CLICK HERE TO GO BACK

The day junior driver Ben Hope has been dreaming of since he was a child arrived on Friday when Muscle Mountain chased down his star rival Sundees Son to win the Group One New Zealand Trotting Championship.



Hope showed the poise of a driver well beyond his 21 years when expertly guiding the rising star of New Zealand trotting to victory in the 2600m Addington feature.

And in doing so, Hope joined a select group of New Zealand drivers to have tasted top-level success as a junior driver.

While his career has spanned just four seasons and is certainly in it’s early stages, Hope’s dreams of Group One glory can be tracked much further back.
“I have dreamed about this since even before primary school.”

“I can remember walking around with my whip and going to school pretending I was driving.”

“There has never been anything else I would rather do, it has always been harness racing.”

“To win races is really cool, but to get a Group One is phenomenal.”

Hope’s first Group One win was made sweeter by Muscle Mountain chasing down the star of New Zealand trotting in Sundees Son.

After an epic home-straight battle, Hope and his four-year-old drew clear of the Dominion winners and John Dunn to score.

Hope admitted the feeling when he crossed the line was like no other.

“It was unbelievable, firstly to beat a horse of Sundees Son’s calibre was phenomenal enough.”
“But to win a Group One with Muscle Mountain was unbelievable.”

Hope had Muscle Mountain in front early when the four-year-old showed a surprising amount of gate speed.
After being crossed early, Tony Herlihy and Bolt For Brilliance took the front before handing it to Dunn and Sundees Son.

That left Hope with a key decision to make – when to angle off the pegs to avoid being caught three back on the markers.

The junior driver timed his move to perfection, waiting as long as he could until moving out near the 800m.
“I knew I was following two good horses but at the same time I knew I didn’t want to be too far off Sundees Son.”

“I made the decision to pull out and to the horse’s credit he stuck on well.”

Hope’s breakout win also made more special as it came for his parents, trainers Greg and Nina Hope.

The junior driver paid credit to them and owner Ian Dobson for having the faith in him to be partnered with such a brilliant trotter.

“Mum and Dad have obviously been my biggest supporters.”
“They have put me on horses that not many young people get to drive.”

“I am very thankful to them and I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am.”

“And I have to give a lot of thanks to Ian Dobson as well, I am pretty lucky to be able to drive a horse like this.”

Sundees Son was game in defeat, fighting hard to finish three-quarters of a length from Muscle Mountain.
Bolt For Brilliance held third after looking under plenty of pressure on the home turn.

The trio are unlikely to clash again this season.
Muscle Mountain’s next big goal is the Harness Jewels.
The Hope camp have said a Rowe Cup campaign is unlikely for their stable star.


Credit: HRNZ

Canterbury horseman Bob Butt continued his family’s legacy in the Gr.1 Livamol NZ Trotting Free-For-All Mobile Trot (1980m) at Addington Raceway on Tuesday when winning the feature trot with Heavyweight Hero.

Butt became the third generation of his family to win the race after his father David Butt drove Call Me Now to back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995, and again in 2008 with Stig. While Butt’s grandfather, Robin Butt, won the race in 1971 with Tony Bear.

Fittingly Butt, who also trains Heavyweight Hero, carried his grandfather’s green and white colours to victory on Friday, and he was duly rapt with the win.
“It is great,” he said. “If you can’t be happy with that I don’t know what is wrong with you.”

After an initial false start in which The Dominator broke from the ace barrier, he galloped once again on take two, which allowed Butt to find the perfect running position three back on the markers.

Heavyweight Hero did no work when trailing race favourite Majestic Man and Cracker Hill throughout and Butt was able to utilise the passing lane to slingshot the leaders and win by three-quarters of a length over Cracker Hill with a further three-quarters of a length back to Muscle Mountain in third.

“When The Dominator galloped early I thought I would try and get Nathan’s (Williamson, driver) back (on Majestic Man) but Cracker Hill was punting through and with those two in front of me, three back on the fence was the place to be because I wouldn’t have to go around one and it worked out well,” Butt said.

“I got a slingshot through (when Brad Williamson elected not to take the passing lane with Cracker Hill) and he is a great old horse and is so genuine.”

Heavyweight Hero shaved almost one second off the 1980m national record to go alongside his other national record over 2600m.

Heavyweight Hero headed into Tuesday off the back of four consecutive runner-up results and Butt was delighted to get that elusive Group One victory with his consistent trotter.

“He hasn’t gone a bad race so he deserves it,” Butt said.

