Bits and Bridles

Sapling Stakes winner Shards Matrix (Sweet Lou) is now with Queensland trainer Grant Dixon.

Formerly trained by Brent and Tim White, the three year old is now raced by GSM Racing Pty Ltd and will line up in the Listed South East Derby on Saturday at Albion Park.

Shards Matrix has had one trial since arriving in Australia, finishing fourth.

Macca Lodge stallion Fear The Dragon (Dragon Again) scored a harness racing double last week when Dontletfearstopya won at Cambridge for trainer Tony Herlihy, and Black Billie Gee won his first race at Addington for Ashburton trainers Brent and Tim White.

The double adds to the recent good run by stock of Fear The Dragon, with two old filly Aretha winning at Addington last month.

Aretha and Dontletfearstopya were both bred by Macca Lodge.

Other winners from his small crop in New Zealand are Dragon Power, Franklin Delano and Obadiah Dragon.

The Group One Harras Des Trotteurs The Great Square has drawn a capacity field at Albion Park on Saturday.

London To A Brick (Bettor’s Delight) and the unbeaten My Ultimate Sunny (Majestic Son) have arrived from New South Wales to add quality of the $150,000 feature that includes rising New Zealand Star Bet N Win (What The Hill).

Bet N Win has drawn four on the second row while Rockinwithattitude (6), London To A Brick (7) and My Ultimate Sunny (on the inside of the second row) have tricky draws to content with.

HRNZ announced last week that stakes for the New Zealand Trotting Cup this year are set to rise to one million dollars.

Over the past fifteen years the stake money for the Cup has fluctuated.

In 2008 when Changeover won the great race it was run for a record $1.2 million. His portion of the payout was $650,000, while horses that ran from seventh to fifteenth received $12,973.13.

The following year the stake was one million dollars and since then it’s floated between $572,000 (2020) and $800,000 (2018). Last year it sat at $789,000.

Elevating it to a million dollar race again is a good decision.

This year’s Dominion Handicap will also benefit from an increase in stakes with a projected rise to $400,000. For the last three seasons the stakes have been $315,750, the winner taking $165,000.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink