Sunline Takes Fourth Straight NZ Horse of the Year Title
- Friday, 16 August 2002 00:00
New Zealand's wonder mare Sunline has done it
again. Just a couple of weeks after being crowned the Australian Champion for the third
straight year, her connections have returned to New Zealand to collect more awards.Tonight at the country's Mercedes Racing Awards the champion daughter of Desert Sun won her fourth consecutive New Zealand Horse of the Year title.
She was also crowned the Leading Weight-for-Age performer as well as being classed as the best in the Sprinter/Miler category. Songline, her dam, was again crowned as the country's broodmare of the year.
Of the 42 people who voted in the award Sunline
scored 63 per cent of the vote, while the Caulfield and Melbourne Cup winner Ethereal was
left with the remaining 37 per cent.
During the season Sunline won three Group One races in Australia and one in New Zealand. Ethereal also won three Group One events in Melbourne (two) and Sydney (one).
Meanwhile, other winners on the night included Ethereal (Stayer), Grout (Two-Year-Old), Leica Guv (Three-Year-Old), Phillip Quay (Journalist), St Steven (Jumps), Lance O'Sullivan (Jockey), while Sheila Laxon and the training partnership of Graeme Rogerson and Stephen Autridge tied for the training award. South Island identity Ray Coupland took the Outstanding Contribution award.
PICS - Quentin Lang.