“He seemed as good as ever ahead of today, he just needed a run. He is thereabouts always so we just needed a bit of luck and we got it.

Credit : Joshua Smith, HRNZ Harness News 10 Nov 2020


Credit: Joshua Smith

Robert Dunn has long held Master Musician as the best horse he has trained, his email address even bears the pacers name, but his near 30-year reign in that pinnacle spot could be coming to an end.

Sundees Son is quickly coming after that crown and inched closer at Addington Raceway on Friday when taking out the Gr.1 Fred Shaw Memorial NZ Trotting Championship (2600m).

It was the ninth Group One victory for the seven-year-old gelding and he once again stamped himself as the top trotter of the modern era in New Zealand.



From his ace draw, Sundees Son was crossed early by Muscle Mountain, however, driver John Dunn immediately sent his charge forward to recapture the lead.

In his customary style, Sundees Son ran his opposition into the ground, posting a new New Zealand record of 3:10.4 for the 2600m mobile trip, beating a brave Muscle Mountain by 1-3/4 lengths.

“It was a great drive by Johnny,” said Dunn, who trains in partnership with his daughter-in-law Jenna.
“You could see him looking across and he knew Ben (Hope, driver of Muscle Mountain) had the momentum and he did the right thing in not pushing Sundees Son to try and hold him.

“Luckily enough there was enough space to come out straight away. It was a perfect drive by Johnny, as per usual.

“He seems to have that ability to run most of them into the ground. When he is in that zone, he is very hard to get past.

“The horse gets all the accolades he deserves; he is just unreal.”

Sundees Son has comfortably earnt the title as the best trotter Dunn has trained, and he said he has drawn alongside two stable predecessors that have earnt champion status in his eyes.
“Master Musician and Mainland Banner were two champions in their own right and he is up there with them,” Dunn said.

I am pretty privileged to have had three champions in our care, it has been pretty special.

“He is getting towards the top of the tree because he has had nine Group Ones and there could be another couple to come yet.”

Sundees Son will get the opportunity to add to his Group One tally when he heads north to Auckland this weekend to tackle a number of autumn feature races in the coming month.

“He is coming north on Sunday along with Five Wise Men, who I would say Craig (Edmonds, co-trainer of Five Wise Men and travelling foreman for Dunn’s stable) would be absolutely thrilled with running third, and Highgrove.
“Highgrove will target the Sires Stakes and Derby, and Sundees Son will have the National Trot, ANZAC and Rowe Cups.

“If he happened to win all three, dare I say it, I might have to put him ahead of the Master, but that is going to break my heart saying that.”

Credit : Joshua Smith, Harness News Desk, 9 April 2022


Credit: Joshua Smith

Addington racegoers cheered home a champion as Sundees Son produced one of the greatest trotting performances in harness racing history to win his third straight Renwick Farms Dominion Trot.



The Robert and Jenna Dunn trained superstar had to dig deep into his stamina reserves to win the Show Day feature, willing himself to an incredible victory after fighting out a home straight war with runner-up Muscle Mountain.
The roaring reception Sundees Son and driver John Dunn got when they returned to the birdcage demonstrated the enormity of the trotter’s victory.
Robert Dunn dared to compare the epic battle between Sundees Son and Muscle Mountain with New Zealand’s most recognised test of horse racing’s stamina – Bonecrusher and Our Waverly Star’s 1984 Cox Plate.
Nobody on track argued with the trainer given what they had just witnessed.
“It was like Bone Crusher and Our Waverly Star coming down the straight – our guy is just an out-and-out champion.”
Trained by Dunn and daughter-in-law Jenna, with son John driving and Jenna’s father Craig Edmonds at the horse’s side every day, Sundees Son preparation is a family affair.
John Dunn summed up exactly what the horse meant to the Dunn-Edmonds clan after Sundees Son’s epic win when returning to meet his hordes of adoring fans.”
“He means a lot to them, but he means even more to us.”
The enormity of Sundees Son’s victory was set up by the amount of work the horse was forced to do in the running.
Muscle Mountain and driver Ben Hope gained a key advantage over their main rivals when finding the lead and parking Sundees Son.
Dunn pressed forward to take to eventually find the front before immediately being attacked by Oscar Bonavena.
That early tempo meant the first half of the Dominion was run quicker than the closing half, setting up a battle of attrition over the final 400m.
Sundees Son was clearly headed by Muscle Mountain inside the final 200 metres, but the winner somehow lifted himself to a courageous victory.
“He must have a massive ticker there, he has got the personality to go with it but he has got the motor.”
“He was out on his feet on the furlong, Muscle Mountain ranged right up to me and looked like he was going to go straight past.”
“To dig deep like that, he is a true champion.”
Sundees Son is bred and raced by Colin and Nancy Hair, who now have three Dominion trophies to put on their mantlepiece.
Immediately after yesterday’s win Hair admitted he was still coming to terms with what he had witnessed.
Sundees Son stopped the clock in 3-58.4, slower that his 3-56.6 record breaking Dominion win last year.
A strong wind and much cooler conditions at Addington than in 2021 are likely to have had an effect on the race time, despite the hectic tempo of this year’s race.


