Rasmussen faced with hard choice
Natalie Rasmussen had a surprise admission after dominating the opening night of the Inter Dominions.
Rasmussen drove both Spankem and Cruz Bromac to win their pacing heats at Melton in Victoria, as good as confirming the pair will be in the A$500,000 final there on December 15.
But while Cruz Bromac is first or second favourite for that final after his effortless heat win, Rasmussen says she is still not certain who she will drive in the final should they both make it.
Spankem caused the biggest upset of the night when he overcame sitting parked to win the deepest heat of the three on Saturday, downing fellow Kiwi rep I’m Pats Delight in a repeat of their Kaikoura Cup quinella last month.
Rasmussen, who trains both Spankem and Cruz Bromac with partner Mark Purdon, says there could be nothing between them come finals night. “I think Spankem is the horse who could improve the most in the series,” says Rasmussen. “He is a fat little bugger and will keep getting better with the hard racing. Inter Dominions are funny things and a lot can happen in the two weeks because they race so often and then you have the barrier draw that comes into play.
“But I really think there isn’t much between our pair. Getting those two first night wins is crucial because it gives them valuable points and I couldn’t be happier with how they came through their runs. “They ate every bit of feed last night and this morning and when I put them in their paddock this morning they took off like mad things. It is a case of so far, so good.”
Both Spankem and Cruz Bromac face tricky second line draws over sprint trips when the series moves to Ballarat for the next round of heats tomorrow night and Rasmussen warns that could make those races hard to win depending on the midrace tempo. The big winner for tomorrow night has been I’m Pats Delight, who is not only in a weak heat but has the perfect draw at barrier two, so all three Kiwis are looking good to make the final.
Tomorrow night’s heats will see both first night trotting heat winners Speeding Spur and Tornado Valley clash, with the former drawing inside his biggest danger for the final.
Their wins on Saturday mirrored each other and whoever comes out on top tomorrow could go a long way to securing pre-draw favouritism for the A$150,000 trotting final also on December 15. The last round of heats is at Cranbourne on Saturday night.