Nominations for New Zealand Bloodstock Regional Racing Awards reflects outstanding season had in the Central Districts
The nominations have been released for the 2010 New Zealand Bloodstock Regional Racing Awards to be held in the Silks Lounge at Awapuni Racecourse on the evening of Saturday 4th September. Included in the nominations is Group One winning trainer Jeff Lynds, as well as Group One winning jockeys Opie Bosson, Hayden Tinsley, Buddy Lammas and Jonathan Riddell.
This is the 15th year of the Racing Awards which originally began with the four Awapuni Clubs as well as Woodville and Foxton. The Clubs have expanded over the years and the quality of horsemanship and horses has continued to rise in the area with the awards now contested between horses and identities located in the regions of the Marton Jockey Club, Rangitikei Racing Club, Feilding Jockey Club, Manawatu Racing Club, Foxton Jockey Club, Levin Racing Club, Otaki-Maori Racing Club and Wellington Racing Club.
This years nominess are:
Leading Owner & Trainer - announced on the night
Outstanding Broodmare - Hay Barlu (dam of Barinka), Miss Vita (Dam of Zavite) and Waikawa (dam of Ace Aliado)
Leading Apprentice Jockey - Leah Hemi, Roise Myers and Mathew Ward
Leading Trainer - Mike Breslin, Kevin Gray, Lisa Latta, Jeff Lynds, Mark Oulaghan and Karen Zimmerman
Outstanding Owners - Gary & Mark Chittick, GGSyndicate - GKV Holdings & M A Head, Ian and Alan Smart Trust, Judge Clapham
Leading Racehorse - Cellarmaster, Daffodil, Vosne Romanee and Wall Street
Leading Jockey - Opie Bosson, Buddy Lammas, Jonathan Riddell and Hayden Tinsley
Twenty two independant judges have voted on the awards which does not necessaily concentrate on the number of wins during the season but the significance and type of races won during the season. Tony Lee will MC the night which is always a very entertaining event.
Wednesday 14 July 2010
Big Day for the Locals
Saturday’s Marton Jockey Club racemeeting was the last for the season at Awapuni and the locals sure made the most of it. On the ten race card, Awapuni trained horses won nine races while running third in the only race they did not win.
The locals won the first seven races on the card and it was only the Peter McKenzie trained Bedlum that prevented the clean sweep on the day. The chief destroyer for tor the locals was trainer Lisa Latta (pictured) who had nine runners on the day for four winners and three placings. She unleashed some highly talented horses in hurdler Waitatha Toa and two year old Zennista. Her other two wins came with Black Lambo and Yourhavinmeon. There is no doubt that Waitatha Toa looks headed for far better things after his effortless display in the Cantara Ltd Hurdles. Jockey Jonathan Riddell had a lap full of the horse as they swung for home and rode him hands and heels up the straight to score by four lengths. There is no doubt that a Grand National Hurdles will not be beyond him winning in August.
Zennista also impressed when taking out the Matt Burke Engineering 2YO by four and a half lengths. She too was given an easy run to the line after exploding to the front half way down the straight. Trainer Lisa Latta now has to consider whether to keep the filly going for the Ryder Stakes or spell her and look towards the One Thousand Guineas and ultimately the NZ Oaks.
The winner of the 2YO race in 2009, Surf Patrol made it two years in a row when taking out the Rayner Building / P J Rayner Decorating 3YO. Trained by Mike Breslin she won well by a length and three quarters and gave jockey Jonathan Riddell a double for the day. Breslin has now set his sights on the $45,000 3YO 1600m at the Opunake meeting on July 24th for this gutsy little filly.
Gray Vile also trained a double on the day with wins from Repertoire who hung on to win the Adobe Motel/Hogan Plumbing Maiden by a long neck for visiting apprentice Harry Kasim. Vile would also quinella the J&J Walters 2100 later in the day with Miss Alacrity ridden by Lisa Allpress holding out stablemate Iriodes.
Other locals to win on the day included Rising Tide prepared by Mark Oulaghan in the Rangitikei Tyre Centre Maiden and the Tony Kaye trained Iamthatiam made it back to back wins in the Richards Construction Handicap.
With this being the last meeting of the season the annual prizes were distributed for leading trainer, jockey and apprentice for the season at Awapuni. It was no surprise to see Lisa Latta take out the Humphries Construction Leading Trainer for the fourth season in a row. Latta is renowned for having big teams at her local track and her four wins on Saturday showed why she is Central Districts Leading Trainer. Opie Bosson won the Race Images Leading Jockey. Regarded as one of the best in the business Bosson was riding in Singapore at the weekend where he won the Group One Singapore Derby. However Bosson had an assailable lead and there is no doubting he is one of New Zealand best jockeys in commission. Local apprentice Rosie Myers took out the Gary Vile Racing Stable and Palace Lodge Racing Stables prize for the leading apprentice. Myers is apprenticed to Mike Breslin and was not at Awapuni on Saturday but was instead on a well deserved holiday in Melbourne.
18 June 2010
Bookies find it hard to split two horses in Manawatu ITM Awapuni Hurdles
The bookmakers have found it hard to split Spirit Of Alaton and Ho Down in tomorrow's Manawatu ITM Awapuni Hurdles. The first major Central Districts jumping race of the year has seen the bookmakers open with three Central Districts horses filling the first three spots in favouritism.
