History of the Southern Supremacy Stakes

Bruce Stewart Contributor

At harness racing’s Diamonds Day at Ascot Park on Sunday 21^st April the long established Group Two Alabar Southern Supremacy Stakes will be run.

It’ll be the 21^st year Alabar has sponsored the great race and this year the Supremacy will be run for its highest ever stake of $60,000.

The inaugural Supremacy was run at Wyndham in 1984 for a stake of $6,500 and was won by Crafty Kooba (Timely Knight) owned by Murray Bradford and trained at Mataura by Jimmy Bond.

Like the Southland Oaks the Supremacy was shared around all four Southland racetracks until 1994 when it was run at Invercargill for the next six years. It then headed to Winton for the following five years and since 2005 has been held at Invercargill except in 2014 when it was run at Gore.

Since 2005 it’s been run over 2700 metres and have been won by some of Southland’s best three years olds - Malaz (1985), Giovanetto (1992), No Return (1993), Howard Bromac (2003), Roman Gladiator (2004), Duke Of Wellington (2018) and Ragazzo Mach (2021).

Three drivers have driven back to back Supremacy’s. Simon Pavlovich with Atitagain and Annies Boy (1997 and 1998), John Dunn with Elios and No Doctor Needed (2013 and 2014) and Nathan Williamson with Ragazzo Mach and Sand Wave (2021 and 2022).

As a trainer Mark Purdon’s name is on the trophy four times whilst local drivers Robin Swain and Brent Barclay have each driven three winners in the Supremacy.

The race record of 3-17.8 is held by the 2021 winner Ragazzo Mach.

For two consecutive years the race was fortunate to have two champion pacers win the three year old feature – Changeover in 2007 and Auckland Reactor in 2008.

Southland trainers have won seventeen of the forty Southern Supremacy Stakes. The race has carried Group status for all but one of its years (1984).

Next Sunday the Invercargill HRC will host Diamonds Day at Ascot Park. Impressive feature races include the $110,000 Group One Diamond Creek Farm Two Year Old Classic, the $60,000 Group Two Macca Lodge/Nevele R Southern Oaks, the $60,000 Group Two Alabar Supremacy Stakes, the $50,000 Group Three Entain Two Year Old Mobile Trot and the $40,000 Regent Car Court Southern Country Cups Final.

This truly spectacular day of racing will get underway at 12 noon.