Harness Racing Australia (HRA) is delighted to announce the establishment of the Maori Miss Award to recognise excellence in trotting breeding.
Previously trotting broodmares were eligible to win the Australian Broodmare of the Year Award title through the “Winona Award”, but now there is a stand-alone Australian Trotting Broodmare Of The Year Award title to celebrate square-gaiting’s super producers – The “Maori Miss Award”.
Square-gaiting dams have competed against their pacing counterparts since the Winona Award was established in 1976.
The HRA Executive has now moved to celebrate the success of broodmares in each gait individually.
From this year the Winona Award will be awarded to Australia’s Pacing Broodmare Of The Year.
The establishment of the Maori Miss Award will allow Australia’s standardbred breeding industry to shine a spotlight on magnificent achievements in the trotting gait.
“Australia has a rich history of producing outstanding trotters that have completed spectacular feats on racetracks around the country and further abroad,” HRA Chief Executive Andrew Kelly said.
“The strength and proud history of the trotting gait and its outstanding contribution to our breeding industry will now be further recognised through the Maori Miss Award.
“The award is deserved celebration for trotting breeding and the mares that produce our star racehorses”, he said.
When the HRA Executive established its new award for trotting broodmares one name stood out, the champion broodmare Maori Miss, who has not only left one of Australia’s greatest ever trotters, but is also responsible for an incredible square-gaiting legacy spanning six decades.
The dam of arguably Australia’s greatest ever trotter Maori’s Idol, Maori Miss completed the outstanding feat of winning the Winona Award on three consecutive occasions from 1977-79. Remarkably, she is one of just two trotting mares to win Australia’s previous Broodmare Of The Year title and both are from her famed ‘Maori’ breed.
Maori Miss’s daughter, Maori Trump, the dam of former Australian Horse Of The Year Noopy Kiosk, took out the title in 1996.
Maori Miss’s legacy is responsible for a host of star trotters including Blitzthemcalder, Sumthingaboutmaori and Maori Time.
Maori Miss continues to have an impact on Australia’s top-level trotting races today through the deeds of Pink Galahs.
“Maori Miss has left an indelible mark on Australia’s standardbred breeding industry and the trotting gait,” Kelly said.
“She is responsible for arguably the most influential trotting family in our country’s history, so it is only fitting that excellence in the breeding of trotters can be celebrated and recognised through this wonderful mare”.
The Maori Miss Award will be decided by votes from Australia’s six state breeding bodies.
The inaugural winner will be announced in early February.
