Mudgway Stakes story

The Hombre, winner of a minor three-year-old race on his home track at Hastings this time last year, will on Saturday try to become the first locally owned and trained winner of the Group 1 $200,000 Mudgway Partsworld Stakes, feature race on the first day of the Hawke’s Bay spring racing carnival.

Hawke's Bay Racing is pleased to announce the family of Audrey McHardy (eldest daughter of Kit Ormond) as the new sponsor of the Group 1 “Kit Ormond Memorial Spring Classic” held over 2040m on the final day of the Spring Racing Carnival.

Hawke's Bay Racing is pleased to announce that Mudgway Partsworld will continue to sponsor the $200,000 Group I Mudgway Partsworld Stakes over 1400m.

The iconic sprint kicks off the Group 1 Season, on the first day of the Hawke’s Bay Spring Racing Carnival on Saturday August 28^th.

Wayne Mudgway, Principal of Mudgway Partsworld said “We are delighted to continue to sponsor this prestigious Group I event.  As a fan of racing, it not only gives delight to participate at this level, it is also an important part of the marketing of our business. The race always provides a superb spectacle due to the quality of horses competing. “

Hawke's Bay Racing has been fortunate to count Mudgway Partsworld as one of their key sponsors for over 12 years. The race has graduated to Group 1 status, since Mudgways’ first involvement in 1998, when Batavian pipped Tycoon Lil at the post.

Hawke’s Bay Racing General Manager Jason Fleming commented “We are thrilled that Mudgway Partsworld has chosen to extend their involvement with Hawke's Bay racing in their sponsorship of this race. The race, via the continued commitment of Wayne Mudgway, has thrust equine stars into the limelight and I am expecting another is just around the corner. The racing industry is ultra reliant on this level of commitment, and Wayne has been a important driver not only financially but administratively to develop this race to the highest level.”

The recent honours board for the race boasts a true who’s who of NZ Racing, with champions such as Sunline, Starcraft and Seachange victorious in recent seasons – to name but a few.

Click here to download the Hawke's Bay Racing Annual Report for 2009 .  Please note that due to the size of this file it may take a while to load. Thank you for your patience.

On Saturday 24th April Hawke's Bay Racing celebrated the 150th Anniversary of the Hawke's Bay Gold Cup.  Those taking part in the occassion had a superb day with stunning weather and outstanding racing.  The Cheval Lounge was abuzz with Life and Honorary Members, special guests and dignitaries enjoying a buffet meal, live MC, big screens, wonderful company and the very special CatWalk Charity Auction.

Melbourne Cup to star here before 150th running

15th April 2010

One of the most coveted racing prizes in the world, the Melbourne Cup, will be making a pre-race appearance in Hawke's Bay later this year as part of a 10-country global tour.

The Bay has been chosen as one of just four New Zealand destinations to host and display the stunning 18-carat gold 2010 Emirates Melbourne Cup - along with Auckland, Timaru and Cambridge. The destinations were chosen through their links with the cup and the great race.

 Back in 1962, the Sir James Wattie-owned horse Even Stevens won both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups and Sir James proudly brought the cup across the ditch and back to his Hastings home. Even Stevens was the first Kiwi horse to be flown directly to Melbourne for the great race.

Other Kiwi cup-winning horses, like Brew and Xcellent, also had Hawke's Bay connections.

The Victoria Racing Club has been touring the Melbourne Cup for the past eight years, where it has travelled some 186,000km.

The latest tour is a celebration of the 150th running of the Melbourne Cup, which will be staged, as is tradition, on the first Tuesday of November.

The cup will arrive in Hawke's Bay (with details of locations to come later) on October 9, as part of what a Victorian Racing Club spokesman described as a celebration of the "sporting, cultural and social significance of the race that stops a nation."

The tour, which kicked off at a function at Flemington racecourse yesterday, will see the cup hosted in locations including Japan, China, America, England, Singapore and Dubai - with the final legs of its 41,000km journey celebrated in New Zealand and across Australia.

Racing "royalty" accompanying the cup during some legs will be retired long-time chief steward Des Gleeson, Sheila Laxon (the first woman trainer to take the prize) and two-time winning jockeys like Roy Higgins (1965 and 1967) and John Letts (1972 and 1980).

The office of Hawke's Bay Racing has a new (part time) addition to the team.

Joining us on Monday 15th February she is a keen young graduate from Taranaki.

Frankie is not with us all the time but you may be lucky to meet her on one of your visits...