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Grand National Steeplechase (New Zealand)
The Great National Steeplechase held at Riccarton Park Racecourse is one of New Zealand's major steeplechase jumping races. History The Grand National Steeplechase has been held on 148 occasions to date. The Grand National was first run in 1875 in Willowbridge, near Waimate in South Canterbury, over 4 miles. Since 1891 the horses have competed over a three and a half mile journey (now 5600m), making it one of New Zealand's longest horse races and it is run in winter when the grass tracks are soft or heavy. The race is therefore a great test of stamina and fitness for both horse and rider. Initially the race was run alternately in South Canterbury, North Otago and North Canterbury. In 1884 Christchurch became the permanent venue and in 1888 it was arranged that the Canterbury Jockey Club should run the Grand National Steeplechase and it has been held at Riccarton ever since. Jockeys to have won the race four times are: * Ken Browne in 1978 (Regal Mink), 1981 (Charlestown), 1985 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riccarton Park Racecourse
Riccarton Park Racecourse is the main thoroughbred horse racecourse for the Christchurch city area in New Zealand. History The Canterbury Jockey Club was established in 1854 and held its first meeting at Hagley Park in Easter 1855. The Riccarton racecourse was reserved as a public recreation ground by the Canterbury Provincial Council in 1858 and leased to the Jockey Club. Riccarton Racecourse became the home of the New Zealand Cup in 1867. The Tea House and the Public Grandstand were designed by local architects, Alfred and Sidney Luttrell. In October 2022 it was reported the Canterbury Jockey Club had been granted permission to demolish the 100-year old grandstand, despite opposition from heritage campaigners Main races On the Saturday prior to Canterbury Show and Cup week in November: * The Group 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas run over 1600m for 3yo horses, * The Listed Metropolitan Trophy Handicap, an Open handicap over 2500m. * The Listed Pegasus Stakes, an Open handicap ove ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country by area, covering . New Zealand is about east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. The country's varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Alps, owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, and its most populous city is Auckland. The islands of New Zealand were the last large habitable land to be settled by humans. Between about 1280 and 1350, Polynesians began to settle in the islands and then developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight and record New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the United Kingdom and Māori chiefs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are considered " hot-blooded" horses that are known for their agility, speed, and spirit. The Thoroughbred, as it is known today, was developed in 17th- and 18th-century England, when native mares were crossbred with imported Oriental stallions of Arabian, Barb, and Turkoman breeding. All modern Thoroughbreds can trace their pedigrees to three stallions originally imported into England in the 17th and 18th centuries, and to a larger number of foundation mares of mostly English breeding. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Thoroughbred breed spread throughout the world; they were imported into North America starting in 1730 and into Australia, Europe, Japan and South America during the 19th century. Millions of Thoroughbreds exist today, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Hunt Racing
In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: hurdles and steeplechases. Alongside these there are "bumpers", which are National Hunt flat races. In a hurdles race, the horses jump over obstacles called hurdles; in a steeplechase the horses jump over a variety of obstacles that can include plain fences, water jump or an open ditch. In the UK the biggest National Hunt events of the year are generally considered to be the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Outline Most of the National Hunt season takes place in the winter when the softer ground makes jumping less dangerous. The horses are much cheaper, as the majority are geldings and have no breeding value. This makes the sport more popular as the horses are not usually retired at such a young age and thus become familiar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand Dollar
The New Zealand dollar ( mi, tāra o Aotearoa; sign: $, NZ$; code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New Zealand, it is almost always abbreviated with the dollar sign ($). "$NZ" or "NZ$" are sometimes used when necessary to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. Introduced in 1967, the dollar is subdivided into 100 cents. Altogether it has five coins and five banknotes with the smallest being the 10-cent coin; smaller denominations have been discontinued due to inflation and production costs. In the context of currency trading, the New Zealand dollar is sometimes informally called the "Kiwi" or "Kiwi dollar", since the flightless bird, the Kiwi (bird), kiwi, is depicted on its New Zealand one-dollar coin, one-dollar coin. It is the tenth most traded currency in the world, representing 2.1% of global foreign exchange marke ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steeplechase (horse Racing)
A steeplechase is a distance horse race in which competitors are required to jump diverse fence and ditch obstacles. Steeplechasing is primarily conducted in Ireland (where it originated), the United Kingdom, Canada, United States, Australia, and France. The name is derived from early races in which orientation of the course was by reference to a church steeple, jumping fences and ditches and generally traversing the many intervening obstacles in the countryside. Modern usage of the term "steeplechase" differs between countries. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, it refers only to races run over large, fixed obstacles, in contrast to "hurdle" races where the obstacles are much smaller. The collective term "jump racing" or "National Hunt racing" is used when referring to steeplechases and hurdle races collectively (although, properly speaking, National Hunt racing also includes some flat races). Elsewhere in the world, "steeplechase" is used to refer to any race that involves j ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jockey
