HARNESS RACING NEW ZEALAND APPOINTS NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE Harness Racing New Zealand (HRNZ) is delighted to confirm today that it has appointed Peter Jensen as Chief Executive. Mr Jensen comes to HRNZ with a wealth of senior level leadership experience. They include Chief Executive roles at Spanbild Holdings Ltd, a large Christchurch-based construction company with multiple business units operating across Australasia, Southern Response, a Government owned insurer, and most recently with Addington Raceway Ltd. HRNZ Board Chair Ken Spicer said Mr Jensen has a strong mix of commercial expertise and racing knowledge and interest. “Peter Jensen has extensive business experience …
Sheree all-the-way in Aust. Young Drivers Champ
SHEREE TOMLINSON FRONT-RUNNING WINNER Overport Lodge-based junior reinswoman Sheree Tomlinson added to a growing record for Mark Jones employees in the Australasian Young Drivers Championship in Queensland in late November, 2018. Sheree joined former employee Robbie Close as the 2015 Australasian Young Drivers Championship winner, with Michelle Neilson, also employed by Mark that term, third. Mark himself won the Australasian title when a champion junior in 2000. Sheree, who made a flying start, winning the first two heats, also picked up a third win, and recorded two seconds and a third in the nine heat series, held at Albion Park …
Sunoflindenny becomes six-figure earner in Aust.
SUNOFLINDENNY LIFTS EARNINGS PAST $100K Former Overport Lodge trotters and pacers have had a successful week with Sunoflindenny having a career defining moment in Perth on Friday night. The Butterworth Racing Syndicate-owned squaregaiter pushed his earnings past the $100,000 mark with a comfortable win in the Cowden Since 1972 SS Trot. Sunoflindenny stepped smartly off the 20m line to take up the running for top driver Chris Lewis, who controlled the rest of the race from the front end. The nine-year-old Sundon-Yankee Diedre gelding held Rocknroll Baby, who trailed, by 1.9 metres in a 2:04 rate for the 2503m. Sunoflindenny, …
Delightfulmemphisn wins for Dexter Dunn
DELIGHTFUL MEMPHIS SCORES MEADOWLANDS WIN Former 10-time leading NZ driver Dexter Dunn racked up his 61st USA win since late August when guiding Delightfulmemphisn to win at the Meadowlands on November 9. This was the first USA win for the former Overport Lodge mare, who raced in Australasia as Delightful Memphis. Delightfulmemphisn was recording her second win in 10 US starts after having her preparation interrupted by a bout of sickness for the Richard “Nifty” Norman stable. Dexter Dunn overcame the eight gate with her in a $11,500 fillies and mares pace, working to the front at the half, easing …
Overport Lodge drivers have first NZ Cup starts
NZ HARNESS NEWS, November 8, 2018 SAMANTHA OTTLEY (AND SHEREE TOMLINSON) HAVE FIRST NZ CUP DRIVES Driver Samantha Ottley will start chasing her New Zealand Cup dream with Forgotten Highway on Tuesday. The group 1 winning reinswoman will have her first drive in the 3200m feature behind the Mitchell Kerr-trained pacer. Ottley is thrilled to have booked her chance to win New Zealand’s greatest race. “It is the biggest race of the year and you dream of having a drive in it and it is finally happening,” she said. Ottley, Kerr and Forgotten Highway, form what could be considered a …
Injury forces Chicago Bull out of NZ Cup
NZ Harness News, October 30, 2018 CHICAGO BULL SIDELINED WITH FRACTURES The connections of Western Australian pacer Chicago Bull have been dealt a shocking blow after their pacer was ruled out of the New Zealand Cup on Tuesday with a broken back. A standard veterinary procedure turned into a nightmare when the horse had an anaphylactic reaction to an intravenous injection on Saturday morning. Chicago Bull was being given fluids as a precautionary measure after emphatically winning his first start in New Zealand start for the Hall stable on Friday night. The horse flipped over and landed on his back …
Immortal Change to be rewarded
IMMORTAL CHANGE GETS MET MULTIPLIER ON THURSDAY Consistent Changover mare Immortal Change will be a winner, regardless of the outcome of the Hungry Horse Feed Supplies Mobile Pace, at Addington on Thursday, October 11. The great grand-daughter of champion mare Armalight will become the latest Mark Jones-trained winner of a $7000 Met Multiplier. This will be her 15th start within a 12-month rolling period at Addington, the minimum required to collect the bonus. She took care of the other proviso, winning a race at Addington during the last year, when she scored at the Christchurch metropolitan track on September 7. …
My Design solid in trial
MY DESIGN BRED TO WIN RACES My Design, a half-sister by Mach Three to former speedy Overport Lodge filly Twice The Delight (1:52.3, Aust), shaped solidly for the second week running when produced at the Rangiora trials on Wednesday, October 3. A three-year-old filly, My Design backed up her qualifying run for third at Rangiora a week earlier with a handy front-running win this week. She had her chance in the qualifier, after settling three and four back, then moving up to challenge on the home turn, but had to settle for a third, just over a length behind winner …
Itz Major Look for Queensland
ITZ MAJOR LOOK JOINING SOME EXCUSESOMEWHERE IN TURPIN STABLE Itz Major Look, a smart front-running winning favourite at Oamaru on Sunday, September 23, for the Mark Jones stable, is to do his future racing in Queensland. The three-year-old Art Major gelding, bred and raced for his two New Zealand starts by Justine McMeeking and Kurt McNamara, has been sold to clients of the Chantal Turpin (trainer) and Pete McMullen (driver) team. The Turpin stable have had a good early result with previous purchase, Some Excusesomewhere, who won for the second time in five Albion Park starts last Friday, winning from …
Five hundred yearlings for NZ Bloodstock sales
NZ HARNESS NEWS, September 25, 2018 FIVE HUNDRED YEARLINGS FOR NZ BLOODSTOCK SALES Five hundred yearlings are set to go under the hammer at New Zealand Bloodstock’s first series of new standardbred sales next year. The cross-code auction house has attracted the widespread support of the country’s standardbred yearling vendors since opening entries for its Karaka and Christchurch sales in February next year. New Zealand Bloodstock managing director Andrew Seabrook said his staff were working through around 500 sales entries. That bumper number looks set to eclipse the total of 478 yearlings that were carded for last year’s yearling sales …