Forums

Trainer Stephen Marsh unveiled a smart debut winner when Glance (NZ) (Savabeel) came from last in the hands of George Rooke to land the ENTAIN/NZB Insurance Pearl Series 3YO fillies (1400m) at Pukekohe on Wednesday. Sporting the colours of breeder Christopher Grace, the well-related daughter of Savabeel chased down stablemate and warm favourite Mazino (NZ) (Hello Youmzain) with another handy filly in Virgo Viva (NZ) (Ribchester) back in third. “She’s exciting,” Marsh said. “It’s great to have our first horse in these colours, with Mr and Mrs Grace. They’ve put a few people into the horse as well, which is great. “I just said to George, ‘I don’t mind if she gets back, just relax and ride her with a hell of a lot of confidence, and she’ll get to the line for us.’ “I’m just pleased that we’ve been allowed to be very patient with her. We’ve been in and out of the stables a fair bit, but she’s a very exciting, and I think she’s got a very bright future, and better so when she turns four.” Marsh said stablemate Mazino had probably given the race away when drifting out to the middle of the track late in the piece but praised the ability of Glance. “You could just see Glance plotting the path, I thought if she runs into second, I’d be very happy,” Marsh said. “The way she really put her head down and hit the line was superb. They don’t often do that first up in a maiden and there’s a lot of winners in that race, so she’s got a big future.” By Savabeel out of the three-win Rip Van Winkle mare Glimpse (NZ), a half-sister to Wellington Cup winner Graphic (NZ) (Volksraad), Glance is from the same family as current Group Two winner Hinekaha (NZ) (Savabeel). Connections are likely to remain patient with the filly, who was not straightforward when parading or when going to the start, but displayed a similar successful pattern to her recent Ellerslie trial when charging home from the back. “Her last trial was very pleasing to the eye,” rider George Rooke said. “I thought she’d gone over the top today going down to the start, I had to jump off and get led to the stalls. “But in the run she switched off perfectly, came alive at the 300m and the rest was all on ability. She’s still a bit green underneath me but that was pure ability there today. “She’s got a big future. Stepping up to a mile will suit and possibly even further as she relaxes perfectly.” – NZ Racing Desk View the full article

Ready To Run Sale graduate Planet Red (Admire Mars) holds a two-one lead over Observer (Ghaiyyath) in head-to-head battles. Trainer Mick Price concedes the task of turning the tables on Observer in the Australian Guineas from their latest meeting will not be easy. But it does not mean Price has given up on his quest to land a fourth win in the Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday. “He’s a nice, uncomplicated gelding and he’ll show up, but everything will have to go right for us to turn it around on Observer,” Price said. “My opinion is no I can’t (beat Observer) but that is not how we’re training him. My opinion is Observer is the clear good horse, and we are there to do our best.” Price previously took out the Australian Guineas with Light Fantastic (Danehill Dancer) (2008) and Heart Of Dreams (Show A Heart) (2009) while his last winner was Grunt (NZ) (O’Reilly) in 2018. He also finished second with Tarzino (NZ) (Tavistock) in 2016 behind Palentino (Teofilo). The Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr-trained Planet Red has met Observer on three occasions with Planet Red leading home his opponent on two occasions. Planet Red scored a debut win from Observer in a maiden race at Pakenham last May then the pair did not meet again until the Caulfield Guineas with Planet Red finishing second with Observer an unlucky third. Observer went on to win the Moonee Valley Vase and Group 1 Victoria Derby before returning to claim the Group 2 Autumn Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on February 7, with Planet Red running on from the tail to finish second. Planet Red was in receipt of 2kg from Observer that day and the pair meet on level terms on Saturday. “I’m not sure how we beat Observer,” Price said. “We rode our horse cold first-up and I thought it was a very good run, a long-sustained run. “He’s going well and hopefully he can take up a more forward position in the race. “He’s had a good prep for the race, he’s sound, he’s got good condition on him, and I’ve got enough horse to go to Sydney for something afterwards, but I haven’t worked that out yet.” Price has not ruled out backing-up into the Group 1 Randwick Guineas on Saturday week, although he said it was unlikely. Price remembers the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Global Glamour (Star Witness) winning two Group 1 races a week apart in different states. “Normally seven days after a Group 1 here and then a trip up to Sydney would be too close, but Gai did it one year from the Flight to the Thousand Guineas, so anything is possible,” Price said. Planet Red was a $260,000 purchase from Ohukia’s Lodge draft at the 2024 NZB Ready To Run Sale. View the full article

Ellerslie.

i agree with you about the need to showcase the sport. No argument there. You need your high end races . its just how you do it and whether you get the balance right as far as promoting and looking after all sectors. i belive  HRNZ and the mainsteam harness media's fail on both fronts because they over focus,almost to the point of obsession sometimes ,on the high end races like slot races,the age group races,the highend trainers and they also focus too much on junior drivers, prioritising them over the hard working grass roots participants.. so your talking about showcasing,well all within nz hraness racing are deserving of show casing,not just 10%. Harness racing is also losing the good will they have with so many who have supported them in the past. People may not realise it,but i believe thats been happening,Its being driven by poor decision making. And the average joe bloggs will be observing  the silence of the people who are deemed the special ones and who are riding the gravy train.  Rugby is nz's main sport. Nz rugby's 2025 vision:reimagining rugby.   "we're future focussed, while respecting where we have come from.Lessons from throughout rugby's strong history,as well as more recent events,have formed our direction in a way that will look after the entire game from grass roots level to the international performances.We intend to grow rugby at the heart of our communities as we know that the strength of grass roots flows throughout the game." Thats a message your always seeing the successful unions stating.Thats not what you get in nz harness racing. Anyway gamma,enjoy the showcasing of the likes of the slot aces. nothing wrong with that if your into them. personally my interest in those type of races continues to decline ,mostly because i view the money hrnz have thrown at those sectors will negatively impact the sport in the  future. Why would i bother showing interest in  all the pre race media hype about something which is a reminder of how hrnz prioritse the high end.  

