Latest news with #RoweCup
NZ Herald
01-05-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Harness racing: Cups king Dunn eyes up mighty trotting surprise at The Park
Add to that the potential fitness doubts over Bet N Win, who missed that lead-up race last Friday, and all of a sudden Mighty Logan becomes the horse to beat in the Rowe Cup. 'It is getting to the stage where he has to have a good chance,' Dunn says. 'He has the manners and if he settles handy, that gives him a big advantage over Oscar and Muscle Mountain. 'We all know how good Bet N Win is but he missed a race last week, which isn't easy when you are racing over 3200m, so a lot has gone right for us that hasn't for other horses.' Dunn says Mighty Logan always had the potential to be a Cup winner but his improvement, coupled with others' disadvantages, means his time may come sooner than expected. Still, he is a nine-win horse up against some more proven stars so will need to produce the same level of performance as last Friday to complete the double. Either Oscar Bonavena or Muscle Mountain could win without surprising while Bet N Win is talented enough and could sit handy on the markers doing no work, the usual path to 3200m glory at Alexandra Park. Earlier in the night, Dunn will partner Ya Rite Darl (Race 7, No 6) in the Woodlands Trotting Oaks against her own stablemate Frazzled and favourite Habibti Pat. Habibti Pat was the best of the three in the Derby last Friday but if Ya Rite Darl can use her gate speed to cross to the lead, that will be a huge help. The stable also has a handy filly in Cool For Cats (R8, No 1) in the Delightful Lady Final and her tactics could be crucial as, if she leads, then Australian visitor Ripples could get the race-winning trail but if she doesn't hold the lead, it becomes advantage to Alecto.
NZ Herald
30-04-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Smith in emotional tribute to friend after shock passing
'It has been a very tough week for me, and I have really struggled with it, especially when I am not busy. 'So I wanted to do something to honour Greg.' Smith asked Jess Tubbs if he could wear Greg and her racing colours when he partners One Over All in the Rowe Cup at Alexandra Park this Friday. 'Jess said yes and I am honoured to do it but, now it is getting closer, I realise it will be really emotional for me,' Smith said. 'This is the right race to do it in. This was the race last year they won with Just Believe, and they then won the Auckland Cup as the very next race, as they were both held on the same night last year. 'It was one of the biggest nights of their career, and I want to remember Greg by wearing the colours and hope we can do him justice.' This week was always going to be an emotional one at harness meetings right around Australasia, and remembering Sugars will be an integral part of Friday night's meeting, as it should be after the enormous involvement Sugars had with the New Zealand industry last year. Earlier in the night, Race four is named the 'Remembering Greg Sugars – Fond Memories from 2024 – RIP' Mobile Pace. The emotionally-charged meeting with its five black type races is the last major fixture of a huge autumn of racing in the north, with the Rowe Cup complemented by the Roy Purdon Memorial, which is elevated to Group One status this year in memory of the legend of the New Zealand industry. It is a rare Group One handicap pacing race and will see Auckland Cup and Messenger winner Republican Party, along with Don't Stop Dreaming, Mo'unga and Chase A Dream, having to give Taylor Mile winner We Walk By Faith a 10m start over just 2200m. Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald's Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world's biggest horse racing carnivals.
