22 years between wins for Canterbury trainer
Terry Neale had his first winner as a trainer in 22 years when Soviet Star won at Kaikoura on Sunday. The Canterbury trainer’s had 16 winners since the mid 1980s, with the last win before Sunday coming with Just Simmering at Oamaru in 1998. The winning driver on both occasions was Terry Chmiel. Cam Jones also had his first winner as a trainer when No Nukes Skipper won for driver Mitchell Kerr in race one at Kaikoura, as did Dean Halliday when Arizonawildcat won at Methven on Friday. And in race one at Methven Matthew Williamson had his 900th driving success when successful with Fast Whispering. That also marked trainer Noel Taylor’s 50th win.
Keast runners on the move
Five win mare Be Mine Tonight and Vesnina have changed stables, moving from Darren Keast to champion trainer Robert Dunn’s barn. Be Mine Tonight last won in February 2019 at Waikouaiti while Vesnina was an encouraging third on debut in a Nevele R filies series heat but has been unplaced since.
NZ Cup trial on Facebook
Tonight’s New Zealand Cup trial will be shown live on HRNZ’s Facebook page tonight and will be put on the HRNZ website later in the evening. The 6pm trial features a quality line-up including Copy That, Spankem and Self Assured.
Party Girl Hill beaten
The seemingly invincible Party Girl Hill has finally been beaten. The Chris Ryder trained, Dexter Dunn driven filly was 14 from 14 heading into the $500,000 Breeders Crown pace at Harrah’s Hoosier Park in Indiana. But Peaky Sneaky, paying $16 for the win, wore down the three-year-old star in the final few strides in a stakes record of 1:49, with Lyons Sentinel just edging out out Party Girl Hill for second. Dunn though is having a stellar 2020 and remains the highest earning driver in the US, with 322 wins and amassing stakes worth $US9.2m.
Breeders Crown series just hours away
It’s later than usual like many things this year, but the huge Breeders Crown series gets underway at Ballarat tonight. The powerhouse Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin barn is always a major Breeders Crown player, but even more so with the restrictions of COVID-19 making it more of a Victorian-centric series this year. First out is this stellar crop of two-year-olds, headed by the likes of recent NSW Breeders Challenge finals winners Bar Room Banta and Soho Almasi and Stewart’s star pair Ladies In Red and Act Now.
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