Photo: Trish Dunell
By Dennis Ryan, Raceform
After a decade of sponsorship for the Pearl Series that underpins filly and mare racing in this country, New Zealand Bloodstock Insurance has raised the stakes by broadening its support ahead of the new season.
The NZB Insurance Pearl Series has already benefited filly and mare races to the tune of a significant six-figure sum, which will grow under a revised structure encompassing those already enrolled up to their five-year-old seasons as well as new recruits enrolled into the scheme.
Each of the more than 100 Pearl Series races contested through next season and beyond will carry a $10,000 bonus if the winner is enrolled, as well as payments of $500 to the trainer and nominator of the winning horse. Additionally, an enrolled horse finishing second in a series race will receive $2,000, while the third placegetter will receive $1,000.
“It’s way better than a ticket in a raffle,” says NZB Insurance spokesman Jim Bruford, “In fact under the enhanced structure it’s a no-brainer. Across the series year by year there are just over 300 opportunities to win back your $1,000 enrolment fee with a third placing, and the odds are also high to double your money with a second placing.”
Bruford has been one of the guiding hands in the development of the NZB Insurance Pearl Series, which fits well alongside New Zealand Bloodstock’s sponsorship of the prestigious NZB Filly of the Year Series and the Southern Filly of the Year Series.
“We recognise the merit in supporting races that provide an incentive for the connections of fillies and mares and after 10 years we wanted to see some invigoration of the Pearl Series. We believe that will be achieved under the revised structure.”
The deadline for early bird enrolments to the scheme is next Tuesday, May 31, at a fee of $1,000 plus GST. All Southern Hemisphere-bred fillies born in the 2020 breeding season are eligible and the last chance to nominate beyond that is July 31 at a fee of $1,500 plus GST.
Bruford has been a keen supporter of the scheme himself over the years with the fillies he and syndicate members have invested in. “My racing partners and I are in 100 percent,” he said. “We’ve won several bonuses over the years and the seven yearling fillies we bought this year as well as one I bred will all be nominated.”
The NZB Insurance Pearl Series is administered by the NZ Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, for further information click HERE or phone 07 827 7727.