Credit: Johnny Turner HRNZ News 11 Nov 2022

Muscle Mountain capped a massive day for owner Ian Dobson at Addington Raceway’s Grand Prix Meeting on Sunday.

His victory in the Group 1 New Zealand Trotting Free-For-All (1980m) was Dobson’s third of the meeting, following Don’t Stop Dreaming’s win in the Group 1 Ace Of Spades (1980m) and Akuta’s win in the Group 1 New Zealand Derby (2600m).

With archrival Sundees Son withdrawal from the race earlier in the week and Bolt For Brilliance’s absence as a result of the Inter Dominions, Muscle Mountain was backed into a short-priced $1.30 favourite for the feature trot.

From his ace draw, Ben Hope drove Muscle Mountain positively off the mobile arm and took an early lead, seeing off an early challenge from Majestic Man.

Hope was able to dictate terms up front and Muscle Mountain looked in control throughout, running away to a 2-1/2 length victory for trainers Greg and Nina Hope, and posting a new New Zealand record of 2:22.9.

Muscle Mountain was brave when runner-up to Sundees Son in the Gr.1 Dominion Trot (3200m) last month and Hope was rapt to be able to go one better on Sunday.

“His work after the Dominion has been superb. He had a week off after it and he came back awesome,” he said.

“He looks phenomenal, and he has been training phenomenal.

“There are no certainties in racing, but I knew that if he was on his game it would take a special horse to beat him over the short distance.

“In my opinion, he is the best horse in the race and I think you have to drive him like it.”

Hope was pleased to get another Group One for Dobson, particularly having recorded his first elite-level victory in the bike behind Muscle Mountain in the NZ Trotting Championship (2600m) last year.

“Ian has shown a lot of faith in me, so it is great to reward him with another Group One win,” Hope said.

Victory in the Trotting Free-For-All is nothing new for the Hopes, with the Woodend Beach operation having tasted success in the race with their former top trotter Monbet.

“Monbet won it twice. He was a super horse and so is this guy,” Hope said.



Credit: By Joshua Smith, Harness News Desk

Muscle Mountain’s rivals can expect the heat to get even more intense after the trotting star claimed his second win in the Fred Shaw Memorial Group 1 New Zealand Trotting Championship.

Backers of the red-hot favourite only had cause for concern in the last 100m of the Addington feature, when the Greg and Nina Hope trained six-year-old appeared to lose concentration.

Driver Ben Hope stoked up the big striding squaregaiter and he went one better than his second to Sundees Son in last year’s edition.

Hope overcame an incredibly challenging seven days to win the race after being stuck down with what doctors thought was a bacterial infection which had him unwell into the early part of this week.

The reinsman controlled the pace with Muscle Mountain, speeding home in quick sectionals to score in a time that was seven seconds slower than last year’s running.
Though thrilled to win, Hope’s first thoughts were of regret because his ‘stackem up and sprintem home’ tactics didn’t let Muscle Mountain show off his huge motor.
“I don’t think I did the horse justice with how I judged the pace but lucky enough he’s superstar and was able to overcome it,” Hope said.

That seems bad news for the horse’s rivals on his upcoming North Island campaign.
The Hope camp plan to bypass the upcoming Waikato Trotters Flying Mile before the targeting the Lyell Creek Stakes.

Don’t be surprised if Ben Hope lets his superstar trotter roll along at Alexandra Park following the small fright he gave the reinsman in the late stages of Friday night’s feature.

Aardiebythehill was excellent in second and looked a winning chance when making ground in the late stages as Muscle Mountain shortened stride.
Midnight Dash ran into third ahead of Oscar Bonavena who ran a big race, sitting parked after losing ground after a rare early gallop.

Credit : Jonny Turner, HRNZ News 1 April 2023


Credit: Jonny Turner