RACING: Six vying for horse of year

JOHN JENKINS
The Waikato Cup winner, a Concorde Handicap winner and three of New Zealand's outstanding jumpers are among the finalists for the Hawke's Bay/Poverty Bay owned Horse of the Year for the last racing season.
The award will be one of several presented at the Bate Hallet Racing and Breeding Awards dinner on Friday, September 9.
The function, to be held at the Mission Estate restaurant in Taradale, recognises the success Hawke's Bay and Poverty Bay horses, trainers, owners and breeders achieved during the 2004-2005 racing season.
There are six horses vying for the crown of horse of the year, Singing Star, No Hero, Gold Jet, Gee I Jane, Just A Swagger and Hootandance.
To qualify for the award a horse must be at least 50 per cent owned in Hawke's Bay and the winner is decided by representatives from Hawke's Bay Racing, the Hawke's Bay Racehorse Owners Association and the Hawke's Bay/Poverty Bay Thoroughbred Breeders Association.
Singing Star, owned by her Hawke's Bay breeder Graeme Lowe, only won one race during the last season but it was in the group one $100,000 Waikato Cup (2400m).
No Hero, bred and owned by Paul and Carol Nelson, won two races and they were the Manawatu Steeplechase and listed Hawke's Bay Steeplechase.
Gold Jet, bred and part-owned by Hawke's Bay couple Graham and Isabell Roddick, also won twice and one of those was in the listed Waikato Steeplechase.
Gee I Jane, owned and bred by Otane farmer Keiran McCarthy, won three races in New Zealand and one in Australia. She took out the group two $60,000 Concorde Handicap (1200m) at Avondale and finished second in the group one Railway Handicap (1200m) at Ellerslie. She also crossed the Tasman where she was successful in the $A70,000 Variety Children's Charity Sprint (1200m) at Moonee Valley in Melbourne.
Just A Swagger won two races at last year's Grand National meeting at Riccarton and they were the Sydenham Hurdles and listed $60,000 Grand National Hurdles.
Hootandance, owned by the Dannevirke trio of Barry and Cavell Burlace and Robert Howard, was the winner of four races during the season, the last of them being in the group three $40,000 Gold Club Metropolitan Handicap (2500m) at Riccarton.
Other awards to be presented at next week's function are for the trainer of the year for the most wins; trainer of the year on strike-rate; horse of the year on stakemoney won; owner of the year and broodmare of the year.
Hastings trainers Paul Nelson and Guy Lowry and Gisborne-based Joanne Moss are the finalists in the trainer of the year on wins while Lowry and Moss, along with Waipukurau's Wayne Chittick, are the finalists in the strike-rate section.
The Hawke's Bay/Poverty Bay trained Horse of the Year is decided on stakemoney won with the finalists being Just A Swagger, Blakes Boy, No Hero and Lilakyn.
The owner of the year category is decided on a points system with the finalists being Tim Symes, Paul and Carol Nelson, Mark Chittick and Guy Lowry and Sam and Belinda Kelt.
Symes earned points from News and Sordid Affair, who were both winners and were placed during the season and also Reynolds, who was also placed.
The Nelsons won races during the season with No Hero (two), Harry Ford and Kettle Hill and also picked up minor placings with No Sweat.
Mark Chittick and Guy Lowry own the talented mare Pen Pal, who recorded three wins and four minor placings while the Kelts own Lilakyn and she also won three races and was placed four times.
There are four finalists for the title of broodmare of the year. They are Stella Artois, the dam of Tusker; Jelegnite Jen, the dam of Singing Star; Miss Distinction, the dam of Gee I Jane and Fine Decision, the dam of Rodin.