New Zealand Harness Jewels on offer this Saturday

Started in 2007, the series has alternated between the Ashburton and Cambridge with this year’s edition returning to Cambridge for the third time.

There will be over $NZ1.2 million in prizemoney on offer for the nine-race card with the pacing races worth $NZ150,000 each and the trotting races $NZ100,000.

The series offers a chance for two, three and four-year-old pacers to compete in either the Emerald (male) or Diamond (female) features while the squaregaiters take centre stage in the Ruby races.

With the series in its fifth year, the mighty pacer Changeover is part of an illustrious honour roll including Vulcan, Tintin In America and Springbank Richard as the horses who has been able to compete in and win more than one division of the Jewels.

The day will be covered exclusively on SKY Racing 2 with the first race at 10.00am (AEST).

New Zealand expert Michael Guerin will be taking punters through all of the Group 1 action and it is expected to be vital viewing for future reference with many of the runners trying to plunder the Breeders Crown riches in mid-August.

The main Australian interest on the day will come in the last race, to be run at 2.56pm (AEST) with Scandalman ($5) trekking over the ditch to compete in the Rebo Restaurant Sky City three-year-old Emerald.

This year’s Alabar Victoria Derby winner will have the task ahead of him with fellow NSW and Newcastle Derby combatant Smolda ($3.20) returning to the Shaky Isles for the race. The pair finished one-all in their Australian head-to-head battle this autumn and the race will give both a chance to be crowned the best three-year-old in the Southern Hemisphere.

Ideal Scott has other plans for the pair after he reportedly worked during the week in a scorching last half-mile. Michael Guerin tweeted “Ideal Scott blazes 54.4 last 800m at Cambridge workouts. Now clear fav for Jewels.” He remains a solid $2.80 favourite for the race with TAB Sportsbet after being backed into $2.20 with the New Zealand fixed odds service.

The other Australian-trained runner on the program is Dean Braun’s Mustang Mach, who takes on the preceding race, the four-year-old Emerald. Although he has drawn the outside of the front line (eight), he is coming off a Group 1 win in the Messenger stakes at Alexandra Park earlier this month.

His form prior to leaving Australia wasn’t bad either with a Group 1 win late last year in the McInerney Ford 4YO Classic at Gloucester Park followed up by a strong win at Tabcorp Park Melton in April after returning from a spell.

He is $5 third favourite with TAB Sportsbet.

Bettor Cover Lover will kick the program off for favourite backers with TAB Sportsbet opening the mare at $1.15.

She travelled to Australia last week to compete in the Group 1 Nevele R Stud Queen of the Pacific but lost all chance after galloping at the start. After catching the field up she could offer no more and finished up in ninth place.

The case will be different this week with a mobile start giving the Bettors Delight mare every chance to become the only horse to win in non-consecutive years.

For more information on New Zealand racing including the all of the fields for this weekend’s races simply click here or to see who TAB Sportsbet make favourite find all of the final field markets by clicking here.

In other NZ harness racing news the Waikato Times is reporting the untimely death of star trotter and former Harness Jewels three-year-old Ruby winner Paramount Geegee.

The now four-year-old gelding knocked himself in his final race start and developed a bone infection.

After not responding to anti-biotic treatment the four time Group 1 winning son of Pegasus Spur was sent to a paddock near trainer John Dickie’s house, but sadly passed away Monday morning.