“Its been a good week, the team worked well Wednesday so we just hope know it will go as well on racenight” is how Mark sums up the October Premier Harness Millions and Flying Stakes night at Addington on Friday.
There will be nine from the stable in on the night with the major clash in the Harness Millions two year old filly event of just eight runners in which Purdon Racing has two of the most favoured runners in SHEZSOFAST and WAT NEXT. Mark takes the sit behind the third member of the team in RIVER who has the inside gate.
“She can hold a position though I don’t think she can hold the front with Wat Next so close in and with genuine gate speed. I suppose it could be 3 pegs in an eight horse field which is not ideal but I think she will get her chance ($12)” he said.
Wat Next was backed off the board for her debut and showed dash out of the gate to lead early. She just held her ground in the run home but that was no surprise to either of her trainers.
“My advice was to take a sit with her if something else wanted the front. She hadn’t had many trials and just the one race and she did what I would have expected her to do anyway so she was in no way disappointing.She will be better this week and can win it it but she is a work in progress on the racing side”
Nathan noted this in last week’s preview but clearly the filly has plenty of fans. It is just a question of ringcraft.
So Mark actually opts for Shezsofast ($3.50) as perhaps the hardest of the three to beat in spite of the wide gate.
“Yes she got it quite easy last time but she had run a 1.56 mile rate (1700) in her previous race and I don’t think pace is going to be any problem for her. The small field helps her with the gate. She has done well down here”
His next two assignments are with OSCAR BONAVENA ($2.60) off 20m in the historic Worthy Queen handicap and AKUTA ($2.10) off 25m in the open handicap (8.37).Class is the big factor in both cases.
Nothing new to see here. Oscar will have to work over 2000m at some stage of his race but is a sublime sprinting trotter and “in the right place”. Akuta missed a race at Methven which means three weeks since the last one but hasn’t missed a beat and Mark will be surprised if it is a factor.
“There is still improvement in him but he is not far away so I wouldn’t use that as an excuse in the normal run of things. 25m will be a challenge but he is hard to fault in his work. He’s really well. I will not be letting Pinseeker get too far in front of him. I think he;s a danger”
Now comes the conundrum of TREACHEROUS BABY ($7.50) in the $60,000 Spring Spring for Mares (G2) after a disappointing run last time here when she appeared to drop the bit after enjoying a nice run.
“Sometimes she can do something like that. The start before and the one before that in Auckland she had gone really good”
Treacherous Baby-might be a real friend on Friday
And the last start miss might not have been anywhere near as bad as it looked.
“We had tests run and she had a high muscle count. To me that would explain the run. She is working well. She can give this a shake with some luck in the running and a good dash at them”
Treacherous Baby has had blinds added this week. Some value at the price because she is well up to these at her best and she has worked in races and still finished strongly when at peak in the past at Addington.
RUBIRA (9.37) Mark is happy to settle on as his best of the night -at least of the Purdon team. He has the ace draw at $2.70 and coming off a strong win last week which may have been underrated because of the soft run Mark organised for him. The stable feels strongly that Rubira has gone on as the season has progressed as he would need to to be confident of beating horses like MARKETPLACE and GOT THE CHOCOLATES to name his two most likely rivals on the night. Marketplace and Rubira share a 90 rating with a fresh- up Greased Lightnin,Bar Louie and Got the Chocolates close behind in that department. The last named is a major threat on his last run.
Mark -Busy night but firm opinions
“I respect Got the Chocolates on what he’s done. He’s tough and fast and always goes a strong race. Tim’s (Williams) horse (Bettor Anvil) got home strong last week though he had a softer run. I rate Masterclass as our biggest danger basing that on that he has just had the one race and is likely to take the most improvement in an event like this.. It was fairly hard one but he would have come on with it. ”
MIDNIGHT MIKI is the stable second string.
“He came down for some nice races but this one could be a bit rich for him, a big step up”
That leaves SPECIAL OCCASION a hero to zero runner for the stable last week who has copped the inside second row at the gate and has blown to $14 in the $200,000 colts Harness Millions. Mark is not surprised.
“He was disappointing and there seemed to be no particular reason for it. We even had a cardiograph done but there was nothing amiss.He has worked fine since. We are at a bit of a loss as to what happened”
The gate is not as bad as first sight for Special Occasion follows Zeus Lightning who has lived up to his name out of the gate.With the query over last week Mark is likely to be happy to follow the speed and see what Special Occasion can come up with when the pressure goes on.
Mark has two form drives earlier in the night. MIDNIGHT SPECIAL trained by the Purdon’s host, Ross Houghton, is at short odds in the opening trot where she is well placed.
“She impressed me at Oamaru and is a top chance”
He has another well backed commodity in ARAFURA for his former assistant then partner, Hayden (with Amanda) Cullen who at $2.60 in the Leigh and Greg Ayres Hilarious Guest is slightly favoured ahead of stablemate WINELIGHT already the winner of three races who has Blair in the bike. The old firm is back in town.
An action packed night one of the sort where you should never to take risks with the blue and silver grey stars. Mark thinks Rubira may turn up trumps again. And why it is very much “yes or no” when Treacherous Baby does things wrong her form overall can earn a return at the value.