Cup Week bits and bobs

Harnesslink’s Bruce Stewart has compiled some points of interest, oddities, and things to watch for Cup Week.

• Harness racing trainers Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen trained eight winners on Cup Day in 2018. Their winners were: Having The Faith (Art Major), Winterfell (Majestic Son), All U Need Is Faith (Art Major), Ultimate Sniper (Bettor’s Delight), Turn It Up (Courage Under Fire), Better My Dreamz (Bettor’s Delight), Thefixer (Bettor’s Delight) and Kings Landing (Muscle Hill). Their horses quinellaed four of those races.
• If Phil Williamson lines up Jimmy Carter, Love N The Port and Majestic Man in the Group One Dominion Handicap Trot it’ll be the second time he’s had three runners in the race. In 2016 he raced Allegro Agitato (9^th), Jasmyn’s Gift (3^rd) and One Over Kenny (2^nd). Whatsundermykilt won that year by a head. Williamson won the trotting feature in 2009 with Springbank Richard.
• If Akuta wins the IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup, he’ll be the eleventh four year old to do so. Others are Lookaway (1957), Lordship (1962), Stanley Rio (1976), Inky Lord (1989), Il Vicolo (1995), Christian Cullen (1998), Mainland Banner (2005), Terror To Love (2011), Lazarus (2016) and Copy That (2021). So should Akuta win, all of the Ian Dobson’s Cup winners will have been four year olds.
• Twenty nine horses have won the New Zealand Trotting Cup and the New Zealand FFA in the same year. The last was Lazarus in 2016. Monkey King is the only horse to have won the double twice in the same year (2010 and 2009).
• Driver Sam Ottley is on the ‘watchlist’ for Cup Week. She currently sits on 698 winners.
• The biggest New Zealand Cup winning margins in modern times have been Lazarus – ten lengths in 2016 and Steel Jaw – nine and a half lengths in 1983.
• The last Australian owned and trained New Zealand Cup winner was Arden Rooney in 2015. He was owned by Merv and Meg Butterworth and trained by Kerryn Manning.
• Australia’s sole New Zealand Cup runner Swayzee, is part -owned by two New Zealanders Lester Drake and Neville Jackson, both of Hawkes Bay.
• Of the last ten New Zealand Cups, favourites have won five times. The other five winners have either been second, third or fourth win favourites. The biggest winning dividend earner in the last thirty eight years is Borana which won in 1985. Trained and driven by Peter Jones the six year old paid $76.65 and $12.55.
• As a trainer or co-trainer Mark Purdon has won the New Zealand Sires Stakes Two Year Old Final thirteen times. His first winner was Il Vicolo in 1994. He’s won eight of the last nine editions of the race and in all he has driven the Sires Stakes winner eight times.
• In the last twenty years the winning time for the New Zealand Cup has dropped dramatically. Just An Excuse’s time in 2003 was 4-05.7. In 2007 Yulestar was the first Cup winner to break the four minute barrier running 3-59.1. Since 2012 all Cup winners have recorded sub four minute times with Lazarus’s 3-53.1 in 2016 the fastest, 12.6 seconds quicker than Just An Excuse.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink