Southland Harness Awards - Honours another Southland racehorse - Robyn's Treasure
Robyn’s Treasure was a born in 1990. She was by Son Of Afella out of Ryal Robyn. Owned by Graham Edgar and Ross Wilson she was trained by Wilson for her most of her career before joining Mark Purdon as a six year old.
She started 51 times over four seasons winning seven races, running 13 seconds and eight thirds and winning stakes of $152,245.
She won her first start in a Southland Oaks Heat at the Northern Southland meeting in September 1993 beating stable mate Walk On By.
During the early part of her first season on the track she also ran second and third in heats of the DB Fillies Series.
But her moment of glory came in May of 1994 when she won the Group One New Zealand Oaks and followed it up a week later by winning the Group One DB Fillies Final both at Addington.
As a racehorse she also set a mares record at Cambridge in 1997 winning a 2200 metre mobile event in 2-41 which was a mile rate of 1-57.7 - a record that was only broken last season.
Ricky May drove her to win three times, Tony Herlihy twice and Ken Barron and Phil Williamson once each.
Southland Standardbred Breeders Trophy - Leading Stake Earners 2010-2011
2 year old filly of the year - TAHLIA JACCKA (owned by 8 Slips & a Gully Synd) – Trainer Murray Brown
3 year old filly of the year - JUMPFORJOY (owned by Clark and Alex McDonald) - Trainer Clark Barron
Aged race mare - BEAUDIENE BAD BABE (owned by Est. P J Ryan) – Trainer Murray Brown
1-58 Pins
CITYLIGHT 1.56.5 WYNDHAM January 2011 STEPHE BAUCKE
JUMPFORJOY 1.55.8 TUAPEKA October 2010 CLARK BARRON & ALEX McDONALD
ONE LANE BRIDGE 1.57.7 WYNDHAM January 2011 EARL SWAIN & TONI COLLEY
MONAGHAN 1.56.6 ASHBURTON February 2011 JAYTEE SYND & TONY STRATFORD
MOSSDALE ALLAN 1.54.6 WAIRIO October 2010 ARCHIE AFFLECK
TROJAN 1.57.8 AUCKLAND June 2011 JOHN HAMILTON
Group Certificates
David Kennedy for: Themightyquinn - Group One Trillian Trust Auckland Cup Auckland – March 2011.
Stewart Gillian for: Dancing Diamonds - Group Three American Ideal Stakes - Cheviot – March 2011
Clark Barron and Alex McDonald for: Jumpforjoy - Group Two Macca LodgeNevele R Southland Oak Invercargill – April 2011
Debbie and Mark Smith for: Smiling Shard - Group Two Alabar Kaikoura Cup - Kaikoura October 2011
Alistair and Denise Smith for: Springbank Richard - Group three DG Jones Banks Peninsula Trotting Cup Banks Peninsula October 2010
Dave Kennedy for: Beaudiene Bad Babe - Group Two Caduceus Club Premier Mares Championship Addington – January 2011
Southland Standardbred Breeders/Shard Farm Fastest Mile Rate - Filly or Mare 2010-2011
CITY LIGHT (Stephen Baucke)
Washington VC-Harness Awards Mare of the Year 2011 (run on a points basis over the season)
VON REGAL - Ross Wilson
Washington VC/Bryleigh Stud Southland Broodmare of the Year 2011
ASABELLA - Phil Creighton and Stu Gillian
The In The Pocket mare Asabella has had a great start to her breeding career with its first 3 foals being smart types. Ohoka's Bondy is the best performer to date with $275,000 in stakes and 17 wins from 19 Australian starts, including the Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes in WA. Close on his heels is the highest earning NZ 2 year old filly Dancing Diamonds who notched up 6 wins and $210,000. Her victories included the Listed Yearling Sales Pace and the Group 3 American Ideal Stakes. Completing the trio of winners for Asabella is Code Red a 6 win, 4 year old who has accumulated over $50,000. Based on the results to date there is plenty more in store for this prolific breeder.
Contribution to Harness Racing
Nicola Hikawai:
Nicola is the first face a lot of people see on racedays in Southland and Central Otago and with her great personality and smiling face it’s great for the industry.
Nicola started at Forrest Burns & Ashby in 1982 as an office junior also helping out on racedays. She left the accounting firm to have her family but still worked part time for Peter Burns until he retired in the 1990’s.
Russell Freeman took over the secretary’s job and the office moved to the Southland Racing Club’s administration building and Nicola moved as well.
The job is varied and she does all the accounting and computer work and is pretty full on especially in the racing season. She also helps do the books for 9 harness racing clubs as well as 5 other organisations, so it can be busy.
There is a fair bit of travel involved especially over Xmas with the entire Central Otago racing but it makes the job more varied and enjoyable and she says the country clubs are great to work with.
She has been involved in the industry for 29 years and says it’s the great people in the racing industry that makes her job more enjoyable.
Bruce Campbell:
Bruce started in the industry 39 years ago when his brother in law introduced him to the sport of harness racing; this was an excellent move as the industry gained a man who showed vision and commitment to game. Bruce is a life member of the Northern Southland Harness Racing Club. He started out on the committee in 1998 and served his term as president starting 2004. He officiated at the clubs 50th jubilee celebrations.
