Champion jumper The Cossack will be one of two representatives from the Hastings stable of Paul Nelson and Corrina McDougal in Sunday’s $75,000 Pakuranga Hunt Cup Steeplechase at Te Aroha.
John Jenkins is a longtime racing journalist based in Hawke’s Bay
Few trainers would line up a horse on debut in a Listed stakes race but that is what Hastings trainer Guy Lowry is planning with the promising Spark.
The three-year-old filly created a big impression when winning a trial at Foxton on Tuesday of last week and Lowry, who trains in partnership with Leah Zydenos, thinks she is something special.
“She is probably the most exciting horse I’ve trained since Jimmysstar,” Lowry said this week.
“She won a trial at Foxton last week easily and beat a couple of good ones including Mount Cook, who I know Mick Brown and Sue Thompson think a lot of.”
“She will probably have another trial at Foxton next week and then make her debut in the Canterbury Belle Stakes.
The $80,000 Canterbury Belle Stakes will be run over 1200m at Riccarton on September 13, with the winner exempt from the ballot for the Group 1 $600,000 Barnswood Farm New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton on November 8.
Spark is a three-year-old filly by Time Test out of Flare, bred and owned by Guy Lowry. She is a half-sister to the five race winner Candle.
Lowry has had a number of high class gallopers go through his stable over the years but nothing compares with Jimmysstar, who he prepared for three starts for two wins and a second before he was sold to clients of Australian trainer Ciaron Maher.
The son of Per Incanto has gone on to win another seven races and more than A$2million in stakemoney in Australia, his victories including the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) at Caulfield and Group 1 All Aged Stakes (1400m) at Randwick.
Spark contested a 1000m maiden three-year-old heat at last week’s Foxton trials.
She began quickly to take a clear lead at the end of the first 200m and travelled easily in front before kicking clear over the final stages, under just a hands and heels ride from Kelly Myers, to win by 1-1/4 lengths.
Spark was one of three winners for the Lowry/Zydenbos stable at the Foxton trials on August 19, the others being the high-class racemare Bedtime Story and Suave.
Bedtime Story only won by a head in an 850m open trial but was never extended at any stage and looks to have come back from a spell in excellent order. She will have another trial at Foxton on September 16 before returning to the racetrack.
Suave is a three-year-old gelding by Per Incanto out of Chic and is owned by Guy Lowry, who also bred him.
She lined up in a maiden three-year-old heat over 850m and, after being slightly slow to begin, she recovered quickly to be second in the early running. She then moved up to challenge for the lead turning into the home straight and surged clear close to the line to win by half a length.
There were four Hastings-trained winners at last week’s Foxton trials, the other being Celebrity from the stable of Mick Brown and Sue Thompson.
The Shocking four-year-old gelding followed up a three-quarter length trial win over 1000m at Foxton on August 5 with and even more convincing 2-1/4 length victory over 1200m on the same track.
Ridden by Bruno Queiroz, Celebrity went straight to the front and maintained an advantage over his rivals throughout, working clear in the final stages to win by 2-1/4 lengths.
Nelson/McDougal jumpers in Te Aroha features
The Hastings stable of Paul Nelson and Corrina McDougal will be well represented in the two feature jumping races at Te Aroha this Sunday.
The stable will line up Grand National Hurdle winner Suliman and Taika in the $60,000 Pakuranga Hunt Hurdle (3100m) while The Cossack and Nedwin will be the stable runners in the $75,000 Pakuranga Hunt Cup Steeplechase (4300m).
The meeting will serve as a lead up to the final big jumps race meeting of the year, at Te Aroha on September 19 and 20. That meeting will feature the running of $150,000 J Swap Great New Zealand Hurdle (4200m) on the first day and the $200,000 Ben and Ryan Foote Great New Zealand Steeplechase (6200m) on the second day.
Champion jumper The Cossack will be having his first start over the steeplechase fences at Te Aroha but has won twice over hurdles there, including a 4-1/4 length victory in the Great Northern Hurdle (4200m) in October 2021.
