Author: NZHarnessNews

By Jonny Turner The people came and they saw Krug conquer. The Cran and Chrissie Dalgety trained pacer and his rookie pilot Carter Dalgety charged into Southland’s history books by brilliantly winning the Group One Invercargill Cup on Saturday. To say Krug was in the zone and looking every bit as good as he has in his three prior Group One wins may be an understatement. The Dalgetys clearly had the four-year-old primed for an epic performance, and his nineteen-year-old reinsman was too, making them an unstoppable force. “He warmed…

By Adam Hamilton There is just no stopping the Jason Grimson juggernaut. Just a week after capturing his second successive Inter Dominion pacing final, Grimson snared the $100,000 Group 1 Cranbourne Cup with recent stable addition Major Meister. And he thinks there are even bigger wins in store for the five-year-old. Major Meister found the front cheaply and won as he liked by 8.7m, leaving two of Australia’s best pacers in his wake in Mach Dan (second) and Rock N Roll Doo (third). It was just his second start for…

By Adam Hamilton Former Kiwi pacer Himself proved the strongest when he caused a huge upset in the $200,000 Group 1 Golden Nugget at Gloucester Park. Last Friday night’s feature proved a real war of attrition after leaders Pinny Tiger and Lavra Joe scorched through an almost unthinkable 63sec lead time for the long 2536m trip. It set-up a track record-breaking 1min54sec mile rate, taking 0.1sec off Vampiro’s record from December 18, 2020. Driver Dylan Egerton-Green found himself back last from gate five, but it was a blessing in disguise…

By Joshua Smith, Harness News Desk Back-to-back grass feature wins beckon Corravally Star when he heads to Rangiora on Sunday. The Washington VC entire was victorious in the Green Mile (1609m) at Methven last Sunday and will back-up this weekend in the New World Rangiora Summer Cup (2600m). Trainer Regan Todd has been pleased with the way Corravally Star has come through the run but believes his 30m back mark will be his biggest hurdle this weekend. “It is going to be hard for him off 30m, but he is…

By Joshua Smith, Harness News Desk Midnight Dash is set to join stablemate Muscle Mountain on an Australian campaign next month after his win at Addington Raceway on Friday. Things didn’t get off to the smoothest of starts in the Airpark Canterbury Handicap Trot (2600m), with the five-year-old gelding rearing over before the start. However, he took no ill effects from the incident and made light work of his 40m mark to easily account for his opposition to win by two lengths. It was just reward for the consistent square-gaiter…

By Michael Guerin Sometimes Copy That performs to a level that makes you wonder how he ever gets beaten. The $50,000 Thames Goldfields Cup at Alexandra Park on Friday night was one of those moments. The dual New Zealand Cup winner overcame a 30m backmark over 2200m and the rubber really hit the road at the 250m mark when he hit his impressive top speed to blaze over the top of a brave Hey Bartender. The runner-up is no slouch, certain to end up in open class himself, but Copy…

By Michael Guerin Don’t bother asking James Stormont the last time he won a Group 1 before Allamericanlover’s pinnacle moment in the $100,000 Rosslands Stud Queen Of Hearts at Alexandra Park on Friday. Because the Pukekohe horseman had no idea. Stormont produced what turned out to be a perfect drive to get Allamericanlover up along the passing lane to grab favourite and leader Manhattan in the shadow on the post in Auckland’s richest mare’s pace. For those keeping score it was Stormont’s first Group 1 since Susie Maguire won the…

The Invercargill Trotting Club has produced a comprehensive betting guide for today’s huge Group One Invercargill Cup meeting at Ascot Park. Check it out! Invercargill Cup Day Betting Analysis – Race 1 McLean looks primed and ready for a big return to racing after two nice local workout wins. He’s taken on better fields than this and he should take plenty of holding out from his great draw. Need A Change is a very honest type and she’s also drawn well, so she looks like a strong eachway hope. Magie…

By Jonny Turner The All Stars stable has touched down in Invercargill and all signs point to them making a big impact in Southland’s first-ever Group 1 race. The Mark Purdon and Hayden Cullen stable have a huge hand to play in the Group 1 Invercargill Cup with their open class stars Self Assured and Spankem. Having competed successfully at every harness racing carnival in Australasia that matters, Mark Purdon is looking forward to being a part of Southland’s history-making day. “Absolutely – it has been a while since I…