It’s Friday night and that means dual racing under the lights at Addington and Alexandra Park. The return of Wag Star will create a lot of interest in the south while Greased Lightnin aims for a third win in just five career starts at Alexandra Park.
Wag Star favoured for winning resumption at Addington
By Michael Guerin
Wag Star is ready to start making up for his lost summer at Addington tonight.
But exactly what his campaign looks like heading forward could be decided by his performance in tonight’s feature pace, the Studholme Bloodstock handicap Pace (8.26pm) .
Wag Star looked every inch an open class pacer in the making when he returned with a massive performance in the spring and was then second to Tact McLeod in an open class race at Addington, form that has stacked up since.
After runs in the Kaikoura Cup and the junior free-for-all he missed his main target the Invercargill Cup with a virus that forced trainer Craig Ferguson to let him miss most of the summer.
“Once that happened he was better off having a spell,” says Ferguson.
“But he has come up really well this time and won both his trials without us having the blinds on.
“He is probably going into this Friday as ready as he was back in the spring and we all saw what he did back then.
He is currently a $2.40 favourite.
“So it looks a good comeback race for him, especially only being off 10m.”
The field contains little winning form but the obvious danger is Dalton Shard, who while he hasn’t won in a while has been in great form, with a second in the Invercargill Cup and fourth in the Auckland Cup.
He has had a brief let up too but like Wag Star has plenty of options this new season.
“This week might tell us which way to go, north or south,” explains Ferguson.
“He could stick around in the south for the country cups or maybe head up north for some of the better races up there.”
Could that possibly extend to a slot in the $1million Race by Betcha at Cambridge on April 4?
“Obviously that would be great if the opportunity came up and he was racing well enough.”
Tonight’s meeting sees another early season 2YO race, the Barron Bloodstock Class of 2025 Mobile Pace (7.29pm) with the stables represented in the first of the season two weeks ago, Ross Houghton and Ken Barron, joined by debutantes from Mark and Nathan Purdon and Team Telfer.
The Telfer runner Sonofamistery is a $1.90 favourite following the scratching of debut winner Showmethetanlines.
Greased Lightnin aiming to go three in a row at Alexandra Park
By Michael Guerin
Learning curves don’t come much steeper than the one Greased Lightnin finds himself on at Alexandra Park tonight.
But co-trainer Scott Phelan says he wouldn’t be surprised if the three-year-old keeps on winning and reveals himself as a Derby contender.
Greased Lightnin contests the opener, the appropriately named Purdon and Phelan – ATC Leading Trainers Mobile Pace (6.15pm), on a short and sharp night at Alexandra Park and he finds himself being fast forwarded into intermediate grade.
As can sometimes happen at Alexandra Park Greased Lightnin has come from a maiden race two starts ago to tonight taking on horses like his own stablemate Invisible, who a few starts ago was racing Miracle Mile runner-up Sooner The Better and Jolimont in a $100,000 open race.
Phelan, who trains in partnership with the legend Barry Purdon, says while the two stable reps are coming in with vastly different form lines he can’t choose between them.
“We all know Invisible can mix it with those better horses and he can win this week if he shows his best,” says Phelan.
“But I am not sure Greased Lightnin is any inferior ability wise.
“Sure he is younger and still improving but he has real ability and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in some of the big races over the next few months.
“So while it is a big step up this week we wouldn’t be stunned if he won again.”
If Greased Lightnin can make it three wins on end it could set up a family double as his older half sister Ultimate Racy Girl also finds herself in a race she can win, Race 4 – the Woodlands Stud ’25 Yearling Draft Junior Mobile Pace.
She had her highs and lows in the second half of last season but is better than the grade she finds herself in tonight.
While the Purdon/Phelan team has a small but important hand at tonight’s meeting two of their stable stars start their Sydney campaigns at Menangle tomorrow night.
Sooner The Better returns against a genuinely top class local in Captains Knock at Menangle as he works his way toward the Miracle Mile, which has automatic qualifiers in two weeks.
“He is really well and will go a good race but he will also improve with this week,” says Phelan.
Better Knuckle Up makes his Australian debut in the $50,000 Hondo Grattan Stakes, which is a qualifier for the Chariots of Fire on March 1.
He meets NZ Derby winner We Walk By Faith and a strong bunch of Australian four-year-olds and faces the Menangle fresh up curse, with the big mile track notoriously difficult for New Zealand horses to win their first start on, particularly in a Group-level mile.
The stable star Merlin will bypass tomorrow’s meeting and resume at Menangle next week as he also looks to qualify for the Miracle Mile via the lead up races on March 1.
