What follows is a breakdown of major statistical records for the 2015/16 NZ season (1 August 2015 – 31 July 2016) excluding age group by gait winners and other categories that were advised following 2015/16 NZ Harness Racing Awards held on Saturday 30 July 2016.
Personnel Stats :
Drivers –
2015 World Champion Driver Dexter Dunn led the way for the ninth consecutive year with his fifth double century of victories to go with two seasons where he was stranded on 199 wins. His 213 wins were just short of his record 220 wins set in the 2010/2011 season. Breaking a century of wins for the third successive year was Blair Orange (123, best ever total); John Dunn rounded out the top three with a career best of 109, his second century total (102, 2012/13) and Nathan Williamson became the first Southland driver to crack the “ton“ with 100 wins for the season. Ricky May maintained his ultra-consistent driving history with 92 wins (top six or better position for past 28 seasons. David Butcher was leading northern driver (76) finishing in sixth position overall. Jimmy Curtin pushed through the 1,500 career win barrier near season’s end.
In the junior ranks, Brad Williamson, made no race of the Junior Driver‘s premiership finishing with a new junior driver’s record of 70 wins and placing seventh overall in the Drivers premiership. The NZ Young Drivers Championship was taken out by last year’s joint JD premiership winner Stevie Golding (with Robbie Close). North Islander Dylan Ferguson was second with Katie Cox in third place. The Darren de Filippi Memorial Trot for Junior Drivers was this year won by Katie Cox driving King Of the Roses.
The Amateur Drivers Championship winner for the first time was John McDermott (Christchurch). The Amateurs premiership went the way of Tremain Thorby (6) by a single win over Alan Edge and Sheryl Wigg with five wins apiece.
Leading Driver : DEXTER DUNN, 213 wins (1,090 starts), $2,000,307, UDR .3167, lifetime 1,778 NZ wins
Leading Junior Driver : BRAD WILLIAMSON, 70 wins (541 starts), $447,093, UDR .2171
Leading Amateur Driver : TREMAIN THORBY, 6 wins (24 starts), $30,321 UDR .3426
Trainers –
The Trainers Premiership went down to the wire with the Mark Purdon/Natalie Rasmussen (131) team ahead despite a late charge towards seasons end by Robert Dunn (operating two stables – Pukekohe, Woodend Beach : son John) recording 100 plus victories (121, best ever total) for the third year running. Cran Dalgety (61), Phil Williamson (58), Greg and Nina Hope/Mark Jones (57) rounded out the top five positions on the trainer’s premiership. Leading northern trainer was Tony Herlihy with 54 successes, seventh overall. Hamish Hunter brought up the significant milestone of 500 training successes during the latest season with Phil Williamson left stranded on 499 training wins at seasons end.
Leading Trainers : MARK PURDON & NATALIE RASMUSSEN, 131 wins (386 starts), $3,948,368, UDR .5063, lifetime NZ wins for this partnership in only three seasons – 417
Record Breaking Stats :
In common with recent seasons, another round of sensational record breaking time performances were registered during 2015/16. However, not as many records were broken throughout the season as in 2014/15.
