Nathan has a helpful hint for punters for Friday races at Auckland and Addington -and a word of caution over one of them.
Much interest will revolve around the Group 1 Caduceus Classic at Alexandra Park (8.48pm) where ALECTO and SHEZSOFAST vied for favouritism at $2.80 by Thursday. RIVER is also in the race to be driven by Tony Herlihy but more generously priced at $13.
Shezsofast opened favourite, her handy gate and early speed seemingly assuring her of a soft trip,while Alecto has a tougher gate at 10 in the $110,000 feature.
Nathan. Rates Alecto in Caduceus Classic
That’s not the way Nathan sees it though.
“Shezsofast is a smart filly and she would have impressed with her win last time out. But she is not yet in Alecto’s class in what she has achieved and she has not had a lot of experience.I would put Alecto clearly on top. She had no luck last time but it was still a good run.Shehad already qualified go further in that series so it was not a high pressure race. River not quite up to the other two at this stage”
RUBIRA -pictured-(9.07) WAT NEXT (6.50) and SPECIAL OCCASION (8.14) line up at Addington and OSCAR BONAVERA seeks to add another Elite D G Jones Trophy at Motukarara on Sunday.
“Rubira($5) is very well though he is not done any favours off 30m. He is very much like he was in Queensland actually, and his work has been tops. He could run in the Lazarus Stakes next week but his main aim is the Flying Stakes ($100,000) on the 10th so we will see how he comes through this week. He is shaping well.”
Nathan hopes Wat Next ($2.50) will win but cautions he wants it to come off the right trip.
“I am worried she could have a gut buster and want to avoid that. It is her first start and her big one is the Harness Millions ($150,000) in two weeks. Too tough a run at this stage won’t help her chances there and I am mindful of that when talking tactics. She has done well since trialling and will go a good race.”
Special Occasion ($4.20),who was opened at a somewhat cheeky $9,will talso to be handled by Johnny Morrison who guided him to a smart win over Wat Next at recent trials when doing all the work in front.
“We like him and he is going ahead as we expected. He is probably a race away but he will be competitive in that field”
The second favourite for that race, after Jumal, is Zeus Lightning for Hayden and Amanda Cullen. He is a three quarter brother of Georgie Best whom Mark and Nathan had to withdraw from his Sires Stakes heat at Auckland on Friday with a big leg.
Oscar Bonavena has gone on from his effortless win at Addington and is trying for his second D G Jones Memorial win,having won two years ago.His keenest rival is last year’s winner Mr Love but the main threat may be the sheer size of the field inclusive of a number of horses whose Group winning chances are likely to remain largely notional. Safely around,Oscar should be the one to beat at $2.70-odds likely to drop on the day.