By Matt Markham
It’s not so much a case of how to win today’s Group One New Zealand Free-For-All at Addington, but more how to beat Lazarus.
Three days after his record breaking and emphatic victory in the New Zealand Trotting Cup the newfound King of harness racing in New Zealand will be back on the same hallowed turf he burnt up on Tuesday to try and grab another Cup Week Group One.
Providing he has come through the 3.53.1 second two miles he unleashed earlier in the week, it’s hard to make a case against him. But racing can be a fickle game at times and the Free-For-All has a tradition of being an unkind beat to Cup winners.
In the past 30 years only 9 horses have achieved the double, with Monkey King doing it twice in 2009 and 2010.
Half of those come in a golden run in the early 90’s when Christopher Vance, Blossom Lady, Chokin, Bee Bee Cee and Il Vicolo picked up the double.
Other to have done the double in the past three decades include; Just An Excuse (2004), Christian Cullen (1998) and Master Mood (1986).
So the odds, you could say, are for once stacked against Lazarus’ favour.
Gerard O’Reilly, who is charged with the drive on Tuesday’s Cup runner-up Tiger Tara has no intentions of taking it quiet from his barrier draw of one as he and the pacer look to become just the second horse in the past 40 years alongside Monkey King to win the Show Day pacing feature in consecutive years.
“We’d be silly not to try and use the draw,” O’Reilly said.
“I would think that the plan will be to come out and try and lead early and then assess the situation from there.
“He does race a lot better when he’s up competing for the speed so we’ve got the chance to do it.
“He went great on Tuesday, it was pretty satisfying consider things hadn’t really been going our way up until then.”
With Lazarus as short as $1.18 to win today, there is value around almost the entire field outside of him.
Tiger Tara is rated a $15 third favourite with Tuesday’s Junior-Free-For-All winner, Dream About Me the second elect at $6.
Locharburn, who finished second behind Dream About Me on Tuesday and was at one stage the second favourite for the Cup, is a staggering $31 to win today – thanks largely to the fact he has drawn outside of Lazarus.
“It’s going to be tough from out there,” trainer Kevin Chapman said.
“But I don’t think we will be sitting back because Tuesday showed that if you are too far back in races like this you’ve got no hope at all.
“He’s come through Tuesday well, he was probably about 95 per cent for that and will come on with the run under his belt.”
John Dunn will take the drive on the big gelding with Dexter Dunn electing to stick with Christen Me.
Dunn’s Cup drive, Franco Nelson, bordered a plane for Perth and the Inter Dominion Series early on Friday morning alongside Smolda, Piccadilly Princess and Mr Mojito from the All Stars barn.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
