"Beauty" of a field for Friday's Ordeal Cup at Addington

By Michael Guerin

What the open class trotting ranks lack in established star power at the moment they will make up for in numbers at Addington on Friday night.

While the first open class trot race of the new campaigns two weeks ago struggled for numbers there are 12 entered for the $40,000 ITM Ordeal Cup at headquarters on Friday and it looks a beauty.

Last start Basil Dean winner Bring On The Muscle is back but facing a vastly different challenge than in that 1980m mobile win, stepping up to 2600m standing start and finding himself very quickly on a 10m handicap.

He will share that with luckless last start runner-up Midnight Dash and the likely big improver from that race in Mr Love.

But there will be old blood and new joining the open class ranks for the first time this spring when Mighty Logan returns as does Eurostyle and Habibti Pat steps into the open ranks having not raