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Betterbebetter vying for back-to-back wins

Trainers Frank Cooney and Tate Hopkins are looking for more of the same from Betterbebetter when she lines-up in the Amber Garden Centre Mobile Pace (2200m) at Cambridge Raceway on Thursday. The four-year-old daughter of Bettor’s Delight won first-up at Cambridge Sunday-week ago, which came as a pleasant surprise to her connections. “I was really happy with last start’s run,” Hopkins said. “It surprised us a little bit with how much forward she was, but it was a good effort. “She has...

Poutama pumped ahead of Cambridge

South Auckland trainer Andre Poutama is hoping The Batmobile can go one better than last start when he contests the Welcome Back On Course Mobile Pace (1700m) at Cambridge Raceway on Thursday. The four-year-old gelding finished runner-up behind Vespa over 1700m at Cambridge a fortnight ago and it will be take two on Thursday, with amateur driver Frank Phelan once again taking the reins. “He should have improved from his first run back,” Poutama said. “To be able to sit parked and do what h...

Butcher family rivalry heats up

The rivalry between Waikato reinsman David Butcher and his sons Zachary and Benjamin is heating up with just two months remaining in the current season. Butcher is currently the leading North Island driver with 44 wins to his name this term, with Zachary trailing by just two wins, with Benjamin also having a strong season with a tally of 32 wins to date. While Butcher has been pleased with the way the season is going, he said he will have his work cut out for him in order to retain his lead. “...

Treble for local trainers

Dr Luk Chin’s Tamahere private training property produced a winning treble at Cambridge Raceway on Sunday. The Waikato horseman won the Happy 40th Glenn Wallis Handicap Trot (2200m) with Safrakova, while his namesake Chinski took out the Book Event Hire Furniture At Cambridge Raceway Handicap Trot (2200m) for trainer-driver Sean McCaffrey. McCaffrey secured the treble when steering home Bodrum Boy to victory in the Black Dog Furniture Shop Local Mobile Pace (2200m) for trainer John Godfre...

Delson gearing up for raceday return

Connections of promising trotter Delson are hoping he can pick-up where he left off when he contests the Happy 40th Glenn Wallis Handicap Trot (2200m) at Cambridge Raceway on Sunday. The Graeme Rogerson-trained gelding overcame his 40m handicap to dominantly win over 2700m at the Waikato track in March, but he will need to draw on all his talents to replicate the result over this weekend’s shorter distance. “That’s (last start) what he is capable of and he did that with a few gears up his ...

Warhorse set to resume at Cambridge

Waikato warhorse Danke is set to have his 299th career start at Cambridge Raceway on Sunday. Trainer Geoff Martin gave the 12-year-old gelding nearly a month off in the paddock before bringing him back into work during the lockdown period, where he was able to take advantage of his private 700m track on his six hectare Cambridge property. “We gave him a bit of break and he’s been up and down the paddock tearing it up, so I brought him back in,” Martin said. “He is a horse that if he is n...

A bitter pill

By Michael Guerin, HRNZDavid Branch knew this week was going to be exciting, just not like this.The young Chief Executive of the Waikato-Bay Of Plenty Harness Club is looking forward to the return of harness racing, make that any form of horse racing, in the north at his Cambridge track on Sunday.But he can’t help but think of what might have been.Because in a cruel irony this was supposed to be the weekend the Cambridge track hosted the Jewels, their biggest moment of every second year and Br...

Credit Master rising from the ashes

Late last year Andrew and Lyn Neal thought they had lost their star trotter Credit Master. The nine-win gelding was scratched from the Inter Dominions as a result of a virus and the Cambridge trainers have taken a cautious approach with his return. “He came back from near death,” Andrew Neal said. “He had a massive virus and we had to scratch him out of the Inter Dominions.  “He took two months or more to come right. His temperature was 39 and 40 (degrees) for two weeks. We thought ...

Unprecedented times for legendary horseman

Legendary trainer and Cambridge Raceway patron Charlie Hunter has seen plenty of major world events during his lifetime, but he said none quite compare to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The virus has swept across the globe and resulted in New Zealand entering lockdown for the better part of two months from late-March, closing down racing. “I don’t think I have been through anything quite like this,” Hunter said. “As a young boy we went through the war (World War II), but I don’t remember...

Marshall duo set for Cambridge return

Cambridge trainer Kyle Marshall is looking forward to potentially having two runners at his home meeting next week, and he has a local equestrian to thank for it. During the Covid-19 Alert Level 4 lockdown, Marshall was unable to work any of his horses at Cambridge Raceway, however, he was able to utilise the services of local rider Elle Phillips. “I sent Elle Phillips, of Phillips Equine, three horses to keep ticking over - Pembrook Charlie, Itsthefinalcountdown, and Lukyanova,” Marshall sa...

Lemond southern bound

Group One-winning trotter Lemond is set to head south to Canterbury this week to join Paul Nairn’s Leeston barn. It’s a big loss for the northern trotting ranks and former trainer Ross Paynter’s stable, but he was philosophical about the move. Lemond has been recovering from a stress fracture to his tibia he sustained late last year and Paynter said it is pragmatic to send Lemond south ahead of his major target of the year, the Gr.1 Dominion Trot (3200m) at Addington in November. “His re...

Holiday horror for Chilcott

What was meant to be a nice holiday in Hawaii last month for Nicky Chilcott turned into a frustrating three weeks of self-isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Cambridge trainer was expecting to be relaxing on the famed golden beaches of Hawaii but instead was forced to stay cooped up in her hotel room for a week before returning to New Zealand. “We were overseas when it all happened,” Chilcott said. “The first day we got to Hawaii it was fairly normal, but then after that everything...

