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Woodbine and Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario Reach Settlement Regarding Track Safety
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I certainly see in the below, no reason for that. Thomass Special Needs 4.8k Posted yesterday at 12:16 PM What a talent this apprentice is Intelligent on and off the horse...interviews brilliantly with incisive comments beyond her years However over the years talented apprentices also tend to have brain explosions...their want of success is that great Hayley appears to be no exception As per normal every winter she failed to ride her mount out to the finish midweek...stipes wiping her out for a month Saturday to Riccarton and desperate to win before the month holiday she strikes her mount REVERBERATIONS 11 times before the hundy where 5 is the limit Should've been DQ'd but our weak as f rules not only allowed to keep her 3rd place fee but also the owners their 4k Got 5 more days In the meantime fellow talented App Elen Nicholas is on fire after a dreadful injury run Such is the life of a jockey -
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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk As he vies for a record-equaling third IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup win with Swayzee, Cameron Hart is a man in form right now. The 26-year-old, who steered Swayzee to back to back wins in this country’s biggest race in 2023 and 2024, had a personal best six wins at Menangle in Sydney on Saturday night. “It’s pretty crazy,” he said after his record haul. “It’s a big thrill to get six and for three different trainers who have all been big supporters of mine week in week out so it’s great to get a result for them.” Four of Hart’s winners were trained by old mate Jason Grimson. They were Miki Cohen, Our Sweet Delight, Tuapeka Lou and Hi Manameisjeff. The other winners were Alta William trained by his cousin Chris Judd and the Darren Binskin-trained Our Sadie Kay after a protest. Previously Hart’s personal best was five winners at the same meeting. He did that on four occasions. Saturday night’s performance equalled the six won at the new Menangle track by brothers Todd and Luke McCarthy in 2019 and 2020. In November Hart will again partner with grand old stayer Swayzee in the New Zealand Cup at Addington Raceway. If he wins it again he’ll be just the fourth horse to win three New Zealand Cups in a row, joining Indianapolis (1934-36), False Step (1958-60) and Terror To Love (2011-13). Swayzee is currently a $5 second favourite on the TAB Futures market, with half brother, the superstar that is Leap To Fame at $1.60. And Renwick Farms Dominion Trot contender Arcee Phoenix has shown some encouraging form at a trial at Bendigo in country Victoria this week. The Chris Svanosio-trained six-year-old won the trial, beating another Kiwi-bound trotter in Parisian Artiste. Both are nominated for the Dominion. It reverses the result of a trial last week at Melton. Arcee Phoenix will make his fourth trip to this side of the Tasman in November. The winner of the TAB Trot at Cambridge in April he is currently a $4.20 equal second favourite with Bet N Win, just behind Oscar Bonavena ($4). View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Since his early twenties Raymond Connors has balanced farm life with training a team of racehorses, and his record in major races indicates the latter is far from a second pursuit. Growing up on a dairy farm in Whangaehu, Connors’ family had interest in racing, but as a young teenager he never could have envisioned himself as a jockey. By chance, Connors made a farm-related visit to a nearby property, owned by Kevin Myers and Angela Illston, and not long after he was working for the Turakina couple full-time. “I’d grown up on the farm and was around horses, but it wasn’t until Kevin moved from Hawera to Turakina that I got involved in racing,” Connors said. “Initially, I went over there to get some milk for the calves but then started helping him in the mornings before I went to school. I was probably around 15. “I was always keen on racing, but I never thought I would be a jockey, so Kevin and Angela really got me going. Without them I probably wouldn’t have gone down that track, but once I started jumping, I just got keener and keener. “I ended up leaving school and worked for Kevin on the dairy farm for two or three years, then I would go and help him with the horses.” Having had experience riding on the farm, Connors learned the ropes of trackwork riding and progressed onto his first amateur race on the flat, with his first winner, Say Go, coming under a month later. “I rode a couple of amateur races first, Kevin put me on some of his horses and I think I won on my second ride,” he said. “My parents always had horses, raced the odd one here and there, so once I got involved, we bought a couple of horses and they turned out to be quite handy jumpers.” ‘Handy’ is an understatement, with the two horses, purchased out of Brian and Lorraine Andertons White Robe Lodge, turning out to be Among Thieves and Our Jonty. In the care of Myers, Among Thieves got Connors on the board in the jumping ranks and won seven