Horse of the year tough pick
SOME of New Zealand’s best horses are set to go head to head at Forbury Park in the coming days.
Unfortunately for racing fans, it will not be on the track at tonight’s meeting.
A star studded line up including Field Marshal, Ultimate Machete, Princess Tiffany, Chase Auckland, Speeding Spur and Eamon Maguire will square off for the Best OtagoOwned Horse title at the 2018 Otago Harness Racing Awards at Forbury Park on Saturday night.
The monumental achievements of Lazarus and Field Marshal have seen their breeders and dams fill the only finalists positions in the breeding categories at the awards.
Lazarus’ dam Bethany is nominated for the broodmare excellence award, and her owner, Gavin Chin, is nominated for breeder of the year.
Field Marshal’s dam, Foreal, is the only other nomination for broodmare of the year and her owners, Syd and Shona Brown, are the only other contenders for breeders of the year.
Many of the individual categories at the awards look clearcut.
The overall horse of the year is chosen from one of those categories, and that award looks the most contentious of the night.
Titan Banner, New Years Jay, Monty Python, Alderbeck and Majestic Man all look strong contenders.
So, too, does Eamon Maguire, though only his starts for Otago trainer Graeme Anderson are considered.
Horsepeople and administrators will vie for awards, with the presentation of training, driving, junior drivers, outstanding contribution, and special awards to be made.
Former All Black centre Frank Bunce will speak at this year’s award function.
Tickets for the evening have sold so well the event is almost at capacity, organisers said.
Tonight’s small sixrace card at Forbury Park could take less time to conduct than the awards ceremony.
Bookmakers opened Brad Williamson’s pacer Mr Handleman the hottest favourite of the night at $1.80 when markets opened last night.
The pacer looks awfully hard to beat under the 2200m standing start conditions of race 3.
Mr Handleman has been in brilliant form since joining Williamson’s stable two starts ago.
He was a good winner at Gore last month before running a good second at Timaru last weekend.
‘‘He should be hard to beat, he should have improved from his Timaru run,’’ said Williamson.
Mr Handleman will race at Wyndham on Sunday if he is defeated tonight.
If he wins he will not be eligible to race there.