The 12-year-old gelding only managed fourth in the Wellington Steeplechase (4900m) at Trentham two starts back but has since had a 2200m race on the flat at Rotorua and should strip a much fitter horse on Sunday, where he has to lump topweight of 72kg. Matthew Gillies has been booked to ride him.
His stablemate Nedwin produced a game performance for third in the Grand National Steeplechase (5600m) earlier this month in what was only his fourth start over the big fences. His only previous start in a jumping race at Te Aroha resulted in a fourth placing in a maiden hurdle race over 3100m in October 2021. He is down on the minimum weight of 66kg and will be ridden by Hamish McNeill.
Both Suliman and Taika will be having their first jumping starts on the Te Aroha track but both are high class hurdlers.
Suliman has gone up 3.5kg in the weights following his Grand National Hurdles win and will be ridden by Dean Parker.
Taika will be having his first hurdle start since finishing seventh of 10 in the Hawke’s Bay Hurdles (3000m) at Woodville on July 13 but has since had a run on the flat over 2200m at Rotorua to help fit him for Sunday’s assignment. He will carry 70kg, with Matthew Gillies booked for the ride.
HBRI members forum next Tuesday
An Information Forum for Hawke’s Bay Racing Incorporated members will be held in the Cheval Room at the Hastings racecourse at 6pm next Tuesday, September 2.
The forum was initially set down for July 24 but had to be postponed as the final segment of the proposed long-term solution for racing in Hastings and for the East Coast region was not finalised in time.
A statement sent to members on Friday of last week said the timing adjustment has ensured that Hawke’s Bay Racing and New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing will be able to provide members with clearer and more meaningful updates on both the Hastings track recambering project and the wider strategic planning under way for the future of racing in Hawke’s Bay.
It added that the role of Hawke’s Bay Racing Incorporated members remains central to shaping the future of racing in the region and it is important to update them on the work being done to secure a strong and sustainable path forward.
Another Awapuni race venue change
New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing and RACE Incorporated have confirmed further changes to the Spring racing calendar in the Central Districts, as remediation works continue on the Awapuni grass track.
The meeting scheduled for Saturday, October 11, featuring the Group 3 $120,000 Spring Sprint (1400m), will now be run at the Ōtaki racecourse.
While progress is being made at the RACE Awapuni venue, the ability to race there in October remains dependent on weather and grass growth. Given the prominence of the meeting, a decision has been made in consultation with Entain to transfer the fixture to the Ōtaki-Māori Racing Club.
The meeting originally scheduled at Ōtaki on Saturday, October 18, will be transferred with the new venue to be confirmed following further discussions in September.
As previously announced, the RACE Awapuni meetings on September 6 and September 20 have been rescheduled.
NZTR and the TAB NZ Dates Committee have approved the following venue changes:
A formal Awapuni track review will take place on Monday, September 15, attended by representatives from NZTR, RACE Incorporated, the Racing Integrity Board, consultant Liam O’Keeffe, the New Zealand Jockeys Association, Entain and senior trainers.
Restructure of NZTR leadership
New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing has announced a strategic restructure of its leadership team following a comprehensive review of its management structure to better align with the strategic priorities for the 2025/26 season and beyond.
Following this review, NZTR has dis-established the roles of chief operating officer (Darin Balcombe), chief customer officer (vacant), and head of marketing, communications and wagering partnerships (Dan Smith).
In their place, four new senior leadership roles have been created to reflect the evolving needs of the industry:
Under the revised structure, Dan Smith will move into the newly created position of general manager – strategy & transformation, a role pivotal to driving implementation of the strategic plan with urgency, accountability, and focus.
The organisation acknowledged the longstanding contribution of Darin Balcombe, who will continue to serve as chief operating officer until October while remaining acting CEO of Hawke’s Bay Racing Incorporated.
“NZTR is working closely with Darin to explore a future role that harnesses his extensive experience and deep knowledge of the racing industry,” NZTR chief executive Matt Ballesty said.