NZ HARNESS NEWS
Otago beach trainer Graeme Anderson says New Years Jay and Titan Banner are thriving as they eye the $30,000 Maurice Holmes Vase (2600m stand) at Addington on Friday night.
New Years Jay was a superb second in the Kurow Cup to race rival Bite The Bullet on August 20, flying home for driver Jonny Cox and just failing by a head to catch the winner in her first race for 13 months, clocking 56.4sec for her last 800m.
The classy 10-year-old mare has only had 27 starts for eight wins and Anderson said on Tuesday that she is flying in training at Westwood Beach.
“She’ll go a great race and will be very, very hard to beat on Friday.
“I was very happy with her in the Kurow Cup. She’s come through it beautifully and looks great and I can’t fault her.
“The owners haven’t nominated her for the New Zealand Cup, but if she wins they might pay a late fee.
“She’s a lovely mare and has got some really high speed. Her gait is good and she’s been driving straight.
“You would swear she is four to look at her. She looks absolutely magnificent and there hasn’t been too much wear and tear.’’
Stablemate Titan Banner (13 wins) ran third in the last NZ Cup behind Lazarus and Tiger Tara, clocking 3:55.4 for the 3200m trip.
‘‘He got really crook at the Easter Cup (April 15). He got a chill and it rained really hard the week before, and we just couldn’t quite work out what was wrong with him. He was a very sick horse and raced accordingly (eighth).
‘’He’s fine now and hasn’t had had any problems.
“He has been working good and is probably the best horse in the race. But the mare has had that race under her belt. A race or trial brings them on a lot more, but I’m happy enough with him.’’
He praised the club for getting the race off the ground after light nominations initially.
“We can’t afford not to have it and they worked very hard so we are grateful. It would be a sad state of affairs if they called these sort of races off.’’
The Robert Dunn-trained Captain Dolmio, who has been burning up the tracks at the workouts, will not start after a minor niggle, but six-year-old comeback pacer Art Union (16 wins), who has not raced for 21 months, will line up for trainer Cran Dalgety and has been trialling well.
If qualified, the winner of the race gets automatic entry to the $800,000 NZ Cup on November 14.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
