American Owners in blockbuster deal!

Major North American owners Gordon Banks and Marc Hanover have teamed up with 15 time North American Breeders Crown winning owners Richard Gutnick,Thomas Pontone, and Joseph Lozito Jr. to acquire New Zealand’s superstar four-year-old harness racing pacing mare Amazing Dream (Bettor’s Delight – Christian Dreamer – Christian Cullen)!

Jean Feiss agreed to sell her four-year-old, seven time Group 1 winning mare, winner of over $890,000 for an undisclosed six figure sum to this powerhouse combine, perhaps opening the door to more significant standardbred investments in Down Under Bloodstock by this group.

Banks and Hanover have long been active Down Under and have had considerable success with Australian Breeders Crown two-year-old pacing filly winner Passions Promise, Dual Group 1 aged pacing star Majordan, NZ 2 year old Sire Stakes champion Joannes Delight, current 3 year old star American Dealer (last year’s 2 year old NZ Sire Stakes Champion), old warhorse Ouch, and the great pacing filly Tupelo Rose, amongst many others.

Banks and Hanover co-own this year’s North American two-year-old Breeder’s Crown trotting filly winner, Lady Chaos, with Gutnick, Pontone, and Lozito, so the team is hoping to build on their success together.

Lady Chaos winning the $600,000 Breeders Crown

Richard Gutnick has owned four Breeders Crown winners, the winners of the 2012 Hambletonian, the Canadian Trotting Classic, The Maple Leaf trot, and numerous other North American classics. His two greatest horses have been Hambletonian winner Market Share, and racing star Chapter Seven, who is now one of the world’s most desired trotting stallions. Gutnick horses in North America have earned well over US$10,000,000.

Gordon Banks the master mind of an AMAZING deal

Thomas Pontone has owned horses that have won an incredible 10 Breeders Crowns and two Hambletonians. He is the owner of superstar and super sire Muscle Hill, and he has owned Art Major, McArdle, Shark Gesture, Metropolitan, Strong Yankee, Red Bow Tie, and the great mare  Cathedera Dot Com, amongst many other equine stars.

Joe Lozito Jr. won his first Breeders Crown (2020) with two-year-old filly Lady Chaos (2t,1:53.1) $584,131, and has owned numerous top horses.

For Gutnick, Pontone, and Lozito this acquisition marks their first venture Down Under, and it is a real feather in New Zealand’s cap that the standardbred industry has produced stars capable of attracting this kind of North American investment and investors!

Banks and Hanover, who will be the managing partners, have confirmed to Harnesslink that the group plans to keep Amazing Dream racing in New Zealand through this year’s Harness Jewels, then race the mare in Australia through the Interdominion and, perhaps, next year’s one million dollar Miracle Mile.

Amazing Dream, the champion four-year-old mare beating the best boys in the 2020 Auckland Cup

Then plans are for Amazing Dream to go to the States to take on North America’s best aged mares. It is also hoped that Amazing Dream will return to New Zealand this year for the New Zealand Cup.

Plans are for THE DREAM to remain in New Zealand with Hayden Cullen, with Mark Purdon handling the driving…Tentative Australian plans are for Kevin Pizzuto to care for Amazing Dream in NSW and Nathan Purdon to handle Victoria in this COVID age.

According to Banks and Hanover the entire ownership team hopes to get to see their new star racing in person for the Inters or Miracle Mile, if foreign travel possible then….

Harnesslink Media