Rugby, racing and here we go: Big Bay weekend for sport

Josh Kaifa of Hawke's Bay celebrates after scoring a try during the Mitre 10 Cup match between Otago and Hawke's Bay in Dunedin. PHOTO / PHOTOSPORT

Hawke's Bay's big weekend of racing and rugby has been given a big boost by the inclusion of most of the country's top gallopers in the opening race of Hawke's Bay Racing's Spring Carnival triple crown.

The $200,000 Tarzino Trophy on Saturday is headed by a trio of Waikato horses in Close Up, which provided an emotional Tarzino Trophy win last year for trainer Shelley Hale, of Cambridge, Caulfield Cup hopeful Jon Snow, and likely favourite Melody Belle, and 2017-2018 national Filly of the Year and South Island hope Savvy Coup.

Hawke's Bay Racing general manager Andrew Castles said the field is "pretty much what's around" in the country's top races at the moment, and provides the quality expected for New Zealand's first "Group 1" race of the new season.

The race, starting at 3.50pm on Saturday, is part of a big weekend for sport with the reopening of McLean Park in Napier.

The first XVs of Napier and Hastings Boys' High schools battle for wider Wellington Hurricanes region school honours at the park on Saturday and the Hawke's Bay Magpies have their first Mitre 10 Cup home match of the season, unbeaten after two matches and taking on Counties Manukau Steelers on Sunday, starting at 2.05pm.

While the schoolboys get to play the first match after the completion of a four-month drainage and turf replacement, the Magpies got to put the first sprigs into the new hybrid cover in training on Monday.

Hawke's Bay Rugby Union chief executive Jay Campbell was enthusiastic about the player response, and about the prospects for a bigger-than-usual early cup-round crowd at the weekend.

"The Magpies are travelling well, it's Fathers Day, it's a Sunday afternoon, and of course there's the new turf," he said.

Although MetService's longer-range forecast is for some showers in the afternoon, a northwesterly and warmer temperatures are expected.

"We'd be pleased with a crowd of 6-7000," Campbell said.

Horse trainer and cancer survivor Hale has two horses in Saturday's big race, on a day which doubles as a Daffodil Day cancer fundraiser, the spark for the emotion that prevail in last year's triumph.

The field for the Tarzino Trophy is: 1 Jon Snow, 2 Start Wondering, 3 Close Up, 4 Hiflyer, 5 Authentic Paddy, 6 Ocean Emperor, 7 Seventh Up, 8 Son of Maher, 9 Wyndspelle, 10 Scott Base, 11 Underthemoonlight, 12 New York Minute, 13 Our Abbadean, 14, Sensible Princess, 15 Melody Belle, 16 Savvy Coup. Emergencies: 17 Francaletta Girl, 18 Magnum.