Mighty Logan (Creatine) is ready to take the next step and perhaps at the perfect time.
The wayward trotter led a Diamond Racing-trained quinella home at the Worthy Queen Trot in Addington on Friday evening, beating stablemate I Dream Of Jeannie and Muscle Mountain in a pressure-packed race.
While he made the most of a 10 meter lead at the hotshot backmarkers by stepping quickly and moving into the lead shortly after Mighty Logan was subsequently taken over by One Over All.
They ran hard early and that meant the stragglers, led by Muscle Mountain and followed by Oscar Bonavena, were kept from taking off and when they did it was too late.
As even after his early efforts Mighty Logan had gained a winning advantage soon after entering the straight, his stablemate used the passing lane late on to take second place.
MIGHTY LOGAN REPEAT
Muscle Mountain, Oscar Bonavena and Bet N Win all reaffirmed how difficult these disadvantage handicaps are to overcome, but the honor still lay with the winner.
And driver John Dunn says it might not be the last time this spring.
Mighty Logan suggested as much last autumn when he won the Anzac Cup at Alexandra Park, only to fail in the Rowe Cup two weeks later.
But Dunn says there was an apology and a blessing in it.
“The Rowe Cup wasn’t his fault, the horse outside him started hitting his sulky and getting sharp and that just made this guy pull way too hard.
“So I’m willing to forgive that, but more importantly, the whole trip up north really helped him,” Dunn says.
“He feels stronger and more experienced now and I don’t see any reason why he shouldn’t win a really big one this time, not even the Dominion.
“I know it won’t be easy, but I think he’s the horse on the way up.”
Mighty Logan is also suited for the Dominion 3200 meters as he prefers the straight back starting point at Addington, rather than the 2600 meter starting point.
While he will be back level with the big three in the Dominion, you get the sense that Mighty Logan has closed the gap and is the trotter heading in the right direction.
Although the favored trotters couldn’t overcome their deficit, Auckland Cup winner Republican Party finally broke the hoodoo for those with a big handicap this spring when he made short work of his 25-metre handicap in the open pace.
He stumbled a few steps at the start but gained a tactical advantage over favorite Akuta and driver Carter Dalgety won the race as he advanced early on the Republican Party to take the lead.
Never looking to be beaten, he cemented himself as the best of the Kiwi defenders in the monthly IRT New Zealand Cup on Saturday.
“He’ll probably be back here next week and we’ll have options like Ashburton, but the Kaikoura Cup isn’t out of the question either,” Dalgety said.
Earlier in the evening, Wat Next made good on her stud by winning the NZBS Harness Million for the two-year-old filly, paying off a gamble by trainers Mark and Nathan Purdon to bring her south a month ago even though she had not yet raced.
She was also part of a riding treble for Bob Butt early in the evening and Wat Next looks to have an exciting future as she was clearly too good for the other fillies and yet appears to be the one with the most natural improvement to come.
Wat Next is a daughter of Wat A Woman who already produced the 1:49.6 mare Manhattan and NZ Oaks winner No Matter Wat.
She wasn’t the only really bright young filly on display on Friday evening as Winelight beat her stablemate Arafura with both excellents in the Leigh and Greg Ayers Classic for the three-year-old fillies, with the pair peaking nicely in terms of their future attributes for trainers Hayden and Amanda Cullen.
For full race results, click here.
Through Michael Guerinfor Harness Racing New Zealand
#Mighty #Logan #leads #Diamond #Racing #quinella #Worthy #Queen #Trot