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NZ Herald
16-07-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Ellerslie-Eden Park double looms in mammoth day for Auckland sport
And by complete fluke that Group 1, renamed the Proisir Plate, will now be run at Ellerslie. The first Group 1 is usually held at Hastings and has recently been known as the Tarzino Trophy, but the Hastings track is closed this spring for re-cambering work. That means Ellerslie wins the battle to host the race that officially launches spring racing, the Gold Trail Stakes and, quite appropriately considering the rugby tie-in, the Sir Colin Meads Trophy. The other two legs of what is usually the Hawkes Bay Triple Crown have also been moved, with NZTR announcing on Wednesday they will also come north after earlier programming them for Awapuni. The $400,000 1600m Group 1 formerly known as the Arrowfield Plate will now be held at Te Rapa on September 27 while what was known as the Livamol, the $550,000 Group 1 over 2040m, will also be held at Ellerslie on October 18. But it is the September 6 meeting which promises a unique racing-rugby crossover in Auckland. As anybody who has traveled to an All Blacks test in New Zealand knows, test day features hundreds, sometimes thousands, of rugby supporters dressed in black wandering from cafes to bars filling in time before the now usual 7.05pm kick-off. Wilcox has a ready made gathering point for them. 'It is going to be a huge day for Auckland sport and we are as excited as anybody about the Springboks coming to Auckland,' says the Auckland Thoroughbred Racing chief executive. 'But having our new Proisir Plate day on in the hours before is too good an opportunity to miss. 'So we are looking at ways of accommodating rugby fans who are in town and want to get warmed up for the test with some world-class racing and a place to get together. 'We are open to options and that at time of the season the racing is over nice and early so it gives the heaps of time to get to Eden Park. 'You can even get the train there from here so it is going to be a very cool day for people who love their racing and rugby. 'We know a lot of people will be heading to their hospitality options at the test around 5pm but we will give them somewhere to start their day first.' Star stallion Proisir will be the new name on the first Group 1 of the season over 1400m, with Rich Hill Stud jumping at the chance to help launch spring racing. The September 6 date will now loom large not only for rugby fans but also racing participants already growing tired of the constant heavy tracks this winter has dished up. While there are winter highlights like West Coast's attempt to win a fourth Grand National at Riccarton and the Waikato Stud Foxbridge Plate at Te Rapa on August 23 still to come, Ellerslie's first meeting of the season will now be the one circled on many calendars. Ellerslie have finished a hugely successful season where after a tricky bedding first stint for their StrathAyr track, it raced beautifully this term. 'We were stoked with the track and it has had its annual maintenance and is looking really good,' says Wilcox. Ellerslie has already started looking even further into the 2025-26 season, which starts on August 1, with tickets on sale for its major racedays. That includes tickets for most meetings up until January 1 but also next year's Karaka Millions meeting (January 24) and Champions Day (March 7). 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.
Otago Daily Times
11-07-2025
- Automotive
- Otago Daily Times
Grandma grieves loss of talented teenage jockey
Ngakau Hailey's grandmother says she wants him to be remembered as a young man who loved his whānau, loved life, and put his whole heart and soul into whatever he did. The teen jockey is due to be laid to rest on Monday as the racing community continues to absorb the shock of his death. Hailey, 18, died after his dirt bike collided with a car at the intersection of Willoughby and Mill Street in Whitiora about 3.25pm on Wednesday. Hailey suffered critical injuries and was taken to hospital, where he later died. His grandmother, Linda Gough, said Hailey brought joy and happiness everywhere he went. "Our hearts have been shattered at losing our beautiful grandson Ngakau Sonny-Bill Hailey. He loved his whānau, and we all loved him. We will always miss you boy," she said. New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) said the news has brought great sadness to all corners of the industry. "Ngakau had a bright future ahead of him, and his passing is a heartbreaking loss," said NZTR's head of licensing & registrations, Matthew Williamson. Hailey was said to be a natural in the saddle, a gifted rider who had already achieved 46 career wins in just over two years, including 18 this season alone. "On behalf of everyone at NZTR and across the wider industry, we extend our deepest condolences to Ngakau's family, friends, and the many people who knew and rode alongside him. We will ensure support is available to those who need it," said Williamson. NZTR said support is being offered to fellow riders and other industry participants through NZTR's OnTrack support services, the industry's wellness programme. Hailey was jockey on Billy Lincoln, a four-year-old colt owned by Lincoln Farms. Lincoln Farms' boss John Street said losing Hailey at such a young age was a terrible blow. Street said Hailey's dream to become a NRL player was foiled because he never grew but when he tried trackwork riding Hailey said he fell in love. On its website, Waikato Junior Rugby League said Hailey had been a talented young league player and a young boy who loved giving anything and everything a go. Hailey's coffin has been taken to his home until his funeral. A Givealittle page set up by fellow jockey Wiremu Pinn has also been set up to help Hailey's family pay for the funeral, with more than $22,500 donated by Friday morning.
