Kiwis Prepare for Horse of Year Awards
- Tuesday, 13 August 2002 00:00
The annual Mercedes Racing Awards will be staged at Ellerslie Racecourse's Convention Centre on Friday night before a packed audience as the time comes to recognise the achievements of the New Zealand thoroughbred industry participants - horse and human- during the 2001-2002 season.
The Sunline (NZ) camp is sure to again be to the fore just as they were at the Australian Horse Of The Year awards earlier this month.
Sunline has been New Zealand's Champion Horse Of The Year for the past three seasons and she is certainly a big chance to make it four in a row with the stiffest competition coming from the Caulfield-Melbourne Cups winner Ethereal (NZ).
The two queens of the turf also face each other in the weight-for-age category while their respective dams Romanee Conti (Ethereal) and Songline (Sunline) are among three finalists for the Mercedes Broodmare Of The Year title.
Sunline is also a finalist in the sprinter-miler section while her breeders, Michael Martin and Susan Archer, are again finalists in the Breeder category.
Sunline's trainers Trevor and Stephen McKee are contenders for the Trainer title while her owners are also in line for the Owner-Of-The-Year trophy.
Ethereal is the hot favourite to take out the Champion Stayers' award while her trainer, Sheila Laxon, has a nomination for Trainer Of The Year.
Ethereal's owner-breeders, Peter and Philip Vela, are also among the finalists for the Owner Of The Year and Breeder Of The Year categories.
The Vela-bred Vapour Trail (NZ) will also be honoured on the night as the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly Of The Year title winner and she is a finalist in the Three-Year-Old section.
MERCEDES THOROUGHBRED RACING AWARDS 2002 FINALISTS
DEWAR STALLION
ZABEEL
MERCEDES BROOD MARE
HONEYMOON EXPRESS dam of Carnegie Express
ROMANEE CONTI dam of Ethereal
SONGLINE dam of Sunline
MERCEDES JOURNALIST
DAVE BRADFORD
MIKE DILLON
BARRY LICHTER
PHILLIP QUAY
MERCEDES BROADCASTER
ADRIAN CLARK
TONY LEE
ANDRE NEILL
LUKE RADICH
DUNSTAN TRAINER
PAUL HARRIS
SHEILA LAXON
BRUCE MARSH
STEPHEN McKEE & TREVOR McKEE ONZM
GRAEME ROGERSON & STEPHEN AUTRIDGE
ALLAN SHARROCK
JOHN WHEELER
MERCEDES CHAMPION JUMPER
CHIBULI
CRAFTY DANCER
GOLDEN FLARE
ST STEVEN
MERCEDES CHAMPION SPRINTER/MILER
HONOR BOUND
SOUND THE ALARM
SUNLINE
VINAKA
MERCEDES CHAMPION STAYER
CYCLADES
ETHEREAL
PRIZED GEM
NEW ZEALAND BLOODSTOCK FILLY OF THE YEAR
VAPOUR TRAIL
McBEATH APPRENTICE JOCKEY
MICHAEL WALKER
GROSVENOR STALLION
VOLKSRAAD
MERCEDES BREEDER
SUSAN ARCHER & MICHAEL MARTIN
GARRY CHITTICK
PETER VELA ONZM & PHILIP VELA
TOM WILLIAMS
MERCEDES CHAMPION WEIGHT-FOR-AGE PERFORMER
CINDER BELLA
ETHEREAL
LA BELLA DAMA
SUNLINE
MERCEDES CHAMPION TWO YEAR OLD
DANCEINTHESUN
DANROAD
GROUT
LADY DEHERE
MERCEDES CHAMPION THREE YEAR OLD
FINAL DESTINATION
LEICA GUV
SIXTY SECONDS
VAPOUR TRAIL
VINAKA
MERCEDES JOCKEY OF THE YEAR
LANCE O'SULLIVAN
SCOTT SEAMER
MICHAEL WALKER
MERCEDES JUMPS JOCKEY
CLAYTON CHIPPERFIELD
JONATHAN RIDDELL
CRAIG THORNTON
MERCEDES AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION IN RACING EXCELLENCE
NO FINALISTS
MERCEDES OWNER
RAY COUPLAND
THAYNE GREEN, HELEN LUSTY & TREVOR McKEE ONZM
DON PYE & WENDY PYE MBE
NOEL & RON STANLEY
PETER VELA ONZM & PHILIP VELA
MERCEDES HORSE OF THE YEAR
NO FINALISTS
NEW ZEALAND HORSE OF THE YEAR (1990-2001)
2001 Sunline (NZ)
2000 Sunline (NZ)
1999 Sunline (NZ)
1998 Tycoon Lil (Aus)
1997 OReilly (NZ)
1996 Our Maizcay (Aus)
1995 Rough Habit (NZ)
1994 The Phantom (NZ)
1993 Vendercross (NZ)
1992 Rough Habit (NZ)
1991 Surfers Paradise (NZ)
1990 Horlicks (NZ)
PICS - Quentin Lang.
Media Release - NZTM