A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual who rode horses in racing. They must be light, typically around a weight of 100-120 lb., and physically fit. They are typically self-employed and are paid a small fee from the horse trainer and a percentage of the horse's winnings. Jockeys are mainly male, though there are some well-known female jockeys too. The job has a very high risk of debilitating or life-threatening injuries. Etymology The word is by origin a diminutive of ''jock'', the Northern English or Scots colloquial equivalent of the first name ''John'', which is also used generically for "boy" or "fellow" (compare ''Jack'', ''Dick''), at least since 1529. A familiar instance of the use of the word as a name is in "Jockey of Norfolk" in Shakespeare's ''Richard III''. v. 3, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
St Reims
St Reims (foaled 9 November 1999 in New Zealand) is a thoroughbred racehorse who won the New Zealand Derby in 2002. A million-dollar yearling, big things were always expected of the son of Zabeel, and although he didn't break his maiden until his fifth start he soon started to live up to expectations. A runaway win in the Avondale Guineas at his last start before the Derby ensured that he would start favourite in the Classic, and he didn't disappoint. Given an excellent ride out in front by Greg Childs, the colt was never headed and scored a narrow but authoritative win. After the Derby his career went downhill. After disappointing performances in an autumn Sydney campaign, St Reims failed to win a single race as a four-year-old and looked to be a shadow of his former self. But at Hastings in the spring of 2004 he regained his interest in racing and put together a string of wins against horses the quality of Waitoki Dream and Zafar, culminating in a return to Group race success i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harvey Wilson
Harvey Wilson (born 9 December 1949) is a New Zealand equestrian. He competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 1992 Summer Olympics. Wilson and his wife Anne have also trained thoroughbred race horses from his Waverley base since 2004. As at 1 June 2024 he has achieved 63 race wins. His victories include "It's A Wonder" winning the 2019 Grand National Steeplechase (New Zealand) The Great National Steeplechase held at Riccarton Park Racecourse is one of New Zealand's major steeplechase jumping races. History The Grand National Steeplechase has been held on 148 occasions to date. The Grand National was first run in 1875 ... References External links * 1949 births Living people New Zealand male equestrians Olympic equestrians for New Zealand Equestrians at the 1988 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1992 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Whanganui {{NewZealand-equestrian-bio-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zabeel
Zabeel (25 October 1986 – 25 September 2015) was a New Zealand-bred racehorse who predominantly raced in Australia. He was retired to stud and became a champion sire. He is a bay son of Sir Tristram (IRE) from the Nureyev mare Lady Giselle. During his racing career, he won seven races, including the Moonee Valley Stakes in 1989 and the Australian Guineas, the Alister Clark Stakes, and the Craiglee Stakes in 1990. After retiring to stud in 1991, he sired 153 individual stakes winners of 350 stakes races, including Vengeance of Rain, who won the Dubai Sheema Classic and holds the earnings record in Hong Kong. Zabeel has also sired the Australian champions Octagonal and Might And Power, who won 17 Group One races between them, including the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, two Cox Plates, three runnings of the Mercedes Classic, and the Sydney three-year-old triple crown. One of Zabeel's half-brothers, Baryshnikov (by Kenmare), also won the Australian Guineas (in 1995) and r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Volksraad (horse)
Volksraad (5 February 1988 – 28 December 2011) was a thoroughbred horse and a New Zealand sire of champion racehorses. He dominated the New Zealand sires lists, with six consecutive titles from 2001 to 2007. His progeny include: * Bahnhof Zoo * Clifton Prince * Dantelah * Dezigna * Distill * Fiscal Madness * Katana * Military Move, the 2010 New Zealand Derby winner * One Under * Sir Slick, six-time Group 1 winner * Star Satire * Thriller * Torlesse, winner of the 2003 New Zealand Cup * Tusker, the 2005 Championship Stakes and 2006 Awapuni Gold Cup winner. * Veloce Bella * Vinaka * Volkaire * Willy Smith * Zola Volksraad was euthanased after fracturing a shoulder in a paddock accident on 28 December 2011. He was 23 years old. See also Thoroughbred racing in New Zealand The racing of Thoroughbred horses (or gallopers, as they are also known) is a popular gaming and spectator sport and industry in New Zealand. History Thoroughbred horse racing commenced soo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Northern Steeplechase
The Great Northern Steeplechase is New Zealand's richest steeplechase. For most of its life the race was run over at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, making it Australasia's longest horse race, and usually took over eight minutes to complete. The contestants must clear 25 jumps during the 6400m race, making it one of the great tests of stamina and fitness in thoroughbred racing, for both horse and rider. A notable feature of the race was the Ellerslie Hill, on the eastern side of the steeplechase course, which the horses must climb three times during the race. The race is no longer held at Ellerslie after the Auckland Racing Club sold land for housing development. History The inaugural race was won by Macaroni, who carried a weight of 12 stone (76 kg). The record weight carried to victory was 12 stone 13 lb (82.5 kg) by Kiatere in 1907. One of the most notable winners of the race was Hunterville, who won the race three times in 1983, 1984 and 1985. Hyp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
