The Passing of David Bennett
Monday 21 February 2011
The Otaki-Maori Racing Club’s Group One Weight for Age race on February 26th will benefit from a new major sponsor with Auckland’s Haunui Farm taking up the naming rights of the race for a minimum of three years.
Now to be known as The Haunui Farm Group 1 WFA Classic, the 1600m contest has been won in recent times by the likes of Mufhasa, Culminate, Alamosa, Sir Slick and Darci Brahma – horses that have all gone on to attain further success in their racing careers. “We see it as important to be associated with racing at the elite level and when you take a look at the list of past winners, this race is second to none,” says Mark Chitty, General Manager of Haunui Farm. “Opportunities to sponsor at Group One level are few and far between in New Zealand and when we were approached by the team at RACE, we felt it was the right time to step up,” he said. “The New Zealand racing industry is at a critical stage and we felt it was important to step up and support the local industry and what better way to do it than by sponsoring a Group One WFA race,” said Mark.
“We have a strong association with the Central Districts and have a growing number of clients in the area,” said Mark. “We are very pleased to formally associate ourselves with RACE by sponsoring at Otaki and we look forward to seeing the race continue as one of New Zealand’s leading WFA contests,” says Mark.
The Haunui Farm Group 1 WFA is consistently among the highest rated races in New Zealand with last season’s victor Mufhasa, this year’s winner of the JR & N Burkett $1,000,000 Telegraph Handicap at the Century City Wellington Cup Carnival. The past winners list reads as a who’s who of New Zealand racing highlighting the quality and strength required to win the Otaki-Maori Racing Clubs flagship race.
RACE Inc Chief Executive Matt Reid adds “We are delighted to have a new partner involved with one of our region’s, and the industry’s, most significant races.
We are very pleased to formalise a long term partnership with Haunui and this race sponsorship reinforces their commitment to the New Zealand industry, an industry that they have been involved in for over sixty years.” The Haunui Farm Group 1 WFA Classic 2011 will be held at Otaki-Maori Racing Club on Saturday 26th February.