The 1000 Guineas is a set-weights Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...

 for three-year-old fillies run over a distance of 1600 m at Riccarton Park in Christchurch

Christchurch

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. As of 2009, it is held on the final Saturday of Christchurch's famous New Zealand Cup Week in November, which centres around the New Zealand Trotting Cup at Addington Raceway on the Tuesday. Riccarton's other major races during the week include the Coupland's Bakeries Mile on the Wednesday, the New Zealand 2000 Guineas

New Zealand 2000 Guineas

The 2000 Guineas is a set-weights Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses run over a distance of 1600 m at Riccarton Park in Christchurch, New Zealand...

 on the first Saturday and the thoroughbred equivalent of the New Zealand Cup, also on the final Saturday.

The 1000 Guineas is currently run for a purse of NZ$300,000.

History

Until 1973, both the New Zealand Oaks and the New Zealand Derby were run at Riccarton. When those races were moved to Trentham and Ellerslie respectively, Riccarton was awarded two new classic races, the 1000 and 2000 Guineas over 1600m. These races are based on those of the same name in the United Kingdom, run at Newmarket in the first weekend in May.

Both races have quickly established themselves on the New Zealand calendar, and the 1000 Guineas routinely attracts all of the country's leading fillies and, as a crucial race in the Filly Of The Year series, is regularly taken out by the eventual winner of that title.

Among the best recent winners are Katie Lee

Katie Lee (horse)

Katie Lee is a New Zealand Thoroughbred racemare who in November 2009 became the first horse in history to win both the New Zealand 2000 Guineas and the New Zealand 1000 Guineas....

, Seachange

Seachange (horse)

Seachange is a top New Zealand thoroughbred racehorse. She won a record seven Group I races in New Zealand. Her regular rider in New Zealand was Gavin McKeon....

, King's Rose, the brilliant but ill-fated Taatletail and Tycoon Lil.

Recent Winners of the New Zealand 1000 Guineas

Year	Winner	Jockey	Trainer	Owner
2011	Planet Rock	Hayden Tinsley	Dawn & Peter Williams	Barneswood Farm
2010	King's Rose	Opie Bosson	Jason Bridgman	G W Tsoi
2009	Katie Lee Katie Lee (horse) Katie Lee is a New Zealand Thoroughbred racemare who in November 2009 became the first horse in history to win both the New Zealand 2000 Guineas and the New Zealand 1000 Guineas....	Opie Bosson	Graeme & Debbie Rogerson	Sir Patrick & Lady Hogan
2008	Daffodil	Hayden Tinsley	Kevin Gray	G J & M J Chittick
2007	Insouciant	Michael Walker Michael Walker (jockey) Michael Walker is New Zealand jockey of Māori ancestry. He was born in Rotorua, New Zealand in the central districts of the North Island, although his family later moved to Waitara. At the age of 11 Walker approached noted thoroughbred trainer Allan Sharrock, asking for work with his horses....	Mark Walker	P. & P. Vela
2006	Dorabella	Jamie Bullard	Howie & Lorraine Mathews	Mrs NF & PE Izzett
2005	Seachange Seachange (horse) Seachange is a top New Zealand thoroughbred racehorse. She won a record seven Group I races in New Zealand. Her regular rider in New Zealand was Gavin McKeon....	Gavin McKeon	Ralph Manning	Karreman Bloodstock Ltd.
2004	Justa Tad	Vinny Colgan	Rudy Liefting	RP Liefting
2003	Taatletail	Michael Walker Michael Walker (jockey) Michael Walker is New Zealand jockey of Māori ancestry. He was born in Rotorua, New Zealand in the central districts of the North Island, although his family later moved to Waitara. At the age of 11 Walker approached noted thoroughbred trainer Allan Sharrock, asking for work with his horses....	Graeme Rogerson	PR Dickinson et al.
2002	The Jewel	Jason Laking	H & S Anderton	Dennis Bros.
2001	Final Destination	Gary Grylls	Wayne & Vannessa Hillis	T Van Beurden
2000	Elevenses	Mark Sweeney	G & D Sanders	Elevenses Syndicate
1999	Ad Alta	Leith Innes	Tony Gillies	P A & Mrs P A Payne
1998	Pace Invader	David Walsh	Alvin Clark	P R Dickinson, A R & E J Johnson & C T Wintle
1997	Tycoon Lil	Chris Johnson	Colin Jillings & Richard Yuill	P J Walker
1996	Emerald	Catherine Treymane
1995	Clear Rose	Noel Harris
1994	Tartan Tights	Chris Johnson
1993	Snap	Lance O'Sullivan Lance O'Sullivan Lance Anthony O'Sullivan was one of New Zealand's best-known jockeys, now retired.He won a record number of races totalling 2479, mainly in the 1980s including the 1989 Japan Cup on champion mare Horlicks, which broke the world record over 2400m...
1992	Nimue	Lance O'Sullivan Lance O'Sullivan Lance Anthony O'Sullivan was one of New Zealand's best-known jockeys, now retired.He won a record number of races totalling 2479, mainly in the 1980s including the 1989 Japan Cup on champion mare Horlicks, which broke the world record over 2400m...
1991	Merry Maiden	David Walsh
1990	Plume	R MacKay
1989	Phillipa Rush	Chris Johnson
1988	Olga's Pal	Lance O'Sullivan Lance O'Sullivan Lance Anthony O'Sullivan was one of New Zealand's best-known jockeys, now retired.He won a record number of races totalling 2479, mainly in the 1980s including the 1989 Japan Cup on champion mare Horlicks, which broke the world record over 2400m...
1987	Candide	Ross Elliot
1986	Cure	Grant Cooksley
1985	Imperial Angel	Jim Collett
1984	Canterbury Belle	Chris Johnson
1983	Burletta	Jim Cassidy
1982	Our Flight Our Flight (horse) Our Flight is a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the New Zealand Derby in 1984, one of the very few fillies to have done so in the history of the race....	Maurice Campbell
1981	Noble Heights	Gary Phillips