Bruce along with other members of his committee were very forward thinking and took the club to where it is today, with high stakes, high profile harness people visiting on the day, gold card function and other initiatives that make the Northern Southland club so successful. Bruce was also on the committee of the Southland Standardbred Breeders Association.
He’s a breeder, owner and trainer of standardbreds and an all around good guy.
Keith Norman:
Every morning for the last 38 years Keith Norman gets up and attends his horses - a job which he has a passion for. He has had the occasional holiday and hospital stay to break up his routine. When you enjoy what you do, it is not a job but a pleasure he says.
Keith along with his wife Tracey took over Bryleigh Stud 22 years ago and has stood two very successful stallions in Son of Afella and Washington VC.
Keith breaks in horses when he is not busy at stud and reckons he has broken in over a thousand for various owners including Syd Brown, Barry Barbour and Colin and Bud Baynes. Recent horses of note that he broke in were Foreal and Springbank Richard.
As a trainer Keith is a keen seller and only keeps future broodmares and horses unable to be sold.
He was on the Southland Standardbred Breeders Committee for 15 years and retired as he felt he had ran out of ideas. Keith along with Bryleigh Stud and Washington VC are great sponsors throughout Southland and Otago and are involved in the awards tonight. Keith also takes on stock for the lamb and cattle drives.
Southland Harness Awards Two and Three year old of the year (run on a points basis in all stakes bearing races in Southland)
Two year old filly -ROXANNE – John and Juliette Earl & Tom and Julie Kilkelly - Trainer Tom Kilkelly.
Two year old coltgelding- WALTZING WITH CULLEN - Mrs. Jean Feiss – Trainer Kirk Larsen.
Four year old mare- VON REGAL - Trainer Ross Wilson
4 yr old horse or gelding-FLYING DIAMONDS - John Duff/Kevin Fairbairn Trainer Tony Stratford.
Robin Dundee Club 3 year old of the year 2011
3 year old filly - JUMPFORJOY - Clark Barron and Alex McDonald - Trainer Clark Barron
3 year old coltgelding - FRANCO LEDGER - Whatever Syndicate and Hamish Hunter - Trainer Hamish Hunter
Caduceus Club of Southland Trotter and Member of the Year 2011
Trotter - JACCKA JACK - Charlie and Ailsa Smaill - Trainer Murray Gray
Caduceus Members Award - HAMISH HUNTER - Franco Ledger
Harness Awards Committee Southland Person of the Year 2011.
Hamish Hunter:
Hamish once again has taken out the Southland Harness Racing’s leading trainer title training 22 winners in the 2010/2011 season.
Notable winners were Franco Ledger the winner of seven races from his 16 starts and Christian Ruler which won five from 16. Other promising horses were Devil May Care and Gotcha.
On the driving front Hamish drove 13 winners last season before he broke an ankle in the driving accident at Ascot Park.
Southland Harness Award of Excellence
Washington VC
Keith Norman formed a syndicate to purchase Washington V C in 2000. This was a very brave move on Keith’s part but one that has reaped many rewards, for Keith, the syndicate and breeders in general.
Washington V C who stands at Brydone is competitively priced and has made a huge impact on the Southland breeding scene. He is a great natured little stallion but his progeny’s achievements on the track are huge. With horses such as the 2011 Australasian Champion Themightyquinn winner of the Auckland Cup and runner up in the Interdominion in 2011. Horses of the calibre of Report for Duty, Georgetown, Matai BBC, Foreal, Derek’s Pick, It’s Ella, Vice Captain, Capital V, Ruling VC, Dasher VC, Smart VC and Very Cool who are all up there when it comes to stars. All up Washington VC has had 206 individual winners for stakes of $11,800,000 and still growing. Washington VC has done an excellent job and is truly deserving of an award of excellence.
Southland Trainers and Drivers Association 2011 Awards
Leading trainer 2010-2011- HAMISH HUNTER
Stats: 23 starters 22 winners 13 seconds and 31 thirds for $154,976 in stakes.
Leading Driver 2010-2011- NATHAN WILLIAMSON
Stats: 460 drives 52 winners, 51 seconds and 27 thirds for $346,076 in stakes
Leading Junior driver 2010-2011- ADAM SANDERSON
Stats: 134 drives 13 winners, 8 seconds and 15 thirds for $66,863 in stakes
Southland’s leading driver of trotters – JONNY COX
Stats: 100 drive 15 wins (13 in Southland) 8 seconds and 10 thirds
Southland Owners, Trainers and Breeders Association Southland Horse of the Year 2011
Jumpforjoy:
Jumpforjoy started ten times last season recording five wins, two seconds and a third.
Four of these wins were in a row – a heat of the Sires Stakes at Forbury, a win at Wyndham and two wins at Ascot Park including a heat of the Nevele R Fillies Series.
She then travelled to Auckland running second in the Oaks prelude behind the classy Bettor Cover Lover.
After running twelfth in the Great Northern Oaks she returned home for an operation to remove bone chips from her hock.
Without any workouts or trial she returned to the racetrack eight weeks later to win the Group Two Macca Lodge/Nevele R Southland Oaks. She finished her season off with a game third in the Harness Jewels at Ashburton.
Jumpforjoy earned $73,347 in the 2010/2011 season – the highest stake earner in the province. She is owned by Alex McDonald and trainer/driver Clark Barron.