races in total, while Our Jonty gave Connors his biggest thrill in the saddle, winning the 1998 Great Northern Steeplechase. “Our Jonty was only little, but he loved good ground and he was a very good stayer,” Connors said. “Ian Jones started off training him and he won a flat race, but after he was looking a bit limited on the flat, we started jumping him and turned out to be a good horse – he taught me to ride. “After he won the Northern, Kevin took him over for the Grand National in Australia, so I got to ride around Flemington a couple of times. He wasn’t quite good enough, I think he ran fifth, but it was a great experience.” As well as an insight into the Australian scene, Connors got an opportunity to travel to Europe with Myers, riding the stable’s jumpers in Italy. “I went over to Italy for a couple of months with Kevin, he took a few horses and I rode a few winners,” he said. “The jumping there was very similar, it was an amazing course at Milano and a very professional system. They had more amateur races too, jumping is pretty big in Europe. “I didn’t ride for the money, I just really loved it and it’s a real thrill. Being with Kevin helped and riding at a good stable. I fell off here and there, but I was fortunate not to have any bad injuries.” Through this period, Connors had started to prepare a couple of his own horses from the farm at Whangaehu, and while he enjoyed balancing riding and training for a while, the latter came to the forefront after the 2003 jumping season. “Once I won the Northern, I carried on riding for a bit longer, but I was having to watch the weight a bit to ride,” he said. “After my time at Kevin’s, I came home and did the cows here, and I started training half a dozen horses myself. “I ended up only really riding the horses that I trained or owned, I didn’t ride many outside horses. Eventually, I was pretty busy with training, so I thought I’d let the other guys do it. “I thought I might come back, but once the next season rolled around I just didn’t get around to getting the weight down and getting race day fit. It was putting that effort in to lose ten kilos or so, and I felt like I’d achieved what I wanted too riding-wise.” Focussing solely on training, it wasn’t long before Connors came across a serious talent in the form of King Johny. The son of Seasoned Star finished third to the formidable Xcellent in the Gr.1 New Zealand Derby (2400m), taking Connors on his Australian debut in the training role when third in the Gr.2 Tulloch Stakes (2000m) and fourth in the Gr.1 Australian Derby (2400m). “He was a very good horse, probably one of the better ones I’ve trained really, he ran third in the New Zealand Derby and fourth in the Australian Derby,” Connors said. “He ended up getting injured and he didn’t achieve what he probably could’ve done.” A couple of years later, Connors would unveil another star, but this time, it would be in the jumping caper. That horse went by the name of Hypnotize (NZ) (Yamanin Vital), an unassuming gelding who would develop a love affair with the Ellerslie hill, delivering Connors with three Great Northern Steeplechase crowns and three Pakuranga Hunt Cups in four years. Connors looked fondly back on those efforts, which were made even more impressive considering Hypnotize contested the Northern five times in a row, recording placings in his other attempts. “He was just so tough, very similar to Our Jonty, who probably wasn’t far behind him really (ability-wise),” he said. “The difference between them was that Hypnotize could handle the really heavy tracks. “He loved Ellerslie and going over the hill, there weren’t many with that stamina to keep going. He wasn’t the greatest jumper, but he had an amazing ability to stay. “We targeted that race for him each year, but they’ve got to be sound and have a bit of luck along the way. Some horses don’t have that luck, but he was a very sound horse and we were lucky enough to get there each time. “He was such a genuine horse.” Forever etched in jumps racing history, Hypnotize retired with 13 wins and 9 placings to his name, accumulating just shy of $380,000 for Connors and his father Mark, who shared the spoils with the son of Yamanin Vital. “Initially, I had to have a share in the horses to ride them, and they’ve all been family horses since then really,” he said. “We all work as a team, he lets me do what I want to do and is the number one supporter. “We can’t go too far wrong.” Seven years later, Connors returned to Ellerslie with another progeny of Yamanin Vital in Wise Men Say (NZ) (Yamanin Vital), who developed a similar affinity with the course. He took out the McGregor Grant Steeplechase earlier in the season, and after playing second fiddle to Amanood Lad in the lead-up to the Great Northern of 2017, he took the top spot in seriously trying conditions, crossing the line after nine and half minutes. Wise Men Say missed the feature in the following season and hadn’t produced his best when shooting for a second crown in 2019, but a gun ride from Shaun Fannin made lightning strike twice, bringing his earnings near the $340,000 mark. “It was pretty wet that day (2017), they were lucky to even have the races, but this horse loved the heavy ground,” Connors