It’s Friday night, and what a Friday night it is with a massive night of Group and Listed races at Addington.
By Michael Guerin
Harness racing’s King Midas has been back in Canterbury this week and he likes what he sees.
But even Mark Purdon admits winning won’t come easy at a star-studded Addington meeting tonight.
The meeting hosts six black type races which when you add it to Alexandra Park tonight and Aussie champions Leap To Fame and Just Believe racing at Melton tomorrow to prepare for IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup week, we have the strongest weekend of harness racing of the year so far.
That is one reason Purdon, who these days lives in Matamata, has been back down in Canterbury helping son and training partner Nathan prepare their team headed by one of NZ’s best pacers Don’t Stop Dreaming, who returns in tonight’s Get Your Cup Week Tickets Now at addington.co.nz Handicap Pace (8.55pm).
“Nathan has been doing a great job with them and the horses look good but it has been nice to be back down here training together this week.”
Purdon says Don’t Stop Dreaming (R9, No.11) is in a good place and while he will improve with the run he can still win from his 20m handicap even up against some race hardened rivals in Tact McLeod and Republican Party, to who he has to concede a 10m start.
Add in former Victoria Cup winner Rock N Roll Doo, now trained by the Dalgetys, and it is an interesting NZ Cup lead-up.
On a night of stunning age group racing the older glamour trotters also clash and Purdon is tipping Oscar Bonavena (R5) to be a big improver in the $40,000 Group 3 Dancinginthedark M (USA) Canterbury Park Cup.
“He went really well last week and has come on from it and I think he might be our best winning chance of the night,” he suggests.
That is a huge call considering Oscar Bonavena opened $9 and meets New Zealand’s best trotter Muscle Mountain and rising star Bet N Win, who was super impressive pushing Don’t Stop Dreaming close at the trials last week.
If he can step cleanly and stay in front of the backmarkers Bet N Win can continue his rise up the ranks but after getting as short as $2.50 this week that didn’t leave much meat on the bone.
One of the Purdon’s stars who was backed as soon as the markets opened for tonight was Chase A Dream in the Group 1 $100,000 Canprint Flying Stakes and while he can clearly win Mark warns he could be vulnerable if the race becomes anything like last year’s hectic version.
“It is tricky for a colt going into these races fresh up and if Blair [Orange,driver] burns early I reckon the pressure will keep coming.”
Chase A Dream meets arch rival Cold Chisel, who chased home Merlin in the open class race at Alexandra Park last Friday, and the latter looks the better value of the two in what is a super race.
Of the other feature races the NZB Standardbred Harness 2YO Million Trot (Race 3 – 5.44pm) looks a lottery, with differing concerns over the three form horses while the very talented Odina can win but she is on debut.
Northern mare Mantra Blue (R6, No.7) is favoured by the draw in the Group 2 $60,000 Woodlands Stud Mares’ Spring Sprint Classic and her driver Zachary Butcher can also win the $150,000 NZB Standardbred Harness Million Fillies Pace for the juveniles with Im Sandra Dee.
She has been brave with no luck lately but finally gets a draw to work with in a crop that is still very much working itself out and the best of the fillies may not even be here.
The $200,000 NZB Standardbred 2Yo Colts and Geldings Harness Million (9.28pm) has a hot favourite in Marketplace, who was spectacular in both of his recent wins and if he can handle being used early, as he will almost certainly need to be, then he should win.
Castana leading the charge for McGowans at Alexandra Park
By Michael Guerin
Dave McGowan isn’t surprised by his stable’s hot form, he just had to be patient waiting for it.
McGowan and his wife Clare trained four winners in seven days last week, with three Alexandra Park winners and one at Cambridge on Tuesday.
That comes after Liaison won a $35,000 Metro Trot Final at Alexandra Park last month to gives their stable their biggest month of success in a few years but while McGowan, one of the gentlemen of northern harness, is thrilled he is not surprised.
“We knew we had horses with talent, we just had to wait for some of them to put it together,” he says.
“We have 26 horses in work and 22 of them are trotters. We love training trotters but they are a lot of work.
“We have some lovely two and three-year-olds as well so we have some exciting horses around us and it is nice to be able to go to The Park and win races.”
Four of the in-form team head to the Alexandra Park meeting tonight which will play the support role to the huge night at Addington.
The McGowans have last-start winner Castana and the usually reliable Liaison in the main trot (Race 7), the On Track – Strength in Racing Handicap Trot, which has drawn a small but tidy field.
“We love them both but I think Castana is actually the best horse in the stable,” McGowan told HRNZ.
“He has taken a while to come to it but he is an open class horse and one day we think he can win a major race.
“It won’t be this year or maybe not even in the next 18 months but he will win a big one.”
Castana (R7, No.1) beat many of those he meets tonight last Friday but comes in up to 15m worse off so will need to be right at his peak in a race where Liaison could also threaten if he produces his best.
“I don’t know what happened last start (gallop at 450m) but he is a chance almost every week.”
Earlier in the card the McGowans line up Love On Line and It Ain’t Me Babe in Race 3, the Border Fencing Services Handicap Trot, the latter winning in a 1:59.7 mile last start but copping a 10m handicap tonight because of that.
“I think for sheer talented Love On Line might be better but she is still getting there while It Ain’t Me Babe is a big strong beautiful mare but she can be a bit timid.
“She needs some life experience,” laughs McGowan.
Tonight’s feature, the Sweet Lou at Woodlands – Tender Closes 1 Nov Handicap Pace, sees a small field racing for a great $20,000 stake considering they don’t have to take on the big boys of open class pacing while throughout the card smart pacers like Hawkeye Pierce (R2, No.7), Wicked Wanda (R4, No.5) and The Jolly Roger (R8, No.6) get their chances albeit from tricky draws.