NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport / Racing

Racing: A$1m stake a new focus for pacers

Michael Guerin
By Michael Guerin
Racing Editor·NZ Herald·
14 Dec, 2020 07:10 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Harness racing Bettor Twist (far right) winning at Alexandra Park 11 December 2020. Photo / Trish Dunell.

Harness racing Bettor Twist (far right) winning at Alexandra Park 11 December 2020. Photo / Trish Dunell.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Australasia's elite pacers now have the target of an A$1 million race to decide who is the continent's best.

NSW harness officials confirmed yesterday the Miracle Mile set for Menangle outside Sydney on March 6 will be run for A$1million just months after they thought they may have to halve the stake.

Already stakes in many key pacing races have been reduced due to the economic impact of Covid while the Inter Dominions which were to have been held in Sydney this month were delayed a year.

But after better than expected results in recent month's Menangle boss Bruce Christison confirmed yesterday the super sprint will break the seven-figure mark.

"We are thrilled to be able to keep it at that level," says Christison.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

And that will be enough not only to confirm the Miracle Mile as being worth almost twice as much as any other harness race in Australasia but to attract the best possible field.

New Zealand and Australia's best pacers have been segregated for much of the last year because of travel restrictions so the likes of Self Assured and Spankem haven't been taking on Aussie heroes Lochinvar Art and King Of Swing.

With the Miracle Mile stake confirmed and the New Zealand open class season tapering off dramatically after the Auckland Cup on New Year's Eve, the best Kiwi pacers have a very obvious target to aim for, with perhaps the main question being whether Copy That will now target the big money instead of staying home.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Trainer Mark Purdon was already looking to take Self Assured and Spankem to the Miracle Mile carnival before he takes a step away from training in 2021 but he was also considering the Hunter Cup in Melbourne.

But with the Menangle news the Miracle Mile that is certain to be the main focus of the glamour pacers.

Lochnivar Art has emerged as the most exciting pacer in Australia since arch rival Ride High's season was ended by leg issues but King Of Swing finished the season on a high by winning his third Grand Circuit race of 2020 in the A$175,000 Blacks A Fake in Brisbane on Saturday night.

So all four could end up in the Miracle Mile, a race both King Of Swing (this year) and Spankem (2019) have won before.

King Of Swing's win on Saturday not only confirmed him as the Australian Grand Circuit champion for 2020 but capped a stunning weekend for his Waikato-based mare Twist And Twirl.

She is also the dam of New Zealand's best three-year-old pacing filly Bettor Twist who staged a remarkable performance to win the Woodlands Stud Caduceus Club Classic at Alexandra Park on Friday night.

The exceptional filly looked beaten at the 400m but rallied hard late to down leader La Rosa in the style of an Oaks winner in waiting.

Bettor Twist has won six of her nine starts starts and is rated a $1.35 by the TAB to make it another group one at Alexandra Park on New Year's Eve.

Mares leaving two separate group one winners in the same season is rare enough, two within 28 hours is special stuff.

Sadly for owners Breckon Farms, Twist And Twirl lost her Bettors Delight colt born just two weeks ago, with the colt potentially one of the most valuable born in Australasia this harness season.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But they will take an A Rocknroll Dance colt out of Twist And Twirl to the Karaka yearling sales in February.

All of last Friday's other key winners are now favourites with the TAB for their group ones and feature races coming up at Alexandra Park's huge New Year's Eve twilight meeting.

Spakem is rated a a $2.80 chance for the Auckland Cup, American Dealer a $3.20 shot in the NZBS Harness Million while Sundees Son, who trotted a national record for 2200m sitting parked last Friday, is now $1.95 to win the National Trot

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Racing

Racing

Words of warning as superstar steeplechaser returns

12 Jul 05:00 PM
Racing

Racing’s two codes look to join forces

11 Jul 12:19 AM
Racing

Foote stable favoured by global racing giant in coup for NZ

10 Jul 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Racing

Words of warning as superstar steeplechaser returns

Words of warning as superstar steeplechaser returns

12 Jul 05:00 PM

The giant of jumps racing returns to the big fences today but may not be at his peak.

Racing’s two codes look to join forces

Racing’s two codes look to join forces

11 Jul 12:19 AM
Foote stable favoured by global racing giant in coup for NZ

Foote stable favoured by global racing giant in coup for NZ

10 Jul 05:00 PM
'Angel riding with us': Teen jockey remembered for selfless act just before tragic death

'Angel riding with us': Teen jockey remembered for selfless act just before tragic death

10 Jul 05:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP