Promising Fillies Battle for Harness Million Qualifier

Thursday night’s Magness Benrow Sires’ Stakes Fillies Heat (1980m) at Addington is shaping as a crucial lead in to NZB Standardbred’s lucrative Harness Million Sale Race Series.

 

Up and coming fillies will take on proven two-year-old performers when a classy group of nine graduates from NZB Standardbred’s 2019 National Yearling Sale take to the track.

 

Northern raiders Show Me Heaven (NZ) (Somebeachsomewhere) and Miss Hathaway (NZ) (Bettor's Delight) will be out to continue their fine form and boost their hopes of qualifying for the $150,000 Listed NZB Standardbred Harness Million Fillies Pace (1980m), run as a late two-year-old race on Friday 2 October.

 

Show Me Heaven opened her campaign with a strong win at Addington earlier this month for trainers Steve and Amanda Telfer.

 

Miss Hathaway, who won on debut at Alexandra Park before venturing south, adds to the strong hand the Telfer stable has in Thursday night’s race.

 

Show Me Heaven is set to start as one of the favourites after drawing barrier 2, while Miss Hathaway has a bigger challenge in front of her from barrier 9.

 

The Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen stable line up two strong winning chances, including last season’s Group Three Leonard Memorial Stakes (2000m) winner Town Echo (NZ) (Art Major).

 

She has prepared for her first start as a three-year-old by competing strongly against older horses in a recent Rangiora workout.

 

Avana (NZ) (Bettor’s Delight) also lines up on Thursday night for the All Stars stable after running a good fourth in the previous South Island heat of the Magness Benrow Sires Stakes Fillies Series at Addington earlier this month.

 

La Rosa (NZ) (Bettor’s Delight) ran fifth in the same race when rattling home from the rear.

 

The Mark Jones trained filly started from barrier 9, but is much better situated in barrier 6 on Thursday night.

 

The Robert Dunn stable will hope to boost the Harness Million credentials of two fillies when he starts Off N Gone (NZ) (Somebeachsomewhere) and Passion And Power (NZ) (Art Major).

 

The smart pair have contrasting draws with Off N Gone, a winner of her last two starts, to start from barrier 3.

 

Passion And Power’s chances will be impacted by the early tactics of her fellow NZB Standardbred graduate, Endless Dreams (NZ) (Somebeachsomewhere), whom she starts behind from barrier 1 on the second line.

 

Iksaka (NZ) (Bettor’s Delight), a placegetter in both of her career starts, will start outside Off N Gone in barrier 4.