The spring racing spotlight is heading to Te Rapa this year, with one of New Zealand’s great Group One miles set for a fresh look and feel in 2025.
The Windsor Park Plate (previously the Arrowfield Stud Plate) will in 2025 be run as the Howden Insurance Mile on Saturday 27 September by Waikato Thoroughbred Racing. It’s a new name and a new venue for a race that’s seen some of the very best thoroughbreds in the country claim the glory.
Run over 1600 metres at weight-for-age, it previously sat as the second jewel in what’s been known as the Hawke’s Bay Triple Crown and has seen many names including the aforementioned Windsor Park Plate, Arrowfield Stud Plate, Stoney Bridge Stakes and the Glenmorgan Generous Stakes. For decades, it’s been the measuring stick for the best horses in New Zealand, and often the place where campaigns are launched towards even bigger spring and summer targets both in New Zealand and offshore.
Its honour roll reads like a hall of fame. Melody Belle made the race her own with a remarkable three-peat between 2018 and 2020, a stretch of dominance that underlined her class – and she, of course, went on to break the record for the number of Group 1 races won with 14. Kawi, Seachange, Gingernuts, Mustang Valley, Mufhasa and, most recently, One Bold Cat have all had their moment in the spotlight here and we can’t wait to see who’ll add their name to the line up next weekend.
The nearly half-a-million dollar ($400,000) purse is part of the attraction, but so too is the timing. Early spring is when trainers are testing form and shaping their plans, and a win in this race can be a launching pad to other Group 1 spoils. Early nominations read like a who’s who of racing in New Zealand at the moment with newly crowned Horse of the Year, El Vencedor on the list as well as Proisir Plate champ, Quintessa, Group 1 winners, Legarto, La Crique, Waitak and last year’s winner One Bold Cat all in the mix at this stage.
With the announcement back in July that Howden Insurance was coming on board as the sponsor, and the subsequent announcement that they are taking naming rights to the VRC Derby across the ditch, this global brand is strengthening its longstanding association with racing worldwide, and we’re thrilled to see them backing WTR, and New Zealand racing, with this marquee Group 1.
So when the gates open at Te Rapa on 27 September, it won’t just be another mile race. It will be another chapter in a story that stretches back decades, one that has celebrated champions and inspired crowds time and again. We can’t wait to host the 2025 running and encourage all to come along and watch what will be our first Group 1 race of the season.
Details:
What: Group 1 Howden Insurance Mile
When: Saturday, 27 September as part of St John’s Foundation Raceday
Who: Fields will be out the Wednesday prior