Category: Punting

The second week of November is harness racing nirvana, and the next seven days will not disappoint. A six race meeting at Manawatu today gets the week underway before all attention turns to the biggest day of them all at Addington Raceway tomorrow for four Group 1s including the $1m IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup and the $400,000 Renwick Farms Dominion Trot. Ashburton will hold its “Showcase” meeting on Thursday before it’s back to Addington on Show Day for four more Group 1s plus the first ever $500,000 slot races,…

By Adam Hamilton  Jason Grimson isn’t short of confidence ahead of his IRT NZ Cup defence with Swayzee. Speaking on Melbourne radio SEN Track, the Menangle trainer said: “This is my Cup and I’m coming to get it again.” Grimson’s bullishness grew after Swayzee came through a seven-hour return trip to win the Cherry City Cup at Young on Friday. Today he boards a flight from Sydney to Auckland then a connector down to Christchurch. When he tackles Tuesday’s $1 million Cup, it will be less than four days since…

By Jonny Turner Mark Hurrell has four missions to complete before linking up with one of the south’s biggest chances on New Zealand Cup Day. Hurrell has four drives at Wyndham on Sunday including warm favourite First Light. The mare was only just denied in her first start for the spring when overhauled late by the very impressive Winton winner Muchacho. With several factors looking in her favour this week, First Light looks a big winning chance for Hurrell and trainer Greg Hunter. “She just blew out late in her…

Cup Week is upon us! And we’ve got all the information you need to get involved in the fantastic week of racing Our 2024 Lift-Out includes previews from Michael Guerin, Dave Di Somma and Mike Love; fun facts, selections, full fields for Cup Day, Ashburton happenings and a Sweepstake kit for the office.  Click here

By Adam Hamilton  All the signs are great with glamour Aussie trotting filly Keayang Zahara ahead of her first NZ run next week. Driver Jason Lee was all smiles after taking the three-year-old for her first spin around Addington on Saturday morning, ahead of Friday’s inaugural $500,000 Majestic Horse Floats LP THE ASCENT. Keayang Zahara is unbeaten in 11 starts, five of them at Group 1 level. “It’s another box we’ve ticked-off on a trip where everything has gone to plan, maybe even a bit better than Paddy (Lee, co-trainer)…

By Adam Hamilton  The first step of Swayzee’s extraordinary IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup title defence went without fuss when he easily won last night’s $60,000 Cherry City Cup (2887m) at Young. The race, which required a seven-hour return road trip from Swayzee’s Menangle barn, was crucial as it kept alive his quest to snare a $1 million bonus for winning all five legs of the NSW Carnival of Cups series. Swayzee won the first leg at Parkes on September 20 and last night’s race at Young was the second…