New Zealand Messenger
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New Zealand Messenger
The New Zealand Messenger Championship is a Group One event for standardbred pacing horses in New Zealand, run at Alexandra Park. Race scheduling In recent years the race has been held in late April or early May. It was previously raced on the same race-night as the Rowe Cup and Northern Trotting Derby for trotters and the New Zealand Sires Stakes Championship. The New Zealand Messenger Championship had traditionally been restricted to 4 year-old horses and was the most prestigious race for that age group in New Zealand, and a key guide to feature races in the following season like the New Zealand Trotting Cup and Auckland Cup. This is evidenced by New Zealand Messenger Championship winners and subsequent Cup victors such as: * Lazarus * Auckland Reactor * Monkey King * Mainland Banner * Elsu * Just An Excuse. For the 2013, 2014 and 2015 years 5 year olds were also eligible to compete in the race. However, from 2016 it reverted to 4 year olds only. However, in 2022 the Ne ...
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Alexandra Park, Auckland
Alexandra Park is a racecourse in the suburb of Epsom in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the home of the Auckland Trotting Club . The park consists of the Alexandra Park Raceway trotting track, conference centre and a high-end urban village currently under construction. Alexandra Park hosts many feature harness races throughout the year, including the Auckland Trotting Cup and the Rowe Cup, and is the home of the New Zealand Trotting Hall of Fame and museum. History Named after Queen Alexandra this is believed to be the site of Auckland's first organised racing in 1842. Part of William Potter's large farm it was known as Potter's Paddock. Bought for their draught horses by the tramways company in 1887 it was, by agreement, still used for football, Rugby and cricket matches. Regular Auckland Trotting Club meetings began in 1890. Ten years later on the visit of her eldest son, the duke of Cornwall, it received the name Alexandra Park and the parkland around it was named Cornwall P ...
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Natalie Rasmussen
Natalie Clair Rasmussen (born 1977) is a driver and trainer of Standardbred racehorses in Australia and New Zealand. She has been associated with many champions and is one of the leading trainers and drivers of harness horses in Australasia. Biography Rasmussen was born in Townsville, Queensland, in 1977. Her father was a harness horse trainer and her sisters, Kylie and Vicki, have also been trainers and drivers. Rasmussen initially drove and trained harness horses in her native Australia. She was the first woman in Australia to have trained and driven an Inter Dominion winner with Blacks A Fake who she went on to win the championship with a further three times. In 2009, Rasmussen was inducted into the Inter Dominion Hall of Fame. In 2010–2011, Rasmussen briefly tried her hand at training Thoroughbreds and had a winner at the Gold Coast with Abu Dhabi Gold. Rasmussen later moved to New Zealand and formally trained in partnership with Mark Purdon from 2014. During this perio ...
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Dominion Handicap
The Dominion is a race held at the Addington Raceway each year in Christchurch, New Zealand for standardbred horses. The race is run in November over a distance of 3200 m on the Friday of New Zealand Cup week. It is on the same day as the New Zealand Free For All. It is one of the major harness races for trotters rather than pacers, and is considered to be the trotters equivalent of the New Zealand Trotting Cup. Another similar race is the Rowe Cup held each May in Auckland. Records Most wins: * 3 - Lyell Creek (1999, 2000, 2004) Most wins by a harness racer, driver: * 8 - Anthony Butt (1987, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2011) * 4 - J Bryce (1916, 1919, 1928, 1929) * 3 - M F Holmes, Maurice Holmes (1932, 1954, 1955) * 3 - Ricky May (1998, 2010, 2016) Winners list See also * Harness racing * Harness racing in New Zealand Other major races * Rowe Cup * Auckland Trotting Cup * New Zealand Trotting Cup * Great Northern Derby * Noel J Taylor Mile * New Zealand M ...
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Great Northern Derby
The Great Northern Derby is a harness racing event for 3 year old standardbreds. It is a major event for 3 year old colts and geldings in New Zealand. It is run at Alexandra Park in Auckland, on the same night as the Auckland Cup in early March. The stake of $400,000 is the richest for 3-year-olds in Australasia. Records Most wins by an owner: * 4 - R A McKenzie (1963, 1968, 1971, 1984) Winners list Other major races * Auckland Trotting Cup * New Zealand Trotting Cup * New Zealand Free For All * New Zealand Trotting Derby * Noel J Taylor Mile * New Zealand Messenger * Rowe Cup * Dominion Handicap * Inter Dominion Pacing Championship * Inter Dominion Trotting Championship See also * Harness racing * Harness racing in New Zealand Harness racing in New Zealand is primarily a professional sport which involves pacing and trotting competitions for Standardbred racehorses. The difference is the horse's gait or running style: * pacing is where the two legs on the same ...
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Auckland Trotting Cup
The Auckland Pacing Cup which is sometimes referred to as the Auckland Trotting Cup or merely the Auckland Cup is a race held at Alexandra Park in Auckland, New Zealand for Standardbred horses. It is one of the two major harness races, along with the New Zealand Cup, held in New Zealand each year for the highest grade (Open class) pacers. It is a Group 1 championship race and has been won by many of the champion pacers in New Zealand. Cup History For most of its history the Auckland Cup has been raced in December, however at times it has been moved to other calendar dates such as: * March, from 2006 until 2015, when it formed part of Auckland Cup Week, a carnival which includes feature Thoroughbred and greyhound racing. As well as the March 2015 race (won by Christen Me) there was a second 2015 Auckland Cup raced in December (Have Faith In Me). Neither Christen Me or Have Faith In Me competed in the other race that year. * January, in 1987 when won by Master Mood over 2,700m. In ...
