Rae of hope: Dreams can still come true
The potential star of the show at Ruakaka today will miss the meeting after exciting filly Dream Queen was sold to Australian buyers yesterday.
But her co-trainer Kenny Rae still thinks he can win the $25,000
3-year-old race the filly was favourite for with stablemate Follow Your Dreams (R6, No 1).
Dream Queen is off to Victoria to join the famous Lindsay Park stables now run by brothers Ben and JD Hayes after their father David moved to Hong Kong to train.
The daughter of underrated stallion Super Easy, Dream Queen has won two of her four starts for owner, long-time successful harness racing trainer Sue Martin.
“It is a shame to see her go but Sue got good money and we hope she does a super job over there,” says Rae.
That leaves his stable with second favourite Follow Your Dreams in the
1200m dash, and after he chased hard for second to Dream Queen last start, he is expected to improve further.
The local trainer rates Zelenski (R5, No 7) the next best of his chances today and suggests Apatchee Power (R7, No 11) is an each way chance even though she steps into a deepish R65 after her last start maiden win.
Today’s staying feature has been left with compressed handicaps after topweight Big Mike was scratched, leaving the other six runners all carded with 54kg, although three of them are claiming.
Weighty issue
Few punters would doubt Justaskme is the best horse in today’s $100,000 Winter Cup at Riccarton but he is going to need to be after being lumped with 60kg.
Justaskme has had only 11 starts for six wins and is rated on 91 points but with the field light on big names, he gets the topweight, with apprentice Hazel Schofer unable to claim.
He also gets the outside barrier, which may not be a disaster on what could be a very heavy track. This could become a race to the best patch of mud on the outside of the track by late in the day but, being a backrunner, Justaskme could still have the line Schofer is able to take dictated to him. So while it is hard to bet against him with confidence, his $3.60 quote doesn’t represent value.
Today’s meeting also hosts the lead-up jumps races to Grand National Hurdles (Wednesday) and Steeplechase (next Saturday).
Dunn’s big chance
Champion ex-pat harness driver Dexter Dunn has a big chance of winning North America’s greatest harness race, The Hambeltonian, tomorrow in the United States.
Bizarrely the biggest harness race in the US is for 3-year-old trotters but is the race every driver wants to win because of its history as well as the US$1 million stake.
Dunn will partner Really Fast, one of the three main favourites, in The
Hambletonian, as well as the favourite in the US$500,000 Hambletonian Oaks at the famous Meadowlands track. The race will be shown live on Trackside TV.