The McMillan Equine Feeds New Zealand Junior Drivers Championships, the $30,000 Silk Road Northern Spring Series Final, and the first ever running of the Group 3 The Dark Horse at Invercargill will all feature during another busy harness racing week, between now and Sunday. There are six race meetings in all, starting with the weekly Trot into Tuesday meeting at Cambridge today and finishing at Ascot Park on Sunday. The Junior Drivers’ Championships start at Cambridge today and then move to Addington on Wednesday and Friday. To see the…
Author: NZHarnessNews
Team Hughes heading back to Cambridge on a Tuesday
By Michael Guerin It worked so well last Tuesday that Team Hughes will try to double down on taking juveniles to Cambridge for confidence-boosting wins tonight. Trainers Brian and Gareth Hughes took their stable star Captain Sampson to Cambridge last Tuesday to keep him ticking over for the Woodlands Stud Sires’ Stakes at Addington on Cup Day and he duly won beating older horses. Captain Sampson won’t be returning today as he heads to Alex Park this Friday but co-trainer Gareth Hughes hopes the same recipe works for Crumsy (R3,…
Dobbs breaks through at drive no 131
By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk Geraldine trainer-driver Lionel Dobbs says it was “pretty overwhelming” to secure yesterday’s breakthrough win at Oamaru. At drive number 131, Dobbs reined home his first ever winner when Betterthandiva took out the David Ovens Building Mobile Pace, paying $23.90 and $4.50 From four back the running line Dobbs went four and five wide round the home turn and then charged to the line to win by half a length. “It was a good run but I was probably one horse further back then…
Tumby Park yet to decide on THE ASCENT runner
THE ASCENT and THE VELOCITY are the brand new $500,000 slot races that will be a big part of the Show Day Twilight race meeting at Addington Raceway on Friday, November 15. The $30,000 slots for the two races for the three-year-old trotters and pacers were snapped up in quick time – so who are the people behind the names? Over the next few weeks we will profile many of the slot holders. Today it’s Tumby Park By Adam Hamilton Scott Whitton’s love of harness racing’s biggest race meetings made…
Historical GST Input Claims – Refund Update
Historical GST Input Claims – Refund Update Following the announcement made on 25 July 2024, we are pleased to report that we have successfully refunded $1.46m to 3,800 owners for GST deducted from stakes paid between 2013 and 2018. We are now working to locate the remaining 2,000 owners who have not yet claimed their share, of the remaining $300,000. The majority of the unclaimed refunds are for less than $50. Please note that the refund only affects owners who were not GST registered. There is an option to donate…
This week critical to Leap To Fame’s NZ Cup bid
By Adam Hamilton The next few days will decide Leap To Fame’s IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup fate. Trainer-driver Grant Dixon said the champion Aussie pacer “seemed to have picked up” in the couple of days since an untimely virus forced him out of the Group 1 Victoria Cup. But owner Kevin Seymour stressed everything would need to go exactly right in the “next few days” to consider pushing ahead with a planned flight to Auckland with Leap To Fame on November 3. “He would need to get a clean…
Aussie News – October 13
Swayzee’s dominant win the Victoria Cup, Coastal Babe’s winning debut in Aussie, and Keayang Zahara’s ninth victory on the bounce all feature in today’s Aussie News. By Adam Hamilton Mighty stayer Swayzee rekindled memories of last year’s powerhouse New Zealand Cup win when he added last night’s $300,000 Group 1 Victoria Cup to his growing CV. Just as he did at Addington 11 months ago, Swayzee simply ran his rivals ragged last night. And that’s despite doing a power of early work from a back row draw to circle…
Cullen chasing more success at Oamaru today
By Jonny Turner After securing one of the most satisfying wins of his career, Hayden Cullen can cap an outstanding weekend at Oamaru on Sunday. The trainer heads south hot on the heels of producing Winelight to win the $150,000 NZB Standardbred Harness Million Two-Year-Old Fillies Final at Addington on Friday night. While no stranger to big race success following his time with Mark Purdon and the All Stars Stable, Cullen and his family have taken their solo training operation to big heights from humble beginnings, in little over a…
The New Zealand Cup 30 years ago – Bee Bee Cee
It’s 30 days until the running of the IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup at Addington raceway on Tuesday, November 12 so why not look back at the winner of the great race 30 years ago. In 1994 it was Bee Bee Cee By Dave Di Somma, Harness News desk Bee Bee Cee can lay claim to an unusual New Zealand Trotting Cup statistic. He raced in three New Zealand Cups and finished at the bottom and the top of two of them. He won at his first attempt against a…
Marketplace sets Addington alight with “tough and brave” win
By Michael Guerin The richest win of Regan Todd’s training career wasn’t about the money. Sure, it helps Todd owns 10 per cent of Marketplace, the wonderful two-year-old who set Addington alight winning the $200,000 NZB Standardbred Harness Million on Friday night. But the cash influx Todd will share with the other owners wasn’t what had him buzzing after the race. “I was thrilled to see him do it like that, to be so tough and brave,” said Todd. “At the 600m I thought he might be in trouble but…