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C S Hunter
Charlie Hunter or C S Hunter was a trainer and driver of standardbred racehorses in New Zealand. He was associated with the champion pacer Young Quinn. Hunter topped the New Zealand trainer's list in the 1967/68 and 1973/74 seasons, and was first equal in the 1974/75 season. He also drove winners such as: * French Pass, winner of the 1967 Dominion Handicap * Min Scott, winner of the 1963 Dominion Handicap * Scottish Warrior, winner of the 1972 New Zealand Messenger Championship References See also * Harness racing in New Zealand Harness racing in New Zealand is primarily a professional sport which involves pacing and trotting competitions for Standardbred racehorses. The difference is the horse's gait or running style: * pacing is where the two legs on the same side ... {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Charlie New Zealand harness racers New Zealand racehorse trainers ...
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Stanley Rio
Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series), an American situation comedy * ''Stanley'' (2001 TV series), an American animated series Other uses in arts and entertainment * ''Stanley'' (play), by Pam Gems, 1996 * Stanley Award, an Australian Cartoonists' Association award * '' Stanley: The Search for Dr. Livingston'', a video game * Stanley (Cars), a character in ''Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales'' * ''The Stanley Parable'', a 2011 video game developed by Galactic Cafe, and its titular character, Stanley Businesses and organisations * Stanley, Inc., American information technology company * Stanley Aviation, American aerospace company * Stanley Black & Decker, formerly The Stanley Works, American hardware manufacturer ** Stanley knife, a utility knife * Stanley bottle, a brand of ...
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Peter Wolfenden
Peter Tom Wolfenden (24 January 1935 – 18 February 2023) was a New Zealand driver and trainer of Standardbred racehorses. He is most notable for his victory in the New Zealand Trotting Cup when he drove New Zealand's top pacer Cardigan Bay. He won the New Zealand drivers' premiership 14 times, including eight consecutive years from 1974, and twice won the Australasian Drivers Championship. He represented New Zealand seven times in the World Drivers Championship in harness racing, placing second in 1977 and third in 1971. He had 1762 career race wins in New Zealand as a driver, and 798 as a trainer. In the 1982 New Year Honours, Wolfenden was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), for services to trotting. He was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame. Wolfenden died on 18 February 2023, at the age of 88. Big race wins Peter Wolfenden's career included driving the following winners: * 1984 Auckland Cup – Enterprise * 1983 Auckland Cup – ...
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Christopher Vance
Christopher Vance (5 November 1986 – 13 December 2016) was a Group One-winning New Zealand Standardbred racehorse, trained by Roy and Barry Purdon and generally driven by Barry Purdon or Tony Herlihy. He was the 1991–92 New Zealand Horse of the Year after winning both the major New Zealand races, the New Zealand Cup and Auckland Cup, as well as the Miracle Mile Pace at Harold Park in Australia. Christopher Vance was not as dominant in the following seasons but remained competitive against top class opposition such as Blossom Lady, Master Musician, Jack Morris and Chokin. During his retirement years, Christopher Vance lived at Cambridge Stud, where he was a companion to the champion thoroughbred Rough Habit. The two were buried next to each other, Christopher Vance dying a month past his 30th birthday. Racing record During his career, Christopher Vance won or was placed in the following major races in New Zealand and Australia: * 1st - 1990 Great Northern Derby beating Ma ...
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Chokin
Chokin is a New Zealand Standardbred racehorse who was notable in winning the New Zealand Trotting Cup, which is New Zealand's most prestigious horse race. Chokin is also one of the few horses to have won Harold Park Paceway's prestigious Miracle Mile Pace twice. During his 2-year-old season in 1990/91 Chokin was sold to the Pacers Australia syndicate for about $200,000 and changed trainer from Brian Hughes to Roy and Barry Purdon.Death of an Icon
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He had won 4 of 5 races before the sale. For his new owners he won the Sires Stakes Final by 4 ½ lengths in 1:56.5 which was a national record for his age. He also won the Two Year Old Championship over 2200 metres by 3 ½ lengths, again in national record time despite a rain affected track. He won 7 of 8 starts in his ...
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Mainland Banner
Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or demographically more significant than politically associated remote territories, such as exclaves or oceanic islands situated outside the continental shelf. In geography, "mainland" can denote the continental (i.e. non-insular) part of any polity or the main island within an island nation. In geopolitics, "mainland" is sometimes used interchangeably with terms like metropole as an antonym to overseas territories. In the sense of "heartland", mainland is the opposite of periphery. In some language a separate concept of "mainland" is missing and is replaced with a "continental portion". The term is relative: in Tasmania, continental Australia is the mainland, while to residents of Flinders Island, the main island of Tasmania is also "the ma ...
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Steven Reid (harness Racer)
Steven Reid is a driver of standardbred racehorses in New Zealand. Background Reid began training in 1988 and in that time he has trained winners of: * 27 wins with Les Purdon from 1988-1990. * 60 wins with Tremain Thorby from 1999-2000. * 168 wins with Graeme Rogerson from 2009-2010. * 73 wins with Simon McMullan from 2014-2017. * over 700 wins as a sole trainer (up to the 2020 season). Steven won the NZ Harness Premiership for Training in 1997 and 1998. In 2009 Steven parted from his former owner Robert Famularo ending a 9-year relationship. and went into partnership with renowned thoroughbred trainer Graeme Rogerson. He was the previous trainer of harness racing horses like Monkey King, Baileys Dream and Fake Denario. He considers his best horse was the highly acclaimed Gold Ace. Gold Ace won the 2010 NRM Sire Stakes Final, the New Zealand Free-For-All in a track record 1:52.6 mile rate, the Waikato Flying Mile in 1:53.3 and the Cranbourne Pacing Cup. Steven trains fro ...
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