At the halfway mark of the New Zealand Summer bonus series, Puntura and Desert Lightning are leading the way to claim the $500,000 prize.

The pair took out the first two legs of the series, Gr.1 Thorndon Mile (1600m) and Aotearoa Classic (1600m) respectively, with the points series now set to kick up a gear.

To be eligible for the bonus, horses have had to have competed in either of the first two legs, before pressing on to contest in the Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) at Te Rapa on February 10 and Gr.1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m) at Ellerslie on March 9.

The Series winner will receive $500,000, the runner up $100,000, while the third placegetter will earn $50,000 for their connections (with the associated Trainers taking home 10% of the bonus payments).

Current standings:

9 Points - Puntura Desert, Lightning

7 Points - El Vencedor, Legarto

5 Points – Rudyard, Lady Telena

3 Points - One Bold Cat, Holymanz

2 Points – Arby, Sharp ‘N’ Smart, Sacred Satano, Wessex, Cognito, Sir Sterling, Channel Surfer, Accidental Tourist, Wild Night, Skyman, Lingjun Xiongfeng, Bad ‘n’ Bouj, Our Echo, Campionessa, Lightning Jack, Diss Is Dramatic, No Compromise, Habana, and Harlec.

Points for the remaining races are:

1^st - 13.5 points

2^nd - 10.5 points

3^rd - 7.5 points

4^th - 4.5 points

Remaining starters - 2 points