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Category: Harness
News Briefs – February 19
Team Teal goes past $5000, Orange and House lead the premierships, and a job vacancy at Addington all feature in this week’s News Briefs. Team Teal’s big fund-raiser Harness Racing New Zealand’s annual Team Teal fund-raiser has just topped $5000, with the promise of a lot more to come. The campaign started on February 1 and will go through to March 16 with money raised every time a female driver in this country wins a race. That money comes from HRNZ, individual clubs and the drivers’ individual sponsors. So far…
$270,000 sales topper at Yearling Sales in Christchurch
A $270,000 colt was the top seller on day two of the NZB Standardbred National Yearling Sale in Christchurch. The two day sale concluded this afternoon with turnover overall at around $13m. A total of 91 yearlings were sold in Auckland ($5.7m) on Saturday while in Christchurch today 139 yearlings were sold ($7.3m). Bought by Cran Dalgety/Kentuckiana Lodge, the highest price today went to Lot 139, a Bettor’s Delight – Imagine Me colt offered by newly crowned Breeder of the Year, Taffy Limited. For Dalgety the colt reminded him of…
Vale John McIntosh
By Michael Guerin Harness racing lost not only a popular owner but one of its oldest ever recently. Northern owner John McIntosh passed away just days after turning 100, reports friend and long-time trainer Derek Balle. McIntosh was a constant in the Alexandra Park stabling clock for decades, racing horses firstly with another old friend the late Roy Purdon when he was training and ending up with Balle as his main trainer over the last 15 years. McIntosh went to the yearling sales and spent up big in 2016 when…
Ken Ford clocks up win number 200
There was a bit of history repeating itself for Ken Ford at Motukarara on Sunday. The veteran trainer brought up his 200th training success when Misty Blue, driven by grand-daughter Sheree Tomlinson, rushed home to win the Happy 21st Toddy McDermott Mobile Pace. The milestone came after his daughter Amanda, Sheree’s mother, drove his 100th training success with Zachary Binx in the Banks Peninsula Trotting Cup on the same track 10 years ago. “We were excited as hell,” he says when describing Misty Blue’s win. Now 76, Ken Ford has had…
Dalgety fired up for Ultimate Driver Competition
By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk Carter Dalgety’s excited, and upbeat, about what he calls his “biggest” challenge to date. The 21-year-old heads to Brisbane this week to take on some of the world’s best in the first ever Ultimate Driver Championship at Albion Park. Ten drivers will take part in the 20-race series on Friday and Saturday with the top points-scorer at the end taking home the $100,000 first prize. At the recent Harness Racing New Zealand Awards at Addington Dalgety, the country’s top junior driver in…
Sunday twilight to kick off at Manawatu
The first of Manawatu’s new look Sunday meetings will be held this weekend. Three twilight Sunday meetings have been scheduled between now and the end of their season in May. They are on February 23, March 30 and April 6. Each of the Sunday meetings is teamed up with a Tuesday meeting two days later, while the club has a series of Tuesday-Thursday meetings as well. “We have had successful Sunday afternoon meetings before. They are good family days,” says Manawatu Harness Racing Club President Dan Lynch, “and these meetings…
Yearling sales head south after Karaka record-breaker
By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk Christchurch has a hard act to follow after Karaka’s record-breaking success on day one of the NZB Standardbred National Yearling Sales. On Saturday sales exceeded $5.7m, including 18 lots that sold for $100,000 or more. Christchurch on Tuesday is a bigger sale numbers wise with around 200 yearlings, compared to 125 in Auckland. Leading the charge at Karaka was Stonewall Stud with boss Steve Stockman spending just over $1m on the day including a record-breaking $360,000 for the top two lots, two Captaintreacherous…
Varenna Franco gives Leacock-Jones first training win
By Mike Love A lot of excitement greeted Greendale trainer Norm Leacock-Jones’ first training success at Banks Peninsula yesterday. “We were all jumping up and down because we thought we’d got second – so when the announcer called her in first we couldn’t believe it,” said Leacock-Jones. In Race 3, the Seahorse Supplements Seahorse Mobile Pace, John Morrison eased Varenna Franco back from her outside draw to settle back of midfield in the running line. A couple of mid-race lead changes improved their position to one out one back…
Gutsell grabs quinella in Gore Cup – “a huge thrill”
By Jonny Turner Insarchatwist upstaged her younger siblings when cruising to victory in the Gore Town and Country Club Gore Summer Cup yesterday. The eight-year-old sped through underneath her brother Hacksaw Ridge, with the pair sealing a quinella in the feature event for trainer Ricky Gutsell and his racing partners Neil and Eualie Thwaites. The trio had already produced a significant accomplishment before the standing start tapes were released in the Gore Summer Cup. The quinella pairing of Insarchatwist and Hacksaw Ridge were joined in the 2750m feature by another…