Sires Stakes reschedule after spectacular false start

A scary crash just after the start of the Dunstan Horsefeeds NZ Sires’ Stakes Two-Year-Old Fillies series opener ended with the race abandoned, harness racing driver Benjamin Butcher sidelined with a broken shoulder, and horses spooked with minor scrapes.

A day after the crusher dust settled back onto the Alexandra Park racing surface, a think tank got their heads together to reschedule the race somewhere in an already packed spring schedule with October 4th at the same venue quickly settled on by the NZ Sires’ Stakes Board.

Sires’ Stakes executive Martin Pierson says finding the date wasn’t as difficult as first imagined and after many communications with horse connections over the weekend October 4th found itself considering there was already a two-year-old filly race scheduled for that night.

“Most connections of these two-year-old fillies have ‘Caduceus Club’ and ‘Harness Million’ commitments as well as the Sires’ Stakes qualifying options on their ‘race radar’ so it was a potentially challenging process to find a date without putting too much pressure on horse preparations.”

Stables will have to negotiate the rescheduled race running close to the NZB Standardbred Harness Million at NZ Metro on October 11th.

Pierson says having the eyes of ‘hands on’ board member Scott Phelan who’s preparing horses for these events helped illuminate the playing field for such fillies and October 4th at Auckland was settled on by Monday morning this week.

“This is the first time in my NZ Sires’ Stakes history a race has been abandoned in such circumstances, we just hope the horses involved in that abandoned event last Friday come through it physically and mentally unscathed” says Pierson. 

Reschedule Series Dates & Venue

• Dunstan Horsefeeds – 2YO Fillies Sires’ Stakes Heat 1 Friday September 6th, Auckland.
• Dunstan Horsefeeds – 2YO Fillies Sires’ Stakes Heat 2 Thursday October 3rd, NZ Metro.
• Dunstan Horsefeeds – 2YO Fillies Sires’ Stakes Heat 3 Friday October 4th, Auckland.
• Dunstan Horsefeeds – 2YO Fillies Sires’ Stakes Heat 4 Monday October 28th, Ashburton.
• Dunstan Horsefeeds – 2YO Fillies Sires’ Stakes Final Friday November 15th, NZ Metro.

Martin Pierson
NZ Sires’ Stakes Executive
NZSS Media.