Resuming Training Under Alert Level Three

Harness Racing New Zealand has welcomed today’s decision allowing trainers to return to work when the country moves to Alert Level Three next Tuesday as a “massive boost for the industry”.“It is critical that trainers adhere to the new conditions that have been put in place to ensure our industry continues to do all we can to eliminate COVID-19. It will mean a change to some work practices but I am confident our trainers will adapt and this is a significant step forward for us all�...

Jeffries back in the winners’ circle 12 years later

At an eerie, spectator free evening at Alexandra Park on March 20, the favourite, Majestic Sunrise trained by Ross Paynter won the non-winners trot in the second-last race of the night. But there was more to it than your average maiden win. It was win number one, on comeback number two for Phillip Jeffries, 12 years since his previous winning drive. Rewind to the late 80’s and Jeffries was one of the North Island’s leading junior drivers, chalking up 52 wins in only three seasons as well as ...

IRT Harness Jewels 2020 cancelled

The announcement from the government yesterday that New Zealand is moving to Alert Level 4 has seen racing across all codes cease until at least April 23rd.  This will result in a significant restructuring of the balance of the current season. At present, we have no more insight into when racing might resume than the public does, however we need to be prepared to race again as soon as a revised Alert level allows us to do so.   The HRNZ board has made the difficult decision to cancel t...

Perfect night for Double M Stables

Local trainers Matthew White and Mike Berger had the perfect night at Cambridge Raceway on Thursday, recording a winning double from just the two starters. To make things even better White reined home Emmber to win the Amber Garden Centre Mobile Pace (2200m), his first victory in the sulky since his horrific crash at the Waikato track in January.  “It was my first win back. It was good, it’s been a while,” White said. It has been a steady road to recovery for White who sustained a num...

Long time between drinks for Hall

There were few smiles bigger than Kevin Hall’s at Cambridge Raceway on Thursday night. The amateur driver was beaming after reining home J Bee to win the Black Dog Furniture Mobile Pace (2200m), his first victory in more than three decades. “It was a great thrill, you certainly remember them when they are 33 years apart,” Hall said. They say you never forget your first driving win and Hall said he could remember his as though it was yesterday. “I drove my first winner when I was a junior...

Aaron White selections - 19th March 2020

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Kelvinz Luck looking to continue family legacy

Pukekohe trainer James Stormont has developed a good record with Brian and Rosemary Timms’ “Luck” breed and he is hoping it will continue at Cambridge Raceway on Thursday when Kelvinz Luck debuts in the Happy Birthday Brax Handicap Trot (2200m). The three-year-old son of Peak will be looking to add to his dam Howz Lucky’s impressive strike-rate, with Kelvinz Luck becoming her 10th offspring to have made it to the races. He has a fair way to go to reach the lofty heights of some of ...

Bloody great win by Cambridge trotter

Plenty of blood, sweat, and tears went into Expensive Crumpet’s maiden win at Alexandra Park on Friday, literally. The daughter of Quaker Jet is lucky to be alive, let alone racing, after a float incident as a yearling two years ago. “When she first came to me as a yearling, she had an accident in the float,” trainer Ross Paynter said. “There was a pool of blood on the floor. “She came off the float and collapsed on the ground and stayed there for about two hours, she couldn’t...

Herlihy scores Cambridge double

South Auckland horseman Tony Herlihy took three horses south to Cambridge Raceway’s Wednesday meeting and he nearly came away with the perfect result. Promising juvenile trotter I See Fire kicked the evening off in style, taking out the Black Dog Furniture Mobile Trot (1700m) comfortably by 16-1/4 lengths. The son of Muscle Hill began well from his outside barrier and Herlihy elected to push forward for an early lead where he was able to dictate terms throughout. I See Fire and his debu...

Cambridge test for consistent trotter

Six-year-old mare Presidential Jewel may have only started racing at the start of the season but she is more than making up for lost time. The Roger Villiger-trained mare has won two of her 14 starts and placed on seven other occasions, including a last start third behind Pretty Majestic in the inaugural Waikato Trotting Breeders’ Stakes (2700m) at Cambridge Raceway last month. That form was franked when Pretty Majestic subsequently won the Gr.3 Northern Trotting Stakes (2700m) at Alexan...

Harrison scores victory for Team Teal

Cambridge junior driver Alicia Harrison recorded her fifth win for the season when steering home Port Delight to win the Woodlands Stud Taranaki Breeders’ Stakes (1750m) at New Plymouth on Saturday, but it meant more to her than most. Harrison has been sporting the Team Teal colours, an initiative aiming to raise funds and awareness for ovarian cancer, for the last month and she was pleased to get up for her first victory in the silks. The Doug Gale-trained mare settled to the rear of the fiel...

Pretty Majestic win in Breeders’ Stakes

South Auckland trotter Pretty Majestic continued her impressive run of form when winning the Waikato Trotting Breeders’ Stakes (2700m) at Cambridge on Friday night. Owned by Yabby Dam Farm principal Pat Driscoll, Pretty Majestic was sent over to Robert Dunn’s Pukekohe barn to cater for the five-year-old mare’s preference for right-handed tracks. “She came over from Australia and the reason that Pat Driscoll sent her over to us was because Anton Golino, her trainer, felt she was bet...

Inaugural trotting race attracts quality line-up

Tony Herlihy is looking forward to contesting the inaugural Waikato Trotting Breeders’ Stakes (2700m) at Cambridge Raceway on Friday. The South Auckland trainer will line-up quality mares Tickle Me Pink and Kenny’s Dream in the race and he said it was a great initiative established by a number of trotting enthusiasts led by owner-breeder Ken McGrath and his partner Melanie Barker. “It is certainly a good innovation and it gives the girls a bit of a chance to race each other and not h...