Latest news with #InterDominion
The Australian
15 hours ago
- Sport
- The Australian
Kiwi trotters back in force for 2025 Inter Dominion
Young Kiwi trotting star Bet N Win is leading the charge to wind back the clock. For a long time the Kiwis 'owned' the Inter Dominion trotting series, winning 18 of the 23 finals from Yankee Loch in 1989 to I Can Doosit in 2012. Champions like Lyell Creek (2000), Pride Of Petite (1996 & '97), Take A Moment (2001 & '03) and I Can Doosit (2011 & '11) led the New Zealand dominance. But the ride has turned in recent years with Aussies winning five of the past six finals. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! It's been due to pandemic and a date change causing less Kiwi interest in the great race, but also by the dominance of Australia's champion Just Believe, who won the crown in 2022 and 2023. But the Kiwis are back in force for this revamped and enriched Brisbane series, which starts on Saturday week and culminates with a $500,000 final at Albion Park on July 19. While there are only two Kiwis in the trotting series, they are two of the biggest players in Bet N Win and Oscar Bonavena. And both have already snared wins in Australia in the build-up. Oscar Bonavena won brilliantly at Albion Park last Saturday week, then ran some sparkling closing times to finish a close second at the same track last night. Bet N Win, who only arrived in Australia last Tuesday, opened his campaign when he hardly raised to a sweat to cruise to victory at Menangle last night. They are trying to become the first Kiwi to win the Inter Dominion trotting crown since Winterfell did with the home ground advantage in the 2019 Auckland series. The last Kiwi to win the final in Australia was I Can Doosit at the now defunct Moonee Valley track way back in 2012. Bet N Win and Oscar Bonavena make for a fascinating contrast, but little separates their chances in Brisbane. Bet N Win in the young buck, a five-year-old who has raced just 23 times for 13 wins. Oscar Bonavena is most likely in his last year of racing as a nine-year-old, who boasts 34 wins and almost $1.15 million in earnings. They are the new and the old of NZ trotting. The latest markets have Oscar Bonavena rated slightly higher at $3.50 and Bet N Win at $4.50 to win the final. Both of them will have turn the tables on Australia's new trotting star Arcee Phoenix, who beat the pair on their patch in the $NZ500,000 TAB Trot at Cambridge on April 4. Arcee Phoenix has long looked the next big thing in Aussie trotting and he's delivering on that this year. Chris Svanosio's six-year-old followed a sparkling Melton trial win with an arrogant first-up win at the same track last night. There was a touch of Just Believe about the way he made a midrace move to sit outside the leader and toyed with his rivals last night. His odds were slashed from $3.50 to $2.80 for the trotting finals straight after it. • Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp.
News.com.au
16 hours ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Kiwi trotters back in force for 2025 Inter Dominion harness racing series
Young Kiwi trotting star Bet N Win is leading the charge to wind back the clock. For a long time the Kiwis 'owned' the Inter Dominion trotting series, winning 18 of the 23 finals from Yankee Loch in 1989 to I Can Doosit in 2012. Champions like Lyell Creek (2000), Pride Of Petite (1996 & '97), Take A Moment (2001 & '03) and I Can Doosit (2011 & '11) led the New Zealand dominance. But the ride has turned in recent years with Aussies winning five of the past six finals. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! It's been due to pandemic and a date change causing less Kiwi interest in the great race, but also by the dominance of Australia's champion Just Believe, who won the crown in 2022 and 2023. But the Kiwis are back in force for this revamped and enriched Brisbane series, which starts on Saturday week and culminates with a $500,000 final at Albion Park on July 19. While there are only two Kiwis in the trotting series, they are two of the biggest players in Bet N Win and Oscar Bonavena. And both have already snared wins in Australia in the build-up. Oscar Bonavena won brilliantly at Albion Park last Saturday week, then ran some sparkling closing times to finish a close second at the same track last night. Bet N Win, who only arrived in Australia last Tuesday, opened his campaign when he hardly raised to a sweat to cruise to victory at Menangle last night. Bet N Win NZ dominates the Ainsworth - Trotters Mobile.ðŸ'¥ðŸ¥‡ The New Zealand visitor trained by David and Stacey White and driven by Bob Butt trotted to victory by 5.9 metres in a mile rate of 1.58.6 over the 2300 metres. Congratulations.ðŸ'� — Club Menangle (@ClubMenangle) June 21, 2025 They are trying to become the first Kiwi to win the Inter Dominion trotting crown since Winterfell did with the home ground advantage in the 2019 Auckland series. The last Kiwi to win the final in Australia was I Can Doosit at the now defunct Moonee Valley track way back in 2012. Bet N Win and Oscar Bonavena make for a fascinating contrast, but little separates their chances in Brisbane. Bet N Win in the young buck, a five-year-old who has raced just 23 times for 13 wins. Oscar Bonavena is most likely in his last year of racing as a nine-year-old, who boasts 34 wins and almost $1.15 million in earnings. They are the new and the old of NZ trotting. The latest markets have Oscar Bonavena rated slightly higher at $3.50 and Bet N Win at $4.50 to win the final. Both of them will have turn the tables on Australia's new trotting star Arcee Phoenix, who beat the pair on their patch in the $NZ500,000 TAB Trot at Cambridge on April 4. Arcee Phoenix is back! Arcee Phoenix is back in action winning the Yabby Dam Farms Trotters Free for All with ease for trainer-driver Chris Svanosio. — The Trots (@TheTrotsComAu) June 21, 2025 Arcee Phoenix has long looked the next big thing in Aussie trotting and he's delivering on that this year. Chris Svanosio's six-year-old followed a sparkling Melton trial win with an arrogant first-up win at the same track last night. There was a touch of Just Believe about the way he made a midrace move to sit outside the leader and toyed with his rivals last night. His odds were slashed from $3.50 to $2.80 for the trotting finals straight after it.
