The four-time New Zealand Cup winner has two winning prospects from the Wallis/Hackett stable, including one of the big players from the northern trotting source in Belle Neige (R6, No. 10).
Belle Neige won three races in a month in August-September and although Mitchell has driven her before he takes over as a regular driver tonight, Crystal Hackett will be in Addington for the New Zealand Junior Drivers Champs.
“She is a very nice mare, so it will be good to get back to her, but it is not an easy task,” Mitchell admits.
“She has a decent handicap and it is a good field for this class.
“I’m sure she’ll be targeting the mare group 1 trot in a few weeks so she should improve in the running and I actually thought her stablemate Hillbilly Blues would be tough to beat from the front.”
The latter has always looked like an open class trotter as he can cover the final 800m sections in 57 seconds and develops the power to compliment that speed.
However, it is a deep field and a rarity in that it features an eleven-horse race at Alexandra Park where any of them could win without any surprises.
Earlier in the evening, Mitchell teamed up with Shesgold (R4, No. 4) in a much easier race and she is back doing what she loves most.
Shesgold has five career wins and all have come from a standing start in the 2200m, four at The Park and two with Mitchell in the sulky.
“You can forgive her the last run because she was parked at a high speed that didn’t suit her, but this is more like her race,” says Mitchell.
“And I think she is best with two weeks between her runs so she gets her chance on Friday.”
Shesgold meets a progressive trotter in Stone Cold and a talented horse in Hill Billie Bundy, as well as the once promising Levi in a difficult field.
While other trotters such as Look To Da Stars (R2, No. 10) will attract plenty of punters’ attention tonight, the class race of the meeting is the handicap pace pitting Captain Sampson (R7, No. 4) against clever old pacers in the $30,000 Thames Goldfields Cup.
Captain Sampson is a sweet three-year-old on his way to the top, but was hit on the line by a racing rival at the last start this evening at Little Spike in Cambridge.
They start tonight with the same handicaps in the 20 meters as last time, so Little Spike is a clear danger for trainer Arna Donnelly, who also has The Surfer and Jolimont (30 metres) in the standing start 2200 meters.
To see Friday’s fields click here
Through Michael Guerinfor Harness Racing New Zealand
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