Spirit Of Alaton ($3.40) has opened up a narrow favourite. The winner of this race two years ago was a convincing winner in the Waikato Hurdles two starts back. He has since had a run on the flat in the Foxton Cup. However trainer Rachel Frost has a few concerns with the race tomorrow. One of those is that winning rider Issac Lupton has taken the ride on Mickey in the same however Frost has found an able replacement in Tommy Hazlett who won this race three years ago aboard Counter Punch. Also Spirit Of Alaton has a dislike for very havy tracks. The Awapuni track is rated a heavy 10 and will be when the race starts tomorrow and if anything will be very sticky. But of most concern to Frost is that she has been having trouble with Spirit Of Alaton feet and this has led to him missing some work.Second favourite in the Paul Nelson trained Ho Down ($3.60). He ran a huge race at Ellerslie recently when making up twenty lengths in the closing stages ad wunning fourth behind Big Brownie beaten three lengths. A major factor for the horse also is that Jonathan Riddell has decided to ride over the fences and takes the ride tomorrow. Riddell has been going great guns on the flat recently and this will be his first ride over the fences in 2010. Riddell has riddent at some Poitn To Points and ofter can be seen schooling horses at Awapuni. There is no doubt he is one on NZ leading jumps riders. Ho Down was agood winner on a heavy track at National Jumps day last year and theres no doubting his ability over the hurdles.Third favourite Mickey ($5.50) is a very interesting runner. He has only had five attempts over the hurdles for two wins and a placing. He won his most recent hurdle race at Hastings and has the services of Issac Lupton.The full market is: Spirit Of Alaton ($3.40), Montezuma ($9), Ho Down ($3.60), Cap Colombie ($6), Skidby ($11), Mickey ($5.50), Blame Me $13, Victory Morgan ($11)
17 Jun 2010
Two past winners in FMG Manawatu Steeplechase
The winners of the last two runnings of the time honoured FMG Manawatu Steeplechase are set to do battle at Awapuni on Saturday. The FMG Manawatu Steeplechase is run over 4400m for $25,000 and has drawn its biggest field for many years.
The 2008 winner Triplepan is the topweight for the race and having to carry around 67kg. The heaviest weight carried since the weight scale was changed to kilos was Messtime in 1974 who carried 65.6kg. Trainer Joanne Moss has adopted a patient approach with this horse having given him only the one run on the flat. However he was at Awapuni ten days ago for the point to point.
Last years winner No Rush'n trained by Paul Nelson at Hastings comes into the race on the back of a last start win at his home track. He carried 65.5kg that day and he drops down half a kilo on Saturday to 65kg. The last horse to winn back to back Manawatu Steeplechases was Hadfield back in 1994/95. No Rush'n will also be re united with last years winning jockey Jonathan Riddell who has taken his first two rides over the jumps for 2010. Riddell has recently being riding The Hombre in Brisbane on the flat and won a Group Three race aboard the horse one month ago. Last week he rode the horse into nineth in the Group One $500,000 Queensland Derby when third favourite. If Riddell was to win this race it would truely reflect an outstanding effort and represent what a wonderful horseman he is.
The exciting jumping action will start at Awapuni on Saturday with the Manawatu ITM Hurdle to be held at 12.37pm as the fourth race on the card and the big one for the day the FMG Manawatu Steeplechase will jump at 1.46pm. First race is at 11.05am.
13 May 2010
Riddell gets first taste of Brisbane racing
Ten months is a very long time in racing and luck can change with it. For Jonathan Riddell that is a true statement. Last July, Riddell was lying in Wellington Hospital after having two ribs removed as well as a few more broken from a nasty fall in the Wellington Hurdles at Trentham. Battered and bruised and after spending a week in Wellington Hospital, Riddell went home to recover. Come September the talented jumps jockey had his weight down again to resume his flat riding.
Move forward ten months and Riddell gets his chance to ride on the flat in Australia in the Group Three A$125,000 Rough Habit Plate at Doomben on Saturday. This coming after obtaining his first Group One win at Otaki last year aboard Eileen Dubh in November. For Riddell the change in fortune is not lost on him. "When I came back to ride on the flat I would never have expected to ride a Group One winner and to be riding in Australia is another thing I never thought I would have done" For Riddell the season has been rewarding with 39 wins after starting a month behind most other jockeys. He has teamed up with the talented Eileen Dubh from the Francis Finnegan stable as well as Jimmy Choux trained John Bary at Hastings and his stablemate The Hombre who he rides on Saturday. "The tally could have probaly been a bit better but for a couple of suspensions which have slowed me down" said Riddell
The Hombre had his first start beyond 1600m at Te Rapa last Saturday week and finished a great second to hotshot Time Keeper, making significant ground on the winner in the closing strides. Riddell noted after the race that The Hombre had alot to learn. "The coin hasn't dropped properly into the slot in the horse's brain yet. Halfway down the straight the horse knew he had those behind him beaten then suddenly said to himself: 'Oh, there's another horse three lengths in front we'd better do something about him. It's about to all fall into place for him and it'd be nice if it happened this weekend before he goes into the Derby."
Riddell arrived in Brisbane on Monday and rode The Hombre in gallop at Doomben on Tuesday in company with the John Sargent-trained She Kin Fly."They worked nicely together on the course proper, running the last 600m in 36, hard held," said Riddell. While Riddell has ridden big jumps winners in Australia he would be breaking new ground with a flat win in Australia. "That would be great but we know how hard it is for our Kiwi horses coming over but we do perform well in Brisbane. Hopefully we get a good draw and he can run up to his best. Is he does he will be right in the finish" commented Riddell. Riddell will get a warm up before Saturday riding Chateau a stablemate of The Hombre at Ipswich on Friday. "1200m is too short for him but I think he could run a cheeky race on his work. The wide draw of 15 wont worry him as he will get back anyway" said Riddell.