Boxing

Succession after succession of elite NZ Racing Admin had have the opportunity to fix these venues for years and years, none of them have done a positive thing to do that. They have simply sucked the sav and moved on . Bill Murray would call it Groundhog day on steroids if he knew about it.  Unfortunately you seem to live in fairy land @Chief Stipe where you think these people care and are actually competent enough to do something , this latest lot are just the latest lot putting another nail in NZracing coffin. Eventually they'll really get their way then you'll know its well and truly over for the sport in this country. That being the case stop wasting time and get yourself on a racing club committee to share all the ideas that youre full of!  

it looked pretty inexperienced .Its gait wasn't the best early and it got a fair way back,but ran on ok.It looks like it would gallop next time if amongst horses early or get too far back again,so i wouldn't be backing it to win for a few starts until you've seen a bit more of it.She did have a few looks to see what was happening in front of her,but only she could answer why.But i think it just looked  like an  inexperienced horse not up to running in the money just yet.

When local trainer Jo-Anne Dalton put a saddle on Sestina (NZ) (Lonhro) for Sunday’s Gladvale Farms Winton Cup (1400m) at Ascot Park, she expected the $35,000 race to be little more than a pipe-opener ahead of the Cromwell Cup (2030m) next weekend – but the Lonhro mare had other ideas. Sestina swept to victory in Sunday’s open handicap, recording her second 1400m success from only three starts so far in her six-year-old season. “It’s a big surprise, to be fair,” Dalton said. “Even Tina (Comignaghi, jockey) thought she’d be flat-footed today over 1400m. We normally need a wet track for this mare to be competitive over these shorter trips. But the little tart has pulled one out of the box today! “She’s been a handful around the stables all week and really needed to have a run here today ahead of Cromwell next week. “She should be a stayer, but this is her second win over 1400m this time in. We’ll take it!” Comignaghi settled Sestina in fourth place as Balzano and Sir Sterling duelled for the lead and dragged the field around the Ascot Park circuit at a strong pace. Those efforts began to take their toll on that pair as they straightened for home, and Comignaghi had Sestina poised to pounce. She presented her mount on the outside of the leaders at the turn and drove her over the top of them down the straight, going on to win by half a length over Tomasina and Ex Aye. Bred by Cambridge Stud’s Sir Brendan and Lady Jo Lindsay, Sestina has now had 31 starts for five wins, 11 placings and $155,555 in stakes. “I thought during the race that she seemed to be travelling well and was in a good spot,” Dalton said. “When she pulled out, I thought, ‘Here we go!’ “She has a few quirks – things have to be done her way and in her own time, when she feels like it. She’s a bit bossy. But she’s got ability. “We’ll head to the Cromwell Cup next Sunday. We’ll go up to 2000m, which we thought would suit her a lot better than today’s race!” The Winton Cup completed a winning double on Sunday’s Ascot Park card for Dalton, who earlier in the afternoon saddled Venetian (Castelvecchio) for a five-length runaway in the Advance Agriculture & Sinclair Transport Maiden (1400m). That lightly raced four-year-old mare is owned by the Harper and Kilkelly families, who also race Sestina as well as Sunday’s Travellers Rest Tavern & Mud & Daggs Rating 65 (1600m) runner-up Ominous. View the full article

Join Guy Heveldt, Emily Murphy and Aidan Rodley has the break down the action from a sunny Pukekohe Park for Counties Cup day. Weigh In, November 23 View the full article

Steven Ramsay and Julia Ritchie trained their 200th winner in the blue and white hooped colours of owner-breeder Sir Peter Vela when talented filly Passiflora (NZ) (Farnan) led all the way in Saturday’s Happy Hire 3YO (1200m) at Wanganui. The Ramsay-Ritchie partnership has now been credited with 200 wins from 1427 runners, with 14 black-type successes including Guiseppina in the Gr.1 Telegraph (1200m), Rasa Lila and Dolmabache in the Gr.2 Travis Stakes (2000m), and Group Three victories by Amaryllis, Pure Elegance, Rasa Lila and Island Life. “It’s a real buzz for us to train 200 winners for Sir Peter Vela,” Ramsay said on Saturday. “He and his late brother Philip have given us incredible support through our careers, and we’re just so happy to be involved in the team.” Passiflora has emerged this spring as one of the more promising young members of Ramsay and Ritchie’s Matamata stable. She was a front-running debut winner over 970m on the Cambridge synthetic track on September 10, then ran third behind War Princess and Lubeck in a strong three-year-old race at Tauranga on November 1. Saturday’s $40,000 age-group sprint was her third start, and she again controlled the race from the front before kicking hard at the home corner. Perfect Habit finished strongly and ate into her margin, but Passiflora refused to let that rival pass. She held on grimly to win by a neck, with two and a half lengths back to the third-placed Our Sniper. “I thought there would be a bit of speed on, but in the end I got an easy lead and stacked them up a little bit,” winning rider Leah Hemi said. “She kicked away nicely at the turn. She’s a tiny little thing, but she’s got a good attitude.” Passiflora’s three-start career has produced two wins, a third and $36,960 in stakes. “She was really good on the synthetic first-up, where she jumped and ran and put them away,” Ramsay said. “I think it was quite a tidy field that she came up against at Tauranga the other day, and she boxed on well that day. “Leah gave her a good ride today and the filly really dug in too. She’s not overly big, but she’s got a bit of class.” Passiflora comes from the first crop by Gr.1 Golden Slipper (1200m) winner Farnan and is his first New Zealand winner. He has sired a total of 23 winners from 70 runners, including North England, King Of Pop and Recuperato at stakes level. The dam of Passiflora is Sir Peter Vela’s homebred Charm Spirit mare Lilikoi, who won three races including the Gr.3 Eulogy Stakes (1600m). She also placed in the Gr.2 Royal Stakes (2000m). Sir Peter Vela’s Pencarrow Stud will offer a Super Seth half-brother to Passiflora as Lot 522 during Book 1 of Karaka 2026 on January 25 and 26. View the full article