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Crystal Hackett heads to Cambridge Raceway tonight with four drives on the harness racing card and one eye firmly on the end of the 1Equine Australasian Young Drivers Championship (AYDC) qualifying period. Hackett currently holds a six-win advantage over Harrison Orange heading into the final stretch of qualifying, which wraps up on Sunday. The AYDC […]
Northern junior driver Crystal Hackett makes the trip to Ashburton today for three harness racing drives looking to add to her already winning weekend after finding success with Son Of The Cleaner at Alexandra Park on Friday night. “It looked like a nice race for him, and I thought he’d be hard to beat, and […]
In the Lincoln Farms Here For The Horse Mobile Pace at Cambridge tonight, northern junior driver Crystal Hackett achieved her 200th win driving the Andrew and Lyn Neal trained Merie Mary (Bettor’s Delight). MERIE MARY REPLAY Crystal told me earlier this week, “I was sitting on 198 for three weeks and I finally got up […]
Outstanding young driver Crystal Hackett could start the next phase of her career on a high at Alexandra Park tonight. The Group 1-winning driver has moved employers after nearly five years working for Barry Purdon and Scott Phelan during which time she drove 168 winners in New Zealand and has been the leading junior driver […]
Crystal Hackett couldn’t have asked for a much better start to Palmerston North’s two-day harness racing meeting, and she heads into today’s second instalment with confidence and momentum on her side. Hackett had four drives on Tuesday and walked away with two winners (Change Tact and Tinkerbelle) and a third placing (Benson Dude). Today, she […]
With seven harness racing drives in all, Crystal Hackett is optimistic but also cautious about her chances at Hawera today. Hackett rates the prospects of three in particular with Higher Power, trained by her employers Barry Purdon and Scott Phelan, her “best of the day”. The Father Patrick four-year-old has been racing against the best […]
Young driving star Crystal Hackett has the perfect opportunity to kick off 2026 as she ended last season at Cambridge today. Hackett blasted past her goal for 2025 with 56 winners last term and snared a Group 1 placing with Belle Neige in the Peter Breckon National Trot at The Park on New Year’s Eve. […]
When you think of trotting in the north you instantly think of Michelle Wallis and Bernie Hackett. The couple who currently lead the New Zealand Trotters Trainers Premiership operate out of their stable in Waiuku, utilising the beach nearby. Michelle is a Hamilton girl and was always going to get into the harness industry. “Dad […]
A New Zealand horsewoman has stunned racing fans with her courage and care for her horse after winning a race at Alexandra Park on Friday night. South Auckland harness racing driver Crystal Hackett had just won Race 8 driving two-year-old pacer Buddy Guy, when the inexperienced horse shied and became fractious when returning to the […]
Two well-bred two year olds were on show for Nathan Williamson at the Invercargill Workouts on Friday. Treacherous Me, a Captaintreacherous filly out of Only Me, took out the three horse 1700 metre mobile workout from Simply Amazing – a Bettor’s Delight colt out of Simply Devine. Treacherous Me is the second foal out of […]
Top junior driver Crystal Hackett says she was “just a passenger” during an eventful finale to Cambridge’s harness racing meeting last night. With a lap to go Hackett was leading with the hot favourite Herb in the NOC Slots Barrier Reveal 1st April Mobile Pace when “both reins just came back to me”. The bit […]
Last night’s Hunter Cup result was close to perfect result for Winton breeders John and Katrina Price. Although they would dearly have loved Republican Party (Bettor’s Delight) (whom they bred) to win, his third place behind super stars Swayzee and Leap To Fame was full of merit. Last year the couple bought into the Swayzee […]
Crystal Hackett’s having a week she’ll never forget across the Tasman. Today the talented harness racing junior turns 21, just a day after winning the second heat of the Australasian Young Drivers’ Championships (AYDC) in Sydney. She’ll mark her birthday with two more drives at Bathurst tonight, at 8.37pm and 10.03pm. Hackett’s competing in her […]
The Kiwi challenge to win the Australasian Young Drivers Championships (AYDC) starts at Menangle in Sydney tomorrow (Tuesday). Crystal Hackett (above), Sam Thornley (below) and Kerryn Tomlinson will compete against Australia’s top harness racing talent over nine heats, with the opening two heats both over a mile, at 5.12pm and 6.22pm. All three will debut […]
It is testament to how huge Crystal Hackett’s 2024 has been that a winning harness racing treble at Alexandra Park on Friday night didn’t seem that unusual. Don’t be mistaken, it is not that the Auckland junior didn’t love every minute of her three wins, two of them coming in the night’s $35,000 Metro Finals. […]
Consistency was the key as Crystal Hackett clinched her first McMillan Equine Feeds New Zealand Junior Drivers’ Championship at Addington on Friday night. At her third attempt to win the coveted harness racing title, Hackett finished with 45 points from this week’s five heats at Cambridge and Addington to win by just three points from […]
Junior driver Crystal Hackett has three promising drives at Alexandra Park, all for her parents, Waiuku based harness racing trainers Michelle Wallis and Bernie Hackett. “All three of the horses are nice each way chances,” says Hackett, “they’ve all been racing well but they meet fairly level fields tonight.” The first of the series races […]
Mach Shard (Mach Three) performed what could be called a harness racing miracle when he took out his second Group One in a week, winning the $110,000 G1 Dawson and Harford NZ Messenger FFA at Alexandra Park in Auckland tonight. After winning the Taylor Mile at massive odds last week, the Barry Purdon-Scott Phelan trained […]
Manawatu hosts its first harness racing meeting of the 2024 season today and junior driver Crystal Hackett is keenly aware any personal success will also benefit the Team Teal campaign. With seven drives, Hackett, who is a Team Teal Ambassador, looks to have several chances to do so. “I’m really happy to be a part […]
It’s not often you get harness racing of the quality we were treated to today on a Monday afternoon, however Auckland Anniversary Day provided just that with an eight race programme at Cambridge Raceway headlined by the fourth instalment of the $41,500 G3 Waikato Trotting Breeders Stakes. A capacity field of 14 trotting mares greeted […]
Further emphasising the talent New Zealand has in its ranks of young drivers, last night three female junior drivers drove five winners between them on the ten race card at an Auckland Premier race night. Alicia Harrison teamed up with DJ Rock (Rock N Roll Heaven) and Fernleigh Cash (Bettor’s Delight) to win for her […]
Junior harness racing driver Crystal Hackett is a star on the rise. The nineteen year old has come a long way in a short time and is currently third equal with Ben Hope, in the New Zealand Junior Drivers Premiership. In only her third season of driving she is honing in on her fiftieth winning […]
Junior harness reinswoman Crystal Hackett scored a career highlight at Cambridge Raceway last night, driving four winners. “I was pretty stoked to get three. And four is even better,” she told Jo Stevens on Track Chat. The run of winning form started in Race One with Ilsas Son, (Majestic Son) for trainers Barry Purdon and […]
View the Cambridge harness racing results click here! By Joshua Smith, Harness News Desk Crystal Hackett reached lofty highs in the showjumping ring and now she is kicking goals on the racetrack. The junior reinswoman recorded her first race win in the sulky at Alexandra Park last week, and it didn’t take her long to […]
