Vale Noel Poingdestre
Harness Racing New Zealand sends its condolences to the family of Noel Poingdestre who has died in Hawera. An owner and trainer, he is being remembered as a real character who loved the sport. The Hawera Harness Racing Club has also paid tribute to him, saying they will “certainly miss his quick wit and endless supply of stories”. His last official runner was the fourth-placed Manny at last Sunday’s Hawera meeting. He died after a short illness, aged 74. A farewell service will be held in New Plymouth tomorrow.
Total tops $3000
With two days to go before they set off Addington Raceway’s Coast to Coast team has raised $3275 so far. Chief Executive Brian Thompson, Property and Facilities Manager John Denton and IT Manager Andy Ross will run, bike and kayak 238 kilometres from Kumara to New Brighton as a three-person team. The two-day event starts first thing Friday morning, with a likely finishing time of mid-late afternoon Saturday. They are doing the iconic race to raise money for the Horse Ambulance Trust. Anyone wanting to donate can click here
Williams wins again
Top Kiwi driver Tim Williams has made it two Sydney wins in just a matter of days after hot favourite Kahlua Flybye won at Menangle last night. The victory follows that of B D Joe on Saturday night. Both horses are trained by Steve and Amanda Telfer and Hayden Cullen.
400 for Butcher
David Butcher trained his 400th winner when Caulfield won for driver Zev Meredith at Hawera last Friday (Feb 3). He has 57 on his account since 2017, and 343 with father John Butcher between 1989 and 2017. As a driver he has 2563 wins, putting him fourth all-time behind the only drivers to have had more than 3000 winners, Tony Herlihy, Maurice McKendry and Ricky May.
Dunns dominate in 2023
Team Dunn continues to be the front runners in both the trainers’ and drivers’ premierships. Robert and Jenna Dunn have 26 wins in 2023, 14 ahead of Michael House, while John Dunn has 22 wins from exactly 100 drives. That’s seven clear of defending champion Blair Orange and Matthew Williamson.
Breeders AGM date confirmed
The New Zealand Standardbred Breeders Association AGM will be in Christchurch on Monday February 20 after the NZB Standardbred Yearling Sales. Starting at 5.30pm it will be held at the NZB – NZSDBA tent at the Canterbury saleyards. The NZB Yearling sales will be held between February 19 and 22 at Karaka and Christchurch.
Hibell leads Revell Douglas series
The in-form Leah Hibell leads the Hygain Revell Douglas Memorial Series after two days of racing at Hawera. She has 48 points after a win, two seconds and a sixth to lead Alicia Harrison by just one point, with Crystal Hackett third on 35. The next heats will be at the Hororata meeting at Methven this Sunday. There will also be two heats in Cromwell on Feb 24 and 26 and a final heat has been added to the series on March 19 at Motukarara.
Arty too good on debut
Millionaire pacer Lochinvar Art has made an impressive debut in North America, with the former Australian star winning at the Meadowlands for Shane and Lauren Tritton. It was also Lauren’s first winning drive at the Big M. Former Kiwi pacer Burnham Boy and Dexter Dunn were second.
16 in row in North America
How’s things for a winning streak. Owned, trained and driven by 77-year-old Gerry Longo, Divine Art has now 16 win a row in North America. After starting the winning streak in Canada the latest victory came in California. It was the four-year-old mare’s fourth straight win at Cal Expo.
Team Teal Quiz
The first ever Team Teal quiz night will be held at Addington Raceway on Tuesday March 14. There will be racing theme to some of the questions but it will more of a test of your general knowledge. There will teams of 4-6, entry is $10 per person. There will be also be raffles and giveaways throughout the night. Doors open at Spectators at 6 with the quiz starting at 7. All proceeds will go to the Teal Pants campaign which raises funds for ovarian cancer research. For more information contact courtney@hrnz.co.nz