Daily Telegraph
3 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Telegraph
McCarthy's quest for Queensland riches begins
Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News. Champion NSW trainer Luke McCarthy launches a huge month chasing the Queensland winter riches at Albion Park tomorrow (Saturday) night. While defending Inter Dominion champion Don Hugo will be his star act, McCarthy's team of raiders oozes star power with a range of feature race targets. We won't see Don Hugo until the opening round of Inter Dominion heats on July 5, but McCarthy has five runners tomorrow night, headed by Australia's best mare Eye Keep Smiling, exciting three-year-old Hesitate and Inter Dominion trotting hopeful Constantinople. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Additionally, McCarthy, who spent much of his formative years in Queensland, is also caretaker trainer and driver for Mick Stanley's Queensland Oaks hopeful, Soho Americano, who steps out tomorrow night. 'I love getting back up to Queensland, especially this time of year,' McCarthy said. 'This Carnival has grown and grown and now adding the Inter Dominion has taken it to another level. I've got a really good team of horses at the right time to give it a real crack this year.' Don Hugo capped his Inter Dominion preparation when he made it two-from-two this campaign and thrashed his rivals at Menangle last Saturday night. 'He's ready now. I want him fresh going into the series, so I'll give him three weeks between runs going into the first round of heats,' McCarthy said. 'I couldn't be happier with my horse and if anyone can beat Leap To Fame, I think it's my guy.' Eye Keep Smiling is a hot favourite to post her eighth successive win and her 25th win from 36 starts in the Garrards Horse & Hound Mares' Open Pace tomorrow night. Her main target is a successful title defence in the $150,000 Group 1 Golden Girl at Albion Park on July 19. McCarthy also has former Group 1-winning mare Coastal Babe aiming for the Golden Girl. If Hesitate beats older rivals in the eighth race at Albion Park on tomorrow night, it will open the door for a tilt at the $350,000 Group 1 Rising Sun on July 5 as well as the $150,000 Group 1 Queensland Derby on July 19. 'I was chasing my tail with him last campaign, but he's come back really well after a break and I'm sure he'll be a factor in those big races. He's got so much speed,' McCarthy said. 'Mac Bon is another I'll have up here for the Redcliffe and Queensland Derbys. 'Constantinople won the consolation (of the Inter Dominion trotting series) in Brisbane two years ago and is back in form at the right time, while a horse like Beach Ball, who runs this week, will be competitive through the heats (Inter Dominion pacing) as well.' * Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp Originally published as NSW trainer Luke McCarthy brings an elite team to Albion Park in pursuit of Queensland glory
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
NSW trainer Luke McCarthy brings an elite team to Albion Park in pursuit of Queensland glory
Champion NSW trainer Luke McCarthy launches a huge month chasing the Queensland winter riches at Albion Park tomorrow (Saturday) night. While defending Inter Dominion champion Don Hugo will be his star act, McCarthy's team of raiders oozes star power with a range of feature race targets. We won't see Don Hugo until the opening round of Inter Dominion heats on July 5, but McCarthy has five runners tomorrow night, headed by Australia's best mare Eye Keep Smiling, exciting three-year-old Hesitate and Inter Dominion trotting hopeful Constantinople. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Additionally, McCarthy, who spent much of his formative years in Queensland, is also caretaker trainer and driver for Mick Stanley's Queensland Oaks hopeful, Soho Americano, who steps out tomorrow night. 'I love getting back up to Queensland, especially this time of year,' McCarthy said. 'This Carnival has grown and grown and now adding the Inter Dominion has taken it to another level. I've got a really good team of horses at the right time to give it a real crack this year.' Don Hugo capped his Inter Dominion preparation when he made it two-from-two this campaign and thrashed his rivals at Menangle last Saturday night. 'He's ready now. I want him fresh going into the series, so I'll give him three weeks between runs going into the first round of heats,' McCarthy said. 