Battle-hardened Kiwis set for Ballarat Cup
Leading Australian reinsman Greg Sugars to steer A G’s White Socks
A season half over versus a season starting.
That could be the tale of the Kiwis versus the locals on a star-studded Ballarat Cup night and leading Australian reinsman Greg Sugars says that has to help the visitors.
Sugars has landed a great catch drive on A G’s White Socks in the A$110,000 Ballarat Cup where he meets Auckland Cup winner Self Assured and Chase Auckland.
Other New Zealanders in action include Smooth Deal, Bad To The Bone and Line Up in the same heat of the Victoria Derby and Stylish Memphis in a heat of the Victoria Oaks.
When it comes to the Kiwis and many of their Australian rivals there is a jarring difference in preparations.
Most of the Kiwis have already raced at the highest level on many occasions this season and should be rock hard fit. Some are half way through their season.
Whereas plenty of the Australians are working their way back to fitness or in the case of the big-name locals trained by Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin they haven’t been seen at all.
And Sugars, who has a foot in both camps, says that has to help the New Zealand raiders.
“When you see horses like A G’s White Socks, Chase Auckland and Self Assured they are coming out of far tougher races than our horses have been in,” says Sugars.
“That has to help them, especially over the 2710m (mobile).
“And the same in the Oaks and Derby heats. A lot of our local horses are just kicking off whereas the Kiwi horses are hard fit and will love the 2710m.”
Sugars says locals like Be Happy Mach, who starts in the red-hot Derby heat and his own drive Maajida (second Oaks heat) are good enough to beat the New Zealanders but must surely still be on the way up.
“They [trainers] think Be Happy Mach is very very good and I loved what Maajida was able to do last season as a 2-year-old. And Clayton and Emma will have them fit enough, it is just a question of how ready they are compared with the New Zealanders.”
There can be no doubt the New Zealand open class horses in the Cup are better performed than the locals from Victoria, although as a 1:46.9 Miracle Mile winner NSW-based My Field Marshal holds the honour of the greatest career performance.
He is only in the race after his plane to last night’s WA Cup was grounded and drawn the second line he is huge odds against the raiders, led by Self Assured.
Nobody is certain how good the last-start Auckland Cup winner is, with his only two defeats having come when he was slow in standing start races but tonight is a huge test.
Self Assured will have to probably go back beyond midfield to get off the markers and seems likely to give Chase Auckland and A G’s White Socks a start, how much of a start and how long he is three wide for might be the deciding factors. A G’s White Socks has had a curious last month, being outstanding in the Inter Dominions when trained by Barry Purdon but then missing a real race in near tragic circumstances as Ricky
May was driving him when the reinsman collapsed out of the sulky in the abandoned Central Otago Cup on January 2.
May is back home in Methven recovering after surgery last week.
Sugars says the best version of A G’s White Socks can go very close tonight. “He has good gate speed and I will be using it to have a look early,” says Sugars.
“The distance will help because the Kiwi horses are used to that sort of racing and they have simply been racing in better fields.
“So I think he can win and if he doesn’t one of the other Kiwis, led by Self Assured, will be the ones to beat.”