The New Zealand Messenger Championship is a Group One event for standardbred pacing horses in

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 count ...

, 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 The Rowe Cup is a race held annually at Alexandra Park, Auckland, New Zealand for standardbred horses. The Rowe Cup is run over a distance of 3200 m. Along with the Dominion Handicap raced at Addington Raceway it is one of the major harness ...

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 The New Zealand Cup for standardbred horses, also known as either the New Zealand Trotting Cup or the New Zealand Pacing Cup is a Group One (G1) harness race held annually by the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club at Addington Raceway in Chri ...

and

Auckland Cup The Auckland Cup is an annual race held by the Auckland Racing Club (ARC). It is an Open Handicap for thoroughbred racehorses competed on the flat turf over 3200 metres (two miles) at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand. The race was ...

. This is evidenced by New Zealand Messenger Championship winners and subsequent Cup victors such as: * Lazarus *

Auckland Reactor Auckland Reactor is a New Zealand standardbred racehorse bred by Dr. Tony & Anne Parker. He was crowned New Zealand Horse of the Year in two seasons. He was also given the nickname The Reactor Factor because most Trainers supposedly feared him. ...

Monkey King The Monkey King, also known as Sun Wukong ( zh, t=孫悟空, s=孙悟空, first=t) in Mandarin Chinese, is a legendary mythical figure best known as one of the main characters in the 16th-century Chinese novel ''Journey to the West'' ( zh, ...

* Mainland Banner *

Elsu Elsu (foaled 19 December 1999) is a black New Zealand bred Standardbred pacer who won the Australasian Pacers Grand Circuit Champion and was twice the New Zealand Horse of the Year. He was sired by Falcon Seelster out of Interchange by New Y ...

Just An Excuse Just An Excuse (4 December 1998 – 30 June 2008) was a champion New Zealand Standardbred racehorse, notable for twice winning the New Zealand Trotting Cup, in 2003 and 2004. Racing career Bred by Ollie and Irene Haines, trained by Robert Mi ...

. 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 New Zealand Messenger and it’s traditional lead up race, the

Noel J Taylor Mile The Noel J Taylor Memorial Mile is a Group One race for pacing horses in New Zealand. It is currently held over the distance of 1609 metres (one mile) once a year at Alexandra Park, Auckland, New Zealand. From 2007 to 2018 it was raced over 1700 ...

, were both opened up to older horses

Winners list

Other major races

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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

Inter Dominion Pacing Championship :''for winners of the trotting event see: Inter Dominion Trotting Championship'' The Inter Dominion is a harness racing competition that has been contested since 1936 in Australia and New Zealand. The Inter Dominion was the brain child of Western ...

Inter Dominion Trotting Championship :''for winners of the pacing event see: Inter Dominion Pacing Championship'' The Inter Dominion Trotting Championship Grand Final was a race for trotters within the overall Inter Dominion series. The series is held each year, and is a harness rac ...

Miracle Mile Pace The Miracle Mile is an Australian harness racing event for Standardbred Horse gait#pace, pacers that was held at Harold Park Racetrack each November until 2008 when the race was switched to Menangle Park Paceway. Prize money has long been among ...

References

Harness racing in New Zealand Horse races in New Zealand {{NewZealand-sport-stub

Race scheduling

Winners list

Other major races

See also

References