By Michael Guerin
Champion trainer Mark Purdon believes he might have a secret weapon up his sleeve as he tries to win back to back New Zealand Trotting Cups.
Purdon and training partner Natalie Rasmussen have a two-pronged defence of the Cup they won last season with the now-retired Adore Me, with Smolda joined by Messini, who has returned to their care after a long Victorian campaign.
While Smolda hasn’t been seen this season he is rated the $4.40 second favourite for the Cup at Addington on November 10 as favourite Christen Me continues to drift.
Christen Me was solid but hardly convincing winning at Addington last Friday and while he has won two of his three starts this term, he has moved out from $2.80 to $3.40 in Cup betting.
The best backed of the Cup favourites, Sky Major, makes his debut for the season at Alexandra Park on Thursday night, where he joins Besotted and Ohoka Punter on a 10m handicap in a six-horse Spring Cup.
So Christen Me and the rest of the major Cup players are going to have a race fitness advantage over Smolda by the time he returns in mid October but Purdon believes his rugged pacer has an advantage of his own.
Smolda put together a string of wins in Sydney over the autumn and winter, including a shock defeat of Beautide in the Len Smith Mile.
But just as importantly he had his winter break in Queensland, meaning he returned to the stable in perfect condition.
“He spelled really well whereas the winter down here (Cantebury) was very cold and I can see that some of the horses who spelled here are still coming up,” said Purdon.
“So having his break in Queensland instead of at home might prove to be a really good thing for him.” While some of his rivals will get five starts before the Cup, Purdon says the fact Smolda is likely to only have two doesn’t concern him.
“He is a horse who can race well fresh and he looks great at the moment,” he said. “He will start stepping things up now and he is our best chance of the two we have this season because he will love the 3200m.”
After a change to their personal relationship recently, the Purdon-Rasmussen team were back to business as usual over the weekend, winning three races as they start to roll out their army of talent.
That will continue at the Ashburton trials today, where last season’s two-year-old of the year Chase The Dream will have his first public outing for the season.
Also trialing today is the exciting Dalton Bromac, who takes on last season’s Cup runner-up Franco Nelson, who has been disappointing in his trials so far this campaign, in the main heat.
Meanwhile, superstar trotters Stent and Master Lavros could clash at Addington on Friday night after both were allowed to miss Sunday’s Banks Peninsula Cup.
That may have proved a master stroke as the feature was run on a soaked Motukarara track which saw the last 800m in a ridiculously slow 69.5 seconds, the track proving way too deep for hot favourite Sheemon who was beaten by over 60m.
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