said. “He was a nice big horse with good stamina and a nice jump, so it all came together. “I probably wasn’t as confident coming into the second Northern win, he wasn’t going as well, but Shaun Fannin rode him and got him out in front, and used his staying and jumping ability. “He helped the horse win that day, he rode him positively and he proved to be the best horse. He needed that sort of ride, he’d just been following them around a little bit.” Winning five Northerns is no easy feat as a trainer, but Connors said that nothing can quite compare to being on board. “It was a great thrill each time (with Hypnotize and Wise Men Say), but riding is definitely the pinnacle, you can’t beat that feeling and I’ll never forget it,” he said. “In saying that, a lot more probably goes into the training side, it takes a lot of time and effort to get them there and try and win. “Winning any race is a thrill, even in a maiden, so winning those big ones keeps you going, it keeps you motivated.” During his time with Myers, Connors forged close friendship with fellow hoop Isaac Lupton, who was in the saddle for much of those ‘big ones’. “I met Isaac while I was working at Kevin’s, he came and worked there for a bit, so we’ve been good friends for a long time,” Connors said. “He was still riding when I gave up and we seemed to click, we had a lot of luck together. “He was a very good jockey and the main rider that I had, but other than that, I would really put on any jockey that I could get. I try not to be too fussy, and when you’ve got a good horse, the better jockeys come to you. “Racing probably got him away from the farm a bit, and the same for me, it’s been good like that. It gets you away and doing something different, like another interest.” Amongst his success over fences, Connors has hoisted a number of New Zealand’s most prestigious flat racing trophies, including two editions of the Gr.3 New Zealand Cup (3200m) and a Gr.2 Wellington Cup (3200m) with Blood Brotha. He completed the trio of two-mile features this year on Champions Day, winning the $600,000 Gr.2 Auckland Cup (3200m) with Trav (NZ) (Almanzor), a homebred by Almanzor. “We try them all on the flat first and usually target the horses that are bred to stay,” he said. “Blood Brotha took a while to get going and initially I didn’t think he would stay, but it wasn’t until he got over a bit of ground that he actually started winning. He was a great horse, we went to Australia with him too and he ran well. “We bred Trav and he won a race as a two-year-old, so he’d always showed ability. (The Auckland Cup) was one of those races that we hoped he’d run well, we weren’t expecting to win, but we had the horse as fit as we could and Masa (Hashizume) rode him very well. “We were just out the back, but when we went up in the stands for the race, there was a big crowd and it was an awesome win. It was great to be a part of a big day like that. “We might take him over to Australia and see how he measures up. We’re probably dreaming, but we would like to give him the opportunity to get to a Melbourne Cup. “We know he can get the distance so that’s a big help.” A common theme throughout Connors’ top representatives has been their southern bloodlines, an association that goes right back to those the two original jumpers. “All of the good horses we’ve had are from White Robe or from the family, with those southern pedigrees,” he said. “When I was still in school, Dad went down and brought Our Jonty and Among Thieves from there, and we’ve been friends ever since. “We bought a lot of horses off them and a couple of fillies, who we are breeding from ourselves now. The breeding side is hard, as is any part of racing really, but we’ve had a bit of luck. We bred Trav and Prince Oz, who ended up down south with Neill Ridley and he won six in a row down there, and he won the Stewards (Stakes, Gr.3) twice. “We go for the best (stallions) we can afford, we look at the newer stallions and support White Robe with their stallions as well. We try to go for the flavour of the month, anything that looks promising, but it doesn’t always mean they’re good. “We’re trying to cut back a little bit as I’ve got six mares here now, which is too many. Two or three would be enough, I’m getting a bit older now, so it’s getting a bit harder. “I don’t mind waiting, I like the staying types and breeding those Derby-Cups types of horses. There’s not much science to it though, it’s a lot of luck.” While his riding career may have come to a close over two decades ago, Connors still rides trackwork and schools his jumpers at Bulls Racecourse, which he purchased to train out of privately. “I was training on the farm at Whangaehu, then a few years ago now, we bought Bulls Racecourse,” he said. “I’ve got a few horses kicking around the track there and it’s worked out pretty well. “I learnt a lot from Kevin and Angela, and from there, I just have learned as I’ve gone along. In training, you never stop learning, the horses will tell you in a lot of ways. “We mainly work on the sand track in the winter, so it’s not too much upkeep, and I’ve got staff helping me out down there. I usually do the cows here first then head down to do the horses, then they’ll feed them up