NZ HARNESS NEWS
No Doctor Needed capitalised on a sweet trip in transit to win tonight’s Alexandra Park feature, the $20,000 Spring Cup.
It was another fast-class win for Ardmore trainer Steve Telfer, who had already won the two lead-up races in the last month with classy mare Better B Amazed.
She had to settle for a narrow second to her stablemate tonight while race favourite Jack’s Legend got home well on a hot sprint for third.
No Doctor Needed had run three straight seconds to start the season but it was only this week that Telfer knew the big son of Mach Three had fully tuned up.
“He’s definitely gotten better with every run and he seemed really bright this week.
“He worked good and he’s starting to lose his hair; that spring coat is starting to show.
“And he’s the kind of horse that is highly strung when he’s really well and he became a bit of a handful in the last week or so.”
No Doctor Needed galloped briefly from the stand but soon regaining his gait and worked to the lead at the mile in the hands of fill-in driver Jack MacKinnon.
Better B Amazed followed him round and gave him the trail soon after and from there they were in the box seat positions.
Furious final sectionals of 55.7secs and 26.8secs for the half and quarter meant anything off the lead was up against it with Jack’s Legend too far back in the usually-coveted one-one spot.
Telfer says No Doctor Needed will come back here on October 13 for the Holmes DG before heading south and tackling the Kaikoura Cup and New Zealand Cup in early November.
In a fortnight’s time, Better B Amazed may well be on the other side of the Tasman.
“If they will let her go straight in to the Victoria Cup in two weeks’ time and miss the lead-up sprint next week, then we will go,” said Telfer.
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In the last race on the card, gun three-year-old Alta Maestro resumed with a win for trainer Robert Dunn and driver Tony Herlihy.
The well-backed Acceptance dropped out with a lap to go and was pulled-up and an initial vet examination turned up no obvious reason.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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