'I couldn't be happier with my horse and if anyone can beat Leap To Fame, I think it's my guy.' EYE KEEP SMILING takes the @GarrardsHnH The Golden Girl! ðŸ�† Trainer-driver @lukeamccarthy puts together a ðŸ�' drive, trailing the speed and peeling at the top of the lane to come away with the Group 1 feature! @SuccessStud @HRNSW_Harness @TheCreekAlbion @CobbittyEquine … â€' RaceQ (@RaceQLD) July 20, 2024 Eye Keep Smiling is a hot favourite to post her eighth successive win and her 25th win from 36 starts in the Garrards Horse & Hound Mares' Open Pace tomorrow night. Her main target is a successful title defence in the $150,000 Group 1 Golden Girl at Albion Park on July 19. McCarthy also has former Group 1-winning mare Coastal Babe aiming for the Golden Girl. If Hesitate beats older rivals in the eighth race at Albion Park on tomorrow night, it will open the door for a tilt at the $350,000 Group 1 Rising Sun on July 5 as well as the $150,000 Group 1 Queensland Derby on July 19. 'I was chasing my tail with him last campaign, but he's come back really well after a break and I'm sure he'll be a factor in those big races. He's got so much speed,' McCarthy said. 'Mac Bon is another I'll have up here for the Redcliffe and Queensland Derbys. 'Constantinople won the consolation (of the Inter Dominion trotting series) in Brisbane two years ago and is back in form at the right time, while a horse like Beach Ball, who runs this week, will be competitive through the heats (Inter Dominion pacing) as well.'
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Harness racing: Trainer Chris Svanosio has belief Arcee Phoenix can realise Inter Dominion dream
Chris Svanosio's hunger to win an Inter Dominion has been building for 33 years. The emerging Romsey horseman was just 10 years old when he watched the great Westburn Grant fend off a luckless Franco Tiger to win the 1992 Inter Dominion pacing final at a packed Moonee Valley. 'I got the bug, big time,' he said. 'I remember being crammed up the back of the grandstand and having to stand on my tippy toes to watch. 'I've been lucky enough to have a few runners in Inter Dominion heats, but I've never had a finalist. 'For people my age (43), the Inter Dominion is the ultimate, especially now the prizemoney has been boosted for this Brisbane series.' • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! All that looks set to change with by far the best trotter Svanosio has trained, the exciting Arcee Phoenix. The six-year-old lived in the shadow – like so many others – of the great Just Believe for a year or so, but burst out of it with the biggest win of his career in the $NZ600,000 TAB Trot at Cambridge in New Zealand's North Island on April 4. Yes, he didn't have the now retired Just Believe to contend with, but Svanosio knows his horse has improved, too. 'I left that same race a year earlier knowing he had to find a couple of lengths to be one of the very best and I think he's done that,' he said. Arcee Phoenix steps out for his first race since that Cambridge win when he tackles a very competitive Yabby Dam Farms Trotters' free-for-all (1720m) at Melton on Saturday night. Fitness won't be an issue judging by the six-year-old's sparkling Melton trial win last Tuesday week. 'I'm know horses like Don Hugo and Leap To Fame have already had a couple of races since going to Cambridge, but I had to do what's right for my horse and he needed some extra time out,' he said. 'I was really happy with his trial and now he's got this run before we head north and get ready for the first round of (Inter Dominion) heats (on July 5).' The Aussies have done it! 🇦🇰 Arcee Phoenix (C Svanosio) takes out the $600,000 The TAB Trot in Cambridge, New Zealand, leading home an Australian trifecta, with Queen Elida second and The Locomotive third. Congratulations to connections. — The Trots (@TheTrotsComAu) April 4, 2025 Arcee Phoenix is an old hand at travel now, having had three return trips to NZ over the past 15 months and Brisbane trip two years ago. 'All those things have helped him develop,' Svanosio said. 'That last trip to Cambridge was the best he's handled it. It gives you a lot of confidence heading to Brisbane again. 'It's also great he's been up there (Brisbane) before and had a sighter at the track.' That was in July, 2023 when Arcee Phoenix ran a fantastic second to London To A Brick – who will be a key rival again this trip – in the Group 1 Greatg Square. Svanosio confirmed he would take his improving US-bred mare Aldebaran Acrux north with Arcee Phoenix. 'She's earned it. Last week was her D-Day and she won really well at Melton,' he said. Two of Arcee Phoenix's major Inter Dominion rivals – star Kiwi pair Oscar Bonavena and Bet N Win – also step out on Saturday night. Oscar Bonavena, who opened his Queensland raid with an easy Albion Park win last Saturday, should repeat the dose at the same track, while Bet N Win will be a commanding favourite in a 2300m trotting free-for-all at Menangle.
