Southern Harness to get another G1 race

Great news out of HRNZ today (Sep. 20) for southern harness racing.

It’s been announced that the Diamond Creek Farm Two Year Old Classic which is a key race on Diamonds Day at Ascot Park annually, will next year be run for $110,000 and will be elevated to Group One status.

The race has been run for nine years, the inaugural winner being Lazarus (Bettor’s Delight) in 2015.

The initial stake for the 2200 metre feature was $22,000. In 2017 it jumped to $38,000 and Group Two status, and when Don’t Stop Dreaming (Bettor’s Delight) won in 2022 it carried a stake of  $60,000.

The race was the brainchild of Southern Bred Southern Reared.

Ten years ago SBSR forged a strong relationship with North American breeding powerhouse Diamond Creek Farm. The stud’s generous sponsorship has enabled SBSR to fund two valued and prestigious races in the southern region – the Diamond Creek Farm Two Year Old Classic and more recently, the Diamond Creek Farm Oamaru Juvenile Stakes.

Diamond Creek Farm provides SBSR with a number of stallion services through their New Zealand bases at Woodlands Stud, Alabar Stud and Nevele R Stud. These services are on-sold to breeders, and the service fees are utilised by SBSR to fund the two Diamond Creek Farm juvenile races.

“It’s amazing what a little working together can achieve. Thanks To Diamond Creek Farm, Woodlands, Alabar and Nevele R Studs, the Invercargill and Oamaru Clubs, Southern Harness, HRNZ, SBSR and Bruce Stewart from the Southern Media. We’ve made this race over a relatively short time into a Group One feature which is outstanding for the southern region,” SBSR spokesperson John Stiven said.

The 2024 edition of the Diamond Creek Farm Two Year Old Classic will be held at Ascot Park on Diamonds Day on Sunday 21 April.

This is the first two year old race outside of Canterbury to be afforded Group One status and the first two year old race to be made into a Group One feature in Southland.

SBSR has also initiated a new race leading into the Diamond Creek Farm Classic.

The Diamond Creek Farm Prelude will be run at Oamaru on Wednesday 6 March 2024. It’s hoped the stake will be $15,000.

Two year old racing is receiving a big push in the next two seasons with Entain pledging an additional one off $2 million payment to HRNZ to use to promote two year old racing.

$1.5 million will be spent on a two year old bonus scheme ($750,000 per year) with $8,000 paid to owners and $4,000 to the breeder of a horse that records its first win in a two year old totalisator race from 1 January 2024.

All good news for two year old racing in New Zealand.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink