Sunshine is a racing certai
The highlight of Canterbury Anniversary celebrations has long been the fun and frivolity surrounding Cup Day. Oh, and there are horses too. Photography by Joseph Johnson.
It never rains on Cup Day – or so the saying goes. One of the highlights of the Christchurch and Canterbury social calendar lived up to that saying this week as the sun shone, the fashion was sharp, and the party rolled on.
Oh, and there was the small matter of the NZ Trotting Cup at Addington Raceway as the icing on the cake.
Because there is so much going on, Cup Day captures a lot of public attention but it’s only one part of Cup and Show Week in Christchurch, timed to coincide with the provincial holiday for Canterbury Anniversary.
About 20,000 people were on hand to see Australian-owned, Canterbury-trained Cruz Bromac become the surprise winner of the showcase race – the country’s richest and most prestigious harness racing event.
Photographer Joseph Johnson has covered Cup Day on and off for about 20 years and says while the day can become too much for some - the inevitable mixture of warm weather and alcohol – his role was more about celebration and good times than documenting people who’ve had too much to drink. ‘‘My personal thing is not to do ‘the drunks’ at the end of the day, it’s about showing people enjoying themselves.
‘‘It used to be quite feral and you’d see lots of cops around, but I think it’s definitely changed.
‘‘The bad ones get quarantined now and water.’’
Johnson says planning the day as a pho you have to deal with large crowds, but hav move around the venue, and relatively qui Part of that was having a good base whe be securely kept, and being aware of what raceway.
‘‘From there, I know what I’m targeting. genuine emotion and interesting juxtaposi Part of capturing such emotion was eas Danny Zavitsanos, the Australia winner Cruz Bromac, cele picking up trainer Mark shoulder and spinnin