Related Research Articles
Lyell Creek is one of New Zealand's best Standardbred trotters. Also known as "Creek The Freak", he had 113 starts for 56 wins, 15 seconds and 11 thirds, including an Australasian record 15 Group One wins. His fastest mile rate was 1.52.4 and he won $2,950,224 in stake money, which is an Australasian record for a trotter. Lyell Creek won the 2000 Inter Dominion Trotting Championship Grand Final at Moonee Valley in Melbourne, taking home $295,000 for his efforts. He also won New Zealand's two biggest trotting races, the Dominion Handicap and the Rowe Cup, both on three occasions. In the 1999-00 season Lyell Creek won the Dominion Handicap, Inter Dominion Trotting Championship and Rowe Cup becoming the first horse to win the three races in the same season. At the Inter Dominion carnival in Melbourne he won four Group One races including the Australasian Trotters Championship, Dullard Cup and Millennium Mile where he produced a remarkable winning performance after being trapped wide on the track. It was his sixteenth consecutive win. He won 20 consecutive races until being beaten in the New Zealand Trotting Free For All on Show Day in 2000. The defeat came one start after he had broken the New Zealand record for a trotting mile at Ashburton by winning in 1:55.6. Before racing in the Northern Hemisphere he won his second Rowe Cup and the Bill Collins Mile in Melbourne.
Harness racing, also colloquially known as trotting or the trots, is a spectator sport in Australia, with significant amounts of money wagered annually with bookmakers and the Totalisator Agency Board (TAB). In Australia there are 90 harness racing tracks, which hold over 1,900 meetings annually. There are approximately 2,900 drivers and 4,000 trainers with about 5,000 Standardbred horses foaled and registered each year.
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 Christchurch, New Zealand.
The New Zealand Messenger Championship is a Group One event for standardbred pacing horses in New Zealand, run at Alexandra Park.
The Noel J Taylor Memorial Mile is a Group One race for pacing horses in New Zealand.
Maori's Idol was an Australian Standardbred racehorse. He was the first Australian trotter to break two minutes with a time of 1:59.3 on 19 November 1977 at Moonee Valley. Maori's Idol became one of Australia's greatest trotters, with a record 24 successive race victories before being placed third in the 1978 Melbourne Inter-Dominion Final. He is still the trotting record holder with 22 wins in a season. He was superior to his rivals. He could have gone through his career unbeaten had he been placed to advantage by his connections.
Scotch Notch (1977–1990) is an Australian Standardbred mare, the current world record holder for the Trotters One Mile Time Trial set 3 September or 9 March 1985 at Moonee Valley, Victoria, Australia. She won the 1983 and 1985 Inter Dominion Trotting Championship. Scotch Notch was named "Australian Trotter of the Year" in 1983 1984 and 1985. She was inducted into the Inter Dominion Hall of Fame.
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 the New Zealand Cup, held in New Zealand each year for the highest grade pacers. It is a Group 1 championship race and has been won by many of the champion pacers in New Zealand.
Harness racing in New Zealand is primarily a professional sport which involves pacing and trotting competitions for Standardbred racehorses. The difference is the horse's gait or running style:
Ordeal was a New Zealand Standardbred racemare. A notable achievement was winning the Rowe Cup, the top event in New Zealand for trotting horses. Ordeal was considered the top trotter in New Zealand in the 1960s, but had moderate success in the United States. She was the first ever trotter to break the 2:00 mile barrier in New Zealand.
Easton Light was a New Zealand Standardbred trotter. He was inducted into the New Zealand Trotting Hall of Fame with other immortals. A notable achievement was winning the Rowe Cup, the top event in New Zealand for trotting horses. He also won the Dominion Handicap twice, the other premier event for trotting horses.
Peter Tom Wolfenden was a New Zealand driver and trainer of Standardbred racehorses. He is most notable for his victory in the New Zealand Trotting Cup when he drove New Zealand's top pacer Cardigan Bay. He won the New Zealand drivers' premiership 14 times, including eight consecutive years from 1974, and twice won the Australasian Drivers Championship. He represented New Zealand seven times in the World Drivers Championship in harness racing, placing second in 1977 and third in 1971. He had 1762 career race wins in New Zealand as a driver, and 798 as a trainer.
The Rowe Cup is a race held annually at Alexandra Park, Auckland, New Zealand for standardbred horses.
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 racing competition for both trotters and pacers that has been contested since 1936 in Australia and New Zealand. The host of the series is rotated between the 6 harness racing states of Australia and the North and South Islands of New Zealand. However, in recent years the Trotting series has mainly been held in Victoria with other Australian states reluctant to host the series. It forms part of the overall Inter Dominion series for pacers and trotters.
The Dominion is a race held at the Addington Raceway each year in Christchurch, New Zealand for standardbred horses.
Anthony Butt is a driver of standardbred racehorses in New Zealand. He was associated with champions trotters Lyell Creek and Take A Moment, who, along with many other of his best drives, were trained by his brother Tim. He has won the Dominion Handicap eight times and has been inducted into the Inter Dominion Hall of Fame.
Anthony Grant Herlihy is a New Zealand driver and trainer of standardbred racehorses. He was associated with many champions and has been a leading driver of harness horses in New Zealand. In 2014, he was inducted into the New Zealand Trotting Hall of Fame, and he has also been inducted into the Inter Dominion Hall of Fame.
Mark Purdon is a driver and trainer of standardbred racehorses in New Zealand. He was associated with many champions and is one of the leading trainers and drivers of harness horses in New Zealand and Australasia. He was inducted into the Inter Dominion Hall of Fame.
John Langdon is a former driver of standardbred racehorses in New Zealand. He was associated with many champions and was a leading driver of harness horses in New Zealand.
The New Zealand Derby is a classic event in New Zealand for 3 year old harness horses, run at Addington Raceway.
References
- ↑ "Classic Families". Syntax Software Pty Ltd. Pepper Tree Farm (sponsor). Retrieved 9 June 2011.
- ↑ "Take A Moment". Harness Racing New Zealand. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
- ↑ "Take A Moment". Inter Dominion Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 15, 2020.