Once bigger that the Auckland Cup! Once one of the bigger betting races each year! 1st 10,000 Pound race in NZ. Two famous winners come to mind!  1976 Show Gate!  Queen of the South! 1927 Nighmarch wins it as a 3 year old, later to be the first to win Cox and Melb Cup in a season! For 2026?  A full field of 22 have paid up! A very tough betting race!    

tick, it would be rather disappointing and more that purple prose will be used if they don't go around in the first! 

The 2026 February Digital Sale closed with gross sales of $5,881,500 for 189 horses sold and the topper was Neom Beach (Omaha Beach) who brought $300,000, the online auction said in a press release on Tuesday evening. The sale opened Thursday, Feb. 19 with offerings which included horses of racing age, racing/broodmare prospects, broodmares–including mares with foals at foot–stallion prospects, 'short' yearlings, and a 2-year-old in-training. Neom Beach (hip 1), a multiple stakes winner, went to Amy Moore of South Gate Farm. The $300,000 sales topper was consigned as a racing/broodmare prospect by Jeffrey Bloom, agent. A winner at 2, 3 and 4, the 5-year-old won last year's Ouija Board Distaff Stakes on dirt and the Wasted Tears Stakes on turf. The mare, who earned more than $745,000 on the racetrack, entered the sale off a three-length win versus allowance company in her last start. “Fasig-Tipton has mastered the art of blending their legacy bloodstock sales expertise with their proven innovative digital platform,” said Jeffrey Bloom. “Bringing buyers and sellers across the world together with such amazing efficiency opens up endless opportunities. I am a huge fan.” Rounding out the top five prices of the sale were: Miss Tapirado (hip 37), sold for $260,000 to Four Quarters Corp., NW Bloodstock, agent, from the consignment of Mill Ridge Sales, agent (Dispersal of Repossessed Horses). A winning daughter of Tapit, Miss Tapirado has produced a 2-year-old colt by Uncle Mo, which has not started, and has a yearling colt by Echo Town. She was offered not mated; Gun Party (hip 31), sold for $200,000 to KDE Equine from the consignment of Steve Asmussen, agent. Offered as a horse of racing age, the five-year-old son of Curlin out of GISW Carina Mia (Malibu Moon) recorded two 90+ Beyer speed figures last year at Churchill Downs and Saratoga. Gun Party has earned more than $315,000 to date; Misinformation (hip 36), sold for $180,000 to Lobo Farm from the consignment of Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent for DJ Stable Graduate. A 3-year-old colt by Essential Quality, Misinformation was twice a winner last year at 2 and was just a nose shy of victory in allowance company at Oaklawn Feb. 7. He has been on the board in five of seven career starts with two wins and earnings of more than $120,000; Paynterbynumbers (hip 3), sold for $160,000 to Ken Copenhaver from the consignment of Mill Ridge Sales, agent (Dispersal of Repossessed Horses). A winning daughter of Paynter herself, her first foal is multiple stakes winning juvenile of last year Counting Stars (Honor A. P.), who is entered in this Sunday's GIII Honeybee Stakes at Oaklawn. Paynterbynumbers has a yearling filly by Epicenter and was offered not mated. “We're absolutely thrilled with the results of this sale, which surpassed $5,800,000 in gross,” said Leif Aaron, Fasig-Tipton Director of Digital Sales. “Bidding was strong from start to finish, reflecting the depth and diversity of both our offerings and our buyer base. With more than 1,200 registered bidders and an 80% clearance rate, the market is clearly healthy and active–horses are getting sold. “We're especially encouraged to see new participants joining us each sale, and we're incredibly appreciative of the continued support from our buyers and sellers,” he said. “Also telling was that 85% of the horses that brought $100,000 or more were sold by traditional consignors, so it's exciting to see how comfortable they are selling high end stock on our digital platform.” Full results are available online. The next digital sale will be held Mar. 19-24. Entries close Mar. 9. The post Fasig-Tipton February Digital Sale Totals Over $5.8 Million In Sales appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Opie Bosson 4. Insatiable - Race 6 2. Never Too Much - Race 2 4. Our Approval - Race 10 1. Purple Prose - Race 1 5. Stonybreck - Race 9

Chucking money into something that is going to lose money to my mind , is not a winner! Cambridge chucked money into the slot race when they can not afford it, in fact they are broke and no way on earth will they trade out of it! Gamma, you need to realise that the only reason harness is functioning at the moment is due to the money that Entain has Chucked in and it isnt going to continue indefinitely. Totally agree harness racing is very poorly promoted in NZ, HRNZ would rather boost the stakes now and have nothing to show at the end of the 5 years? it is very puzzling how someone who is not on the HRNZ payroll is the biggest promoter of harness racing in NZ?.?? They just do not get it but then again while they are getting big salaries then what is the problem?