in the afternoon. “I don’t like to count them, but we’re working about 15 down there at the moment, I’ve got a couple of jumps jockeys helping me out which has been good. There are three or four that we’re trying to get jumping, and the rest are flat horses that may jump one day. “We do all aspects of the job, we’re weaning foals off the mares, doing yearlings, breaking in, so we get to know the horses very well.” View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) has confirmed two of the nation’s premier Group 1 races will move venues and dates this season in a step to protect their international status and strengthen the industry’s racing calendar. The $1,000,000 Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand Oaks (2400m) will be run at Ellerslie Racecourse on 21 February 2026, two weeks before the $1,250,000 Gr.1 Trackside New Zealand Derby (2400m) at Auckland Thoroughbred Racing’s Champions Day meeting, while the $600,000 Gr.1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) will return to its traditional late-March timing at RACE Awapuni on Saturday 28 March 2026. NZTR Chief Executive Matt Ballesty said the changes were vital race-planning decisions for the country. “NZTR has made necessary adjustments to preserve the quality of New Zealand’s Group One calendar, protect critical breeding pathways, and deliver top-class racing experiences nationwide,” he said. The New Zealand Oaks, long regarded as the ultimate test for three-year-old fillies, faced the risk of downgrade after three consecutive years below the required international ratings, prompting an Asian Pattern Committee (APC) review. Its move to February reflects both recent challenges in attracting top-level fillies and the opportunity to link more naturally with the Trackside New Zealand Derby and Australian Autumn features. The change has been approved for one year, with its position to be reviewed thereafter. Auckland Thoroughbred Racing (ATR) Chief Executive Officer Paul Wilcox said the change creates a fresh opportunity for the Oaks to flourish. “The new February timing at Ellerslie strengthens pathways for fillies, creates synergy with the Derby two weeks later, and gives New Zealand’s Classic calendar better alignment with Australia’s Autumn features,” he said. The $150,000 Gr.2 Jennian Homes Lowland Stakes (2100m) will also move to RACE Inc’s Wellington Cup Day on 31 January to sharpen the lead-in to the Oaks. The New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes, New Zealand’s only Group One race exclusively for fillies and mares, will also undergo a reset. Won in recent years by champions such as Avantage and Imperatriz, the race will return to its traditional March slot at RACE Awapuni, creating a blockbuster Central Districts raceday with five black-type events, including two Group Ones (the Breeders’ Stakes and the Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes [1400m]). Supporting pathway races will also be realigned, with the $200,000 Gr.3 Wentwood Grange Cuddle Stakes (1600m) moving to RACE Awapuni on Sunday 1 March 2026, the $600,000 Gr.2 Westbury Classic (1400m) shifting from ATR’s TAB Karaka Millions meeting on Saturday 24 January to Champions Day on Saturday 7 March, and the $90,000 Royal Descent Stakes (1400m) moving from ATR’s SkyCity Boxing Day Races to the TAB Karaka Millions. As a part of that same APC review, the Group One classification of five races was considered, including: the New Zealand Oaks (2400m), New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m), Livamol Classic (2040m), Telegraph (1200m) and Thorndon Mile (1600m). Under APC rules, a vote is triggered when a race records three consecutive runnings below the Group One benchmark and tolerance levels. As a result of the review, the Harcourts Thorndon Mile (1600m) has been downgraded from Group One to Group Two status. The decision reflects the race’s recent performance history. The race will continue to carry prizemoney of $500,000 and will be staged at RACE Trentham on Saturday 17 January 2026. The APC also confirmed continued Group One status, for now, for the New Zealand Oaks and New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes, supported by the calendar and venue changes stated above, and for the Livamol Classic and Telegraph, based on overall field quality and historical standing. NZTR’s Senior Handicapper and APC representative Bruce Sherwin said while the downgrade was disappointing, there are encouraging signs for New Zealand racing. “New Zealand’s ratings have been impacted by the recent retirement of top horses, but levels are now rebuilding,” Sherwin said. “Significant prizemoney increases, stronger turnover and renewed investment at the NZB sales are positive indicators. This season has also started strongly with the Gr.1 Proisir Plate at Ellerslie showing excellent depth and quality. “Looking ahead, it is critical our best horses contest Group One races if they are to remain at the highest level,” Sherwin added. Details on nomination and acceptance dates will be included in NZTR’s Racing Programme Guide in due course. View the full list of 2025-26 Group and Listed races here. View the full article
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