The Nathan Purdon stable has two runners at Auckland tomorrow. One looks to be an upset chance at odds from a tricky draw. The other can be ,well, just tricky.
That of course is LOOK FOR DA STARS whose small army of supporters are sticking with the $5 third favourite after a rather inglorious effort two weeks ago here. He had scorched home at Addington on May 29 and followed up with a solid performance at home the following week but last time it all turned to custard soon after the start.
And the upsetting part about the custard was that it all apple pie going into the race.
“Dad warmed him up before the race last time” Nathan said “he came back in and said the horse had never felt better, was trotting straight and true and we were expecting a big result. He got away but then got it wrong and was out of the race. It was very frustrating.”
Mark is wintering in Queensland without horses at the moment so Andre Poutama steps up to the plate tomorrow. Andre has something in his favour in that he has already won a race with the talented if unpredictable Look To Da Stars,albeit from a mobile start.
Anxiety early in the race is part of supporters of the Look To Da Stars DNA,because he clearly has the talent to beat most fields in this grade anywhere near his best. Tony Herlihy lines up Youneverknow as favourite off 10m and his consistency and strike rate will be hard to overcome. Viscount Mackend seems to save his best for AP and is the other leading contender.
However there is no question “Andy” can be as handy as both when he is doing it all right.There is a question whether that will happen tomorrow.
If it does,lookout.
JUST US TWO is the other runner for the stable and while his consistency is overdue for reward -he has been in the top 4 in all but one start when 5th in debut-his strong first up run indicated his reward is near.
Two negatives on the night is a tricky gate with his top rivals drawn inside him and,perhaps more significantly, he again has tangle with three year olds including the warm favourite No More Dreaming, a brother to Don’t Stop Dreaming who all but pulled off a NZ Cup for Nathan and Mark and posted several superstar performances. Lyn and Stu Dobson were associated with him during his career
No More Dreaming did not score as favourite resuming but went well enough to bolster that this week. Franco Seth, also a two year old,beat him home and is a threat again.
But Just Us Two is not out of the fight for Lyn and Stu Dobson.
“He was fairly ready for his first up but would improve. He’s probably about 90 per cent now and if he got the luck from the gate he is certainly not out of it ” Nathan feels
PIC: Lyn and Stu Dobson have fond memories of Don’t Stop Dreaming but be hoping his brother, three year old No More Dreaming, does not spoil the part for two year old Just Us Two at AP on Friday