The seasons NZ records were :
Pacers –
2 Year Olds :
1700m mobile More Than Bettor (colt or gelding) 2:00.0
1950m mobile More Than Bettor (colt or gelding) 2:18.7
2200m mobile Mitch Maguire (colt or gelding) 2:41.0
2200m mobile Spanish Armada (filly) 2:41.9
3 Year Olds :
1950m mobile Dream About Me (filly) 2:18.1
2000m mobile Ears Burning (colt or gelding) 2:24.7
2200m mobile Golden Goddess 2:36.9 (filly)
2400 stand Talkerup (filly) 2:59.9
2400m mobile Nek Time (filly, overall NZ national record) 2:53.0
2600m mobile Lazarus (colt or gelding) 3:08.5
2700m mobile Piccadilly Princess (filly) 3:17.9
4 Year Old & Older :
1700m mobile Better B Amazed 1:59.9 (mare)
2000m stand Laytons Lass 2:29.8 (mare)
2600m mobile Christen Me/Locharburn 3:06.5 (entire or gelding, overall NZ national record)
Australasian Records :
1 mile mobile Have Faith In Me 1:47.5 (all-comers record)
Trotters –
3 Year Olds :
1700m mobile Temporale T2:07.5 (colt or gelding)
2200m mobile Donegal Bettorgretch T2:45.7 (filly)
2400 stand Missandei T3:04.3 (filly)
2600m mobile Marcoola T3:13.9 (colt or gelding)
2700m stand Lady Angus T3:29.0 (filly)
4 Year Old & Older :
2000m mobile Donsmedad T2:29.3 (mare)
2400m stand Gee Up Needy equalled Sheemon’s T3:00.6 NZ overall record (entire or gelding)
2400m mobile Love Struck Romeo T3:03.7 (entire or gelding)
2600m mobile Springbank Sam T3:12.8 (entire or gelding, NZ overall record)
3200m stand Petite One 4:04.9 (mare)
Leading Sires/Broodmare Sires/Stake Earning Pacer and Trotter :
Bettors Delight was crowned leading sire for the fifth consecutive season. He took out many individual siring titles – overall, overall Pacing sire, all Pacing age group categories leading sire and sired his first NZ Gp1 Trotter (Donegal Bettorgretch – Jewels Ruby – 3T), proving what a dominant broodmare siring force he will be in years to come e..g. Waikiki Beach.
Equally, deceased trotting stallion Sundon again captured top trotting stallion for the sixteenth time plus leading trotting sire – 3yo (stakes) and aged, leading broodmare sire overall (winners), leading 4yo and aged broodmare sire, leading trotting broodmare sire overall.
Sires –
Overall Combined Gaits – Stakes : BETTORS DELIGHT ($6,504,639)
Overall Combined Gaits – Winners : BETTORS DELIGHT (203 winners)
Pacers : Stakes/winners : BETTORS DELIGHT ($6,403,367, 201 winners)
Trotters : Stakes/winners : SUNDON ($1,494,722, 56 winners)
2yo Stakes : BETTORS DELIGHT ($1,138,908)
2yo Winners : BETTORS DELIGHT (16 winners)
2yo Trotters : Stakes/winners : MUSCLES MASS ($148,249, 5 winners)
3yo Stakes : BETTORS DELIGHT ($2,454,005)
3yo Winners : BETTORS DELIGHT (81 winners)
3y Trotters : Stakes/winners : SUNDON ($208,687), PEGASUS SPUR (9 winners)
4yo Pacers : Stakes/winners : BETTORS DELIGHT ($1,310,440, 58 winners)
4yo Trotters : Stakes/winners : LOVE YOU ($661,674), MONARCHY (15 winners)
5yo & older Pacers : Stakes/winners : BETTORS DELIGHT ($1,588,178, 47 winners)
5yo & older Trotters : Stakes/winners : SUNDON ($1,068,829, 40 winners)
Leading Broodmare Sires –
Stakes : CHRISTIAN CULLEN ($3,518,268)
Winners : SUNDON (128 winners)
All 2yo Stakes/winners : IN THE POCKET ($562,708, 9 winners equal with Christian Cullen)
All 3yo Stakes/winners : CHRISTIAN CULLEN ($1,799,338, 41 winners)
All 4yo Stakes/winners : SUNDON ($992,908, 36 winners)
All 5yo & older Stakes/winners : SUNDON ($1,307,548, 64 winners)
All Trotters Stakes/winners : SUNDON ($2,826,736, 127 winners)
Leading Stake Earners –
Pacer : LAZARUS ($493,394)
Trotter : MONBET ($387,607 NZ earnings only)
Grand Circuit Pacing Champions Australia/NZ : SMOLDA/LENNYTHESHARK dead heated (260 points)
Grand Circuit Trotting Champion Australia/NZ : SPEEDING SPUR (220 p;oints)
Peter Craig
1 August 2016
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
