Bits N Bridles

Haley Jaccka’s (Always B Miki) win at Gore on Sunday was her tenth, she’s become Charlie Smaill’s most successful pacing mare.

The Northern Southland owner has been racing horses since the early 1980s and since Account won at Gore in December 1983 he’s won 230 races – the majority of those carrying the Jaccka name.

Jen Jaccka and Julie Jaccka have been his two most successful trotting mares, each winning nine.

The Holmes DG will be the feature race on the card at Alexandra Park on Friday, named after one of the great pacers trained by Barry Purdon.

By Holmes Hanover, Holmes DG was bred in Southland by Brian Dempsey and Murray Gray and from their surnames the DG was derived.

He was sold privately by the pair and he went on to win 32 races and $1.9 million.

His biggest win was the $400,000 2000 Miracle Mile, one of eight Group One races he won.

Other feature wins included the New Zealand and Great Northern Derby, the Victoria Derby, the Ashburton Flying Stakes, NZ FFA, Victoria Cup, the Treuer Memorial and the Auckland Cup.

He also ran second in the 1999 New Zealand Cup which was won by Homin Hosed.

Carter Dalgety, Wilson House and Crystal Hackett will represent New Zealand in next month Australasian Young Drivers Championship.

They join representatives from Tasmania, West Australia, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales in ten heats that will be run between the 4^th and 10^th November at Cambridge, Alexandra Park and Ashburton.

The final day of competition will be held on Go Media New Zealand Cup Day at Addington.

The competition has been held since 1976 with Victorian drivers winning twelve times, Tasmanian and New Zealand nine, Western Australian eight, New South Wales and Queensland four and South Australia three.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink