By Michael Guerin
The markets for pacing’s two greatest races were thrown into further confusion by one Cran Dalgety phone call yesterday.
And while the man who trains long-time New Zealand Cup and Inter Dominon favourite Christen Me insists the Horse of the Year can still win both races, bookies aren’t so sure.
The most dramatic sign yet that Christen Me hasn’t returned to anything like his crushing best of last season came when Dalgety phoned the Ashburton Trotting Club yesterday to withdraw the champ from Monday’s Flying Stakes.
The race is the definitive New Zealand Cup lead-up and a race Dalgety would have loved to start in but he says it wasn’t in Christen Me’s best interests.
“He is just not right physically,” says Dalgety.
“He has been a little bit behind where he should be all campaign and he feels like he isn’t firing on all cylinders.
“It may not be anything serious and I am as sure as I can be that he will still get to the Cup but I couldn’t take him to Ashburton the way he is working and risk flattening him.”
That leaves Christen Me with just the Cup trial on November 6 as his final public hitout before the $750,000 Addington thriller and missing Ashburton really hurts his preparation, even if Dalgety is trying to remain upbeat.
“He has had more racing than most of them so he can afford to miss a race,” he offers.
But the reality is Christen Me has already lost valuable respect — had he returned this term in last season’s form he could have been half gifted the Cup on intimidation factor alone.
And few horses in the last two decades have overcome a rocky Cup build-up to win the great race.
Christen Me can obviously still win but any punters who have backed him in futures markets will feel far more uncomfortable knowing he will miss Ashburton.
It also raises questions about his favouritism for the A$1.8million Inter Dominion series, which starts in Perth just 17 days after the Cup.
If Christen Me is not feeling himself at the moment he better perk up pretty quickly to cop a hard 3200m following by an arduous trip to Perth and four races in 16 days in a part of the world where few New Zealand-trained horses have tasted success.
TAB bookies were quick to react to his Ashburton no-show, pushing Christen Me out to $4.50 for the Cup, an enormous drift from his $2.50 price a month ago, especially considering his two runs since have resulted in a win and a brave third.
Sky Major is the new $3.60 favourite for the Cup over Smolda at $4 and the pair headline the Flying Stakes on Monday.
The race brings together the stars of each island for the first time this season, with Ohoka Punter, Lancewood Lizzie and Tiger Tara also in the 2400m standing start.
It was already shaping as the key market shaper for the Cup and will be even more so now.
It has competition for the race of Labour Monday though as the Flying Mile Trot sees Stent take on a star-studded field including Monbet, who has been sensational in two starts this season, One Over Da Moon, Habibti and Aussie speedster Vincennes.
Meanwhile, tonight’s Alexandra Park meeting keeps the best to last on a shortened programme, with the final race seeing the clash of two serious young horses.
Art Form is using it as his final build-up to the Sires’ Stakes Final at Addington and after winning his heat of that series in 1:53 would normally be expected to clean up lower grade opposition.
But he meets hugely talented four-year-old Express Stride, who was good enough to beat Have Faith In Me and the best of his age last season.
Trainer-driver Tony Herlihy says Express Stride is even bigger than last season, which is not small feat, and that his increased bulk could mean he is at least one run below winning form tonight.
“But I still wouldn’t be surprised if he won because he has come back very well,” says Herlihy.
Art Form’s trainer Steven Reid couldn’t be more confident after the colt worked the best he ever has last Saturday morning so he deserves favouritism.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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