Have we moved on from such things as parochial rivalries? Instead, all in it together now the Australians are attacking our prize money year in, year out. True — but can't we embrace our inner bias as well?!
So, Fly High wraps the qualifying rounds in the North Island with her saloon‑passage sprint along the markers in Nevele R Series Heat 5 at Alexandra Park — and now a Great Rivalry resumes!
Some suggest we’ve moved on from such things in the modern era. We’re all in it together now, especially with the Australians so strong and pummelling our prize money year in, year out. True — but good luck with just that!
There has always been a North vs South rivalry in New Zealand Harness Racing, providing many of our most epic moments.
Christian Cullen vs Homes DG in the late 1990s
Gold Ace, Terror To Love
Young Quinn or Robalan
Delightful Lady and every other freaky mare racing at the time
What about the trotters? Petite Evander and Nigel Craig — so tribally intense they even had a match race organised at Addington back in the ’70s man!
No, there is nothing quite like a parochial rivalry to send sporting fanbases into orbit.
Keeping it agegroup and back before the invention of satellite television, streaming, and the Sires’ Stakes, when Boomer and early Gen X fans fine tuned through static‑swamped AM radios to find the booming tones of legendary racecaller Reg Clapp, preparing to call a much‑anticipated clash.
A seemingly unbeatable two‑year‑old pacer in the north, Hill High, faced the actually undefeated champion from the south, Noodlum.
Aptly, the two young giants came together in the New Zealand Juvenile Pacing Championship, always staged at the end of the season — almost winter — in Auckland.
Fuzzing memory and fading reception fog Reg’s first furlong, but roughly it went:
“Racing this time… Noodlum and Maurice Holmes began well from the inside... wider out Hill High is charging out towards the lead but... oh the bastard he came down…”
That last bit is burned into the brain accurate, btw. Even the 'voice of the park' was invested...
Hill High and Peter Wolfenden were absolutely surging out of the gate but crashed, wiping out Charlie Hunter and Irvine Behrns — and the almighty clash of the two‑year‑old titans finished in less than a furlong!
Noodlum went on to win from the champion filly of her year, Del’s Dream, and a star global pacing export of the era, Tricky Dick, in third.
Legend shows Noodlum became the benchmark age‑group racehorse of that century — 28 wins from 42 starts, 15 in a row — while Hill High picked himself up and brushed himself off to win 9 of 54.
That was June 1974, folks.
A few years later, something similar happened in the same race.
The brilliant Testing Times (North) started favourite over the big‑repped Lord Module (South). There was no crash this time — and the commentary came through eerily loud and clear. A crushing victory, with the quite parochial (later polarising) phenomenon leaving the New Zealand record in tatters.
To this day, fans — mostly in Canterbury — swear black‑and‑white (stars) that Lord Module is the most talented standardbred ever to set foot on the crusher dust of any racetrack.
Scrolling the history of that naturally occurring season decider for two‑year‑old pacers back then, there's Race Ruler beating Bionic Chance in 1986 — as much a great colt against a great filly as North vs South. A clash that continued with frustratingly similar outcomes for the Kerslake‑bred filly later in both Derbies!
Rather than deny, we’re embracing — the blending of North and South that might even extend to include a third player, the Deep South, these days.
For the rest of the year, these healthy rivalries will help present New Zealand Harness Racing as arguably the best on offer anywhere in the world today.
So tune your frequency and empower your bias for this Sires' Stakes Schedule coming in October.
FRIDAY OCTOBER 2 Dunstan Series Heat 3 • Woodlands Series Heat 4 • Nevele R Fillies Heat 6
FRIDAY OCTOBER 9 NZB Southern Pacing Mares • Harness Million for Two‑Year‑Old trotters, pacers, and pacing fillies
FRIDAY OCTOBER 16 Garrards Sophomore Classic
FRIDAY OCTOBER 23 Macca Lodge Two‑Year‑Old Trot Fillies Classique
MONDAY OCTOBER 26 Dunstan Series Heat 4 • Woodlands Series Heat 5 • Nevele R Fillies Heat 7
A long weekend off at incomparable Kaikoura November 1–2 — allowed and encouraged.
