By Michael Guerin
Punters can expect an improved version of champion pacer Lazarus as the Inter Dominion roll into Bunbury tonight but trainer Mark Purdon is still not confident that will be good enough.
The Kiwi favourite for the series was thrashed by local star Soho Tribeca in the opening heat of the Inters at Gloucester Park in Perth on Friday night, finishing a brave but distant 11m second after being forced to sit parked.
While Purdon wasn’t disappointed by Lazarus’s effort after a torrid week of travel building into the race, it also reminded him how hard this series is going to be to win.
Leading is crucial at Gloucester Park — there were five major races there last Friday and the leader won them all — and Lazarus doesn’t have the natural gate speed of the other favourites.
While that may not be so crucial in the 2936m final on Friday week, in the heats it is looking nearly impossible to come from back in the field.
That may not be quite as bad tonight as the Burbury track in provincial West Australia is 160m larger than Gloucester Park at 960m, with Purdon equating it to Cambridge in size and style of racing.
“The bigger track will help for sure,” said Purdon.
“But I also think last Friday’s race will have brought him on a bit fitness wise.
“He hadn’t had much fast work before that heat because he has raced in the NZ Cup 10 days earlier and then done a lot of traveling.
“In his general wellbeing and everything he seems great so I expect him to go better.
“But again it looks like we are going to have to sit parked outside a good stayer in Tiger Tara and the way he is going he is going to be hard to get past.
“So while I think we can win, I reckon it will be close.”
Tiger Tara has had an even busier time than Lazarus, finishing third in his NZ Cup a fortnight ago before a close second in the NZ Free-For-All three days later, traveling to Perth via Sydney and Melbourne then pushing Lennytheshark hard when second in his heat last Friday.
“He must be an amazing horse Tiger Tara to cop what he has been doing with all the travel and the racing so he will be hard to beat.”
Lazarus has never lost two races in a row and if he does tonight then he will almost certainly lose favouritism for the series.
But Purdon says that is not an issue for him.
“Sure I want him to win all the time and I realise his fans do too but the draws over here are so important there is only so much you can do.
“Like the other night, when Soho Tribeca got such an early lead we were always racing for second.
“This time I am sure we will be parked and trying to get right up alongside Tiger Tara but these are still heats and I won’t be pulling the whip and going head to head with him for the last lap.
“It is a busy week and we have another heat on Friday so our job is to get a lot of points, win the races we can and then next week have a good build-up to the final.”
That worked last season for stablemate Smolda but the reality is this year’s top five in the series are stronger so the barrier draw for the $A1.1million final could decide the race.
Tonight’s three Interdom heats are earlier than last Friday for New Zealand harness fans, with the first featuring Lennytheshark against a moderate bunch at 10.45pm NZ time.
Have Faith In Me will be Purdon’s rep in that heat but he looked disinterested last Friday and Purdon has swum him since to try and turn him back on mentally. But he looks a shadow of what he used to be.
The second heat could decide who is favourite for the final by tomorrow morning with the local flyers Soho Tribeca (barrier six) and Chicago Bull (one on the second line) both hugely impressive winning their opening night heats.
If Soho Tribeca can lead tonight he will probably win again but what is of more interest for the final next week is how well Soho Tribeca performs at this level when he can’t lead.
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