RNZ News
11-07-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Grandma grieves loss of talented jockey Ngakau Hailey who died in a vehicle collision
Ngakau Hailey who had established a promising career as a jockey before he was killed when his dirt bike and a car collided this week. Photo: Supplied / New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Ngakau Hailey's grandmother says she wants him to be remembered as a young man who loved his whānau, loved life, and put his whole heart and soul into whatever he did. The teen jockey is due to be laid to rest on Monday as the racing community continues to absorb the shock of his death. Hailey, 18, died after his dirt bike collided with a car at the intersection of Willoughby and Mill Street in Whitiora about 3.25pm on Wednesday. Hailey suffered critical injuries and was taken to hospital, where he later died. His grandmother, Linda Gough, said Hailey brought joy and happiness everywhere he went. "Our hearts have been shattered at losing our beautiful grandson Ngakau Sonny-Bill Hailey. He loved his whānau, and we all loved him. We will always miss you boy," she said. Ngakau Bailey as a youngster. Photo: Supplied / New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) said the news has brought great sadness to all corners of the industry. "Ngakau had a bright future ahead of him, and his passing is a heartbreaking loss," said NZTR's head of licensing & registrations, Matthew Williamson. Hailey was said to be a natural in the saddle, a gifted rider who had already achieved 46 career wins in just over two years, including 18 this season alone. "On behalf of everyone at NZTR and across the wider industry, we extend our deepest condolences to Ngakau's family, friends, and the many people who knew and rode alongside him. We will ensure support is available to those who need it," said Williamson. NZTR said support is being offered to fellow riders and other industry participants through NZTR's OnTrack support services, the industry's wellness programme. Hailey was jockey on Billy Lincoln, a four-year-old colt owned by Lincoln Farms. Photo: Supplied / Lincoln Farms' boss John Street said losing Hailey at such a young age was a terrible blow. Street said Hailey's dream to become a NRL player was foiled because he never grew but when he tried trackwork riding Hailey said he fell in love. On its website, Waikato Junior Rugby League said Hailey had been a talented young league player and a young boy who loved giving anything and everything a go. Hailey's coffin has been taken to his home until his funeral. A Givealittle page set up by fellow jockey Wiremu Pinn has also been set up to help Hailey's family pay for the funeral, with more than $22,500 donated by Friday morning.
NZ Herald
21-05-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Central Districts get vote of confidence from racing bosses
Things got worse on Anzac Day when the Awapuni relaunch lasted one race before that meeting was called off for the usual reason: a slippery surface making racing unsafe. Add to that long-term doubts about the sustainability of the remaining Trentham grandstand and Ōtaki losing its only Group 1 to Ellerslie and good news has been hard to come by in the lower half of the North Island. But help, or at least the promise of help, is on the way. New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing have backed the new Awapuni track by scheduling two Group 1s to be run there in the spring, if the track can come up to scratch by then. That IF has to be in capital letters as NZTR chief executive Matt Ballesty has made it clear the track must prove itself first and any sign of trouble that threatens the Group 1s will see an alternate venue found. The two races are the Arrowfield Stud Plate and the Livamol, traditionally the second and third legs of the Hawke's Bay Triple Crown. With Hastings out of play for the spring (more on that soon) the three Group 1s it usually holds will be split between Ellerslie for the first, the Tarzino Trophy, with the next two legs tentatively at Awapuni. 'Subject to a visit from track expert Liam O'Keefe in early June we intend to run the two Group 1s in that region,' Ballesty told the Herald. 'However, if the track isn't exactly where it needs to be and more time is needed we won't rush and we will look at other options. 'NZTR understands all participants, especially trainers, need to know in advance where the races are to be held.' While the move is hardly the most boisterous vote of confidence in Awapuni being up and running by spring, NZTR are bringing in the big guns in Flemington track man O'Keefe, who helped Ellerslie smooth out their problems when they launched their StrathAyr track last year. Like Ellerslie, one of the key Awapuni issues has been compaction of the top layer, making it prone to becoming slippery, so it will need constant verti-draining to break up that level and create more organic matter, ultimately providing a more natural surface. But one of Awapuni's issues is rocks underneath the surface which limits the use of certain verti-draining machines. There will be weekly management meetings between the local administration body RACE, NZTR, O'Keefe and fellow track expert Callum Brown. If that all goes well racing is scheduled to return to the turf track in August with Ballesty saying, 'a safe return to racing is our number one priority'. So while nothing is certain in the increasingly weird world of race track management, NZTR are at least giving Awapuni and those who run it the chance to prove themselves. The second piece of good news for the region came in Hastings last night when Ballesty announced racing will remain at the current track with recambering work to start soon. The Hastings track has been dogged by problems in recent years, admittedly not helped by erratic spring weather, but one of its biggest issues has been the camber on the bend out of the straight. There has been debate about whether it is better to fix the current track or look to build a new track in the Hastings region, but Ballesty answered that question when addressing club members last night. 'We will start work on correcting the camber on the track and all going well hope to have it ready for racing in spring 2026,' he said. That is a far quicker, and cheaper, option than moving the track in what is a famous racing region and all going well Awapuni and Hastings could be racing, on safer surfaces, in the New Year. 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.
NZ Herald
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- NZ Herald
Racing in Hawke's Bay: Waipukurau racing returning in November, Hastings by spring 2026
Major races from that day were run at Matamata a few days later, and major races scheduled for the last day were run at Te Rapa, Hamilton. Other days scheduled for the 2024-25 season in Hastings were also run at other courses, including the Hawke's Bay Cup at Trentham last month, and no dates have been allocated to Hastings for the 2025-26 season starting on August 1 and ending on July 31 next year. The statement said: 'Pending approval by the NZTR board, we can confirm that work will progress on a partial recambering of the bends leaving the home straight (1600m and 1400m) of the Hastings racetrack. 'Notwithstanding any unforeseen circumstances, this significant, expert-led investment will allow for a safe and confident return to racing in Hawke's Bay for spring 2026.' The work is necessary to make racing sustainable in Hawke's Bay well into the future, Ballesty and Riddell said. Further planning is under way to determine the long-term vision for racing in the wider Hawke's Bay area, which has also in recent years lost racing at Wairoa. It also includes facilities such as grandstands and other off-track facilities. The two organisations expect to share more detailed updates with members and the public in July, the statement said. 'We would like to thank our East Coast racing clubs who continue to work together to shape a strong and sustainable future for the industry and the community. We look forward to racing returning to the Hawke's Bay region.'
