Tact Maggie may be too good for rivals
WINTON trainer Trevor Proctor and Motukarara driver Stephen McNally are set to reunite for a feature race victory at Addington tonight.
The pair combined to pull off a massive upset with Tact Lizzie in the 2010 New Zealand Standardbred Breeders’ stakes.
Tonight they combine with her daughter, Tact Maggie, in the South Of The Waitaki Series final.
The Lis Mara mare is the fresh horse on the scene in tonight’s race, having started in only one of three heats.
In her first run in two months, Tact Maggie hit the line strongly for second in a fast 26.8sec 400m behind winner Whata Razzle Dazzle.
Improvement following that hitout and her handy draw have Proctor’s mare looking the horse to beat in tonight’s $12,000 final.
Russley trainer Brad Mowbray has a crucial role to play in the race despite not having a starter.
Mowbray has been caring for heat winners Cast A Shadow and James Butt for their Southland trainers.
The pair look two of the toughest horses for Tact Maggie to beat.
James Butt was an impressive winner of the second heat of the series.
A solid race tempo looks to be the key to his chances from his tricky nine barrier draw.
‘‘I don’t think the draw is going to be the worst with his racing style,’’ Mowbray said.
‘‘He will probably drop back and come with one run like he did last time.’’
Cast A Shadow has more options than James Butt with his good gate speed and ability to do more work in the running.
‘‘He probably doesn’t have the speed of the other one, but he seems quite tough so he will be able to do more work than James Butt.
‘‘If they go slow he might be able to do something about it, but it might be the undoing of James Butt.’’
James Butt’s heat win came with Blair Orange in the cart.
Orange also drove Whata Razzle Dazzle to win last week.
However, the driver has cho sen to partner Shezacullengirl.
The Paul Ellistrained mare could manage only a sixth placing in one heat run.
Shezacullengirl then ran a very unlucky fourth in her last start at Ashburton when she was denied racing room.
The run suggests the mare is close to her best again and a serious winning chance after going through a recent form slump.
SAINTLARYSOULAN: Geraint Thomas had until yesterday insisted Chris Froome was Team Sky’s leader, yet that changed when the Tour de France’s yellow jersey holder emerged as the British outfit’s best, if not only, chance of winning the race.
Thomas extended his overall lead to 1min 59secs over Dutchman Tom Dumoulin, who leapfrogged defending champion Froome into second, after a decisive attack 2km from the finish of a brutal 17th stage at the top of the Col du Portet.
Froome, 2min 31sec off the pace with three competitive stages left, said he would now ‘‘look after’’ Thomas, effectively conceding his own hopes of success had been dashed.
The Welshman, who had already claimed two stage wins in the Alps, once again looked the strongest of the main contenders yesterday.
He took third behind Colombian Nairo Quintana and Irishman Dan Martin, but gained time over Froome, Dumoulin and fourthplaced Primoz Roglic.
That prompted a change of tune from Thomas. Asked who was the Team Sky leader, he replied: ‘‘I’m in a good position now.
‘‘I’m not going to change my mental approach and take it day by day, keep doing the small things right.’’
Thomas praised the work of his teammates after they controlled the pace of the race all day, preventing most of their rivals from attacking as they set a high tempo in front of the main pack.
‘‘It was a tough start to the [last] climb. Everyone was on the limit but Wout [Poels] and Egan [Bernal] did a tremendous job,’’ he explained.
Froome’s struggles, however, gave him the confidence to power on.
‘‘Froomey said with five or four kilometres to go that he was not feeling super. It gave me confidence, because if Froomey is suffering then everyone is suffering and I was feeling good,’’ the 32yearold Welshman said.
With that in mind, Thomas even pushed for the 4sec time bonus allocated to the rider taking third place in the stage.
‘‘In the last 200 metres I just thought I would go for the bonus seconds and get a little time gap as well,’’ he said. — Reuters