Big week - from Junior Drivers' Championships to Silk Road and The Dark Horse

The McMillan Equine Feeds New Zealand Junior Drivers Championships, the $30,000 Silk Road Northern Spring Series Final, and the first ever running of the Group 3 The Dark Horse at Invercargill will all feature during another busy harness racing week, between now and Sunday.

There are six race meetings in all, starting with the weekly Trot into Tuesday meeting at Cambridge today and finishing at Ascot Park on Sunday.  

The Junior Drivers' Championships start at Cambridge today and then move to Addington on Wednesday and Friday.

To see the Junior Drivers' Liftout click here

The Group 3 The Dark Horse for the four-year-old and older mares has attracted a big and quality field of 15. It is named after top trotting mare Dark Horse, who retired in 2021 after winning 14 races and accruing $144,276 in stakes for Branxholme trainer Nathan Williamson and the Griffins Syndicate.

To see the The Dark Horse field click here  

The $30,000 Silk Road Northern Spring Series Final will be held this Friday after the fifth and final heats was taken out by Wicked Wanda last Friday night. It was her second win of the series.

The heat winners so far for F&Ms up to R59:

Heat 1, September 13  - You Little Beauty, Cyren Shard, Kourtney Kardash
Heat 2, September 21 - Courtney Rose, Akatea, Always B Stunning
Heat 3, September 27 - Wicked Wanda, Mhai Surfer Girl, Minjee
Heat 4, October 4 - Seaside Rose, Double Quick, Always B Stunning
Heat 5, October 11 - Wicked Wanda, Mhai Surfer Girl, Courtney Rose

The first two in each heat automatically qualified for the final, and if a horse wins a heat and the final then the win will be penalty free.

Friday night will also see the Heats 1 and 2 for the latest Northern Metro Series. They are for R59 three-year-old and older trotters and pacers. The first five home in each of the four races will qualify for the $35,000 Final on Friday October 25. Like the Silk Road series should a horse  win both a heat and a final, the win in the final will be penalty free.

All horses racing in both the Silk Road and Metro Series will be eligible for the new $1m Golden Gait series.

The Golden Gait series on December 20 features 10 races, each worth $100,000  - with five pacing and five trotting races, all over a mile. Three-year-old and older horses have to have raced at least six times at Alexandra Park in the qualifying period (January 1 - December 6) while 2YO horses must have a minimum of four starts.

There will seven more meetings at The Park in the qualification period. They are October 18 and 25, November 1, 8, 22 and 29 and December 6.