the Byerley Park trainers will try to continue their high-flying form with a single shot at Group Two success at Te Rapa on Saturday. Volare will be the only runner all weekend for the Williams team, lining up in the Cal Isuzu Stakes (1600m) for fillies and mares. The TAB rated her a $7 third favourite on Friday afternoon in a market headed by Pearl Of Alsace ($2.40) and Campionessa ($2.70). Leading into Saturday,…
Waisake getting ready for favourite carnival
The well-performed Waisake will take a big step towards his sixth Wellington Cup Carnival with a run in Saturday’s Majestic Horse Floats (2200m) at Trentham. The winner of eight races overall from a 44-start career, the Zed gelding has saved some of his very best for Wellington’s summer showpiece meetings. He began his annual tradition of heading to Trentham every January with a pair of Rating 65 appearances, winning in 2019 and finishing a luckless eighth a year later. The 2021 carnival was Waisake’s big breakthrough, romping home by four…
Big team at Te Rapa for Te Akau
Te Akau Racing will hold a strong hand in each of the three stakes races at Te Rapa on Saturday. Leading their charge will be a four-pronged attack in the Gr.3 J Swap Sprint (1400m), where Romancing The Moon ($3.30), Cognito ($5.50), and Aris Aris ($6) fill the first three lines of betting. Romancing The Moon heads into the weekend off the back of a third placed run behind Sacred Satono and Babylon Berlin in the Gr.3 Counties Bowl (1100m) at Pukekohe last month, and trainers Mark Walker and Sam…