The Star: April 22, 2021

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[Edition datE]
The Star Thursday April 22 2021
SPORT
Football tournament to honour
Steve Sumner under way
A NEW football
tournament named to
honour former All Whites
captain Steve Sumner,
who died of cancer in
2017, launches at the
Christchurch Football
Centre today.
The Steve Sumner
Youth Cup runs until
Tuesday and is expected
to feature seven-a-side
teams from age groups
ranging from under-9 to
under-18s.
England-born Sumner
captained New Zealand
at the 1982 World Cup
in Spain and during a
long domestic career he
claimed four national titles
and won the Chatham
Cup four times with
Christchurch United from
1973-1989. An attacking
midfielder, Sumner played
105 games for the All
Whites from 1976-1988,
scoring 27 goals.
He was diagnosed with
prostate cancer in August
2015 and died, aged 61, on
February 8, 2017.
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Top pacer ends
season on a high
• By Joshua Smith
MULTIPLE GROUP One
winner Self Assured ended
his season on a high with
a hard fought victory in
the Group Three Rangiora
Classic on Sunday.
The Rolleston-based
Hayden Cullen-trained
five-year-old found an
early position in the oneone
behind stablemate
Spankem, before the pair
pushed forward and driver
Jonny Cox secured the lead
with 1800m to go.
Self Assured was left
untouched up front until
driver Tim Williams extricated
Spankem out of the
trail to apply pressure on
his stablemate turning for
home. Spankem steadily
eked into Self Assured’s
lead, but the latter was able
to hold on to record a head
victory, with a further
five lengths back to Cranbourne
in third.
Cullen was pleased with
the efforts of both of his
runners and said Spankem
showed a lot of heart down
the home straight.
“Spankem tried his
absolute heart out but just
fell short once again. You
can’t take anything away
from the other guy (Self
Assured), he is a very good
horse.
“I think if it was a
2000m race it might have
been a different story, but
over that distance Self Assured
just loves it and he is
very hard to get past.”
His victory on Sunday
brings the curtain down
on what can only be described
as a stellar season
for Self Assured.
The son of Bettor’s
Delight won six of his 12
starts this term, highlighted
by his win in the
Gr.1 New Zealand Trotting
Cup last November.
He came into Cullen’s
care in January and placed
in his first three starts
before winning his next
THUMBS UP: Trainer Hayden Cullen and driver
Jonny Cox after Self Assured’s win in the
Rangiora Classic on Sunday. Above: Self Assured
holds on to beat stablemate Spankem.
PHOTOS: HARNESS NEWS DESK
three on-end, including
the Easter Cup earlier this
month.
While Self Assured
is heading for a welldeserved
break, Cullen is
looking at pressing on with
Spankem, with Australia
a possible option now the
two-way travel bubble has
opened up across the Tasman.
“I’m not 100 per cent
sure with Spankem yet.
We might have the
Queensland carnival on
the cards, but we are just
playing it by ear at the moment.
Over the next few
weeks we will make plans
on where we are going to
go with him.”
Spankem will likely be
Cullen’s only runner heading
across the Tasman, but
he said he could be joined
by Amazing Dream after
the Harness Jewels in June.
“Amazing Dream is
racing here until the Jewels
and then the owners are
pretty keen to take her
over there as well, but it
won’t be under my name,”
Cullen said.
Meanwhile, Cullen
celebrated a treble at
Rangiora on Sunday after
also recording victories
with Franco Indie and
Pace N Pride.
Franco Indie won the
Canterbury Print Services
Mobile Pace (2000m) by
two lengths. It was the
two-year-old gelding’s first
raceday run and Cullen
said he will now head to
the spelling paddock to
strengthen for his threeyear-old
season.
“Franco Indie is a lovely
horse,” Cullen said. “He
is going to go out for a
break now, he has done a
great job. He is a big horse
and he is still quite weak.
I think a three-year-old is
his future.
“He will go out now and
hopefully get ready for the
Sires’ Stakes in November.”
Cullen was also pleased
with the winning efforts
of Pace N Pride in the
Kotare Downs Rangiora
3YO Stakes (2000m) after
his unplaced run in the
Gr.1 New Zealand Pacing
Derby (2600m) a week
prior.
“Pace N Pride didn’t
get much of a run in the
Derby,” Cullen said. “He
did look the class horse in
the field (on Sunday).
“He is a nice horse
and he will keep ticking
away until the Jewels,
that’s about all there is for
him.”
– Harness News Desk
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