Yes, you read that right, the horse who sat three wide to beat Leap To Fame and the top Kiwis in Tuesday’s $1 million IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup in Addington may not be the best in McCarthy’s stable.
Not officially anyway.
McCarthy also trains Inter Dominion, Miracle Mile and Eureka winner Don Hugo (Art major), which would at least earn him the title of “Best Performed” pacer in McCarthy’s stable, even if his top performance doesn’t match Kingman’s stunner on Tuesday.
“It’s a very privileged position to be in,” says McCarthy.
“They are both great horses, but they have very different plans for the summer.”
Although Kingman will skip the Allied Security NZ Free-For-All on Friday, it doesn’t mean his New Zealand campaign is over as he will remain in Canterbury and compete against Group 1 Christian Cullen Pace in Addington on Friday.
It’s for four-year-olds only and not only could Kingman put some rivals off the new race which was first held last year, but he will also be incredibly short-started.
McCarthy returns to ride him next week but heads to Wagga in New South Wales on Friday evening where Don Hugo will compete in the first of five Carnivals of Cups races, called The Bidgee, spread over the summer, which carries a A$1 million bonus if a horse can win all five.
Don Hugo is confronted with a second line draw and a hot field over the 2800 meter mobile.
Last season’s New Zealand Cup winner Swayzee won four of the races and a A500,000 bonus, but missed out on the A$1 million payout when he was beaten into second place in the other race.
While Kingman will miss tomorrow’s Pacing Free-For-All, Leap To Fame, the Republican Party, Akuta and Merlin will withdraw from the Cup to the sprint race to be held at 8.07pm during the twilight meeting.
The Trotting Free-For-All is the other open class race at Addington tomorrow and sees Queenslander Gus return after Tuesday’s Dominion alongside other big guns Oscar Bonavena, Muscle Mountain and Victorian mare Jilliby Ballerini, who should be suitable due to the mobile conditions.
But as iconic as the two free-for-alls are, they won’t have the richest of racing status tomorrow at the second running of the two $500,000 final races, The Velocity for three-year-old pacers and The Ascent for three-year-old trotters.
New Zealand’s top juvenile pacer last season and the top dog among the three-year-olds in the first half of the season, Marketplace gets the perfect draw at barrier two in the Velocity as he attempts to fend off arch-rival Got The Chocolates, who have beaten him fair and square the last two times they have met.
Got The Chocolates pulled the outside of the front line over 6,000 feet tomorrow, so Marketplace opened as a $1.85 TAB favorite.
The Ascent Trot could continue Australia’s dominance this Cup week, with Victorian fillies Tracy The Jet and Gatesy’s Gem doing well with the locals and having the advantage of a draw within the front line, while the fillies draw males in the two closing races.
Tracy The Jet is $2.10 favorite, ahead of Meant To Be ($3.60).
For full race entries, click here.
Through Michael Guerinfor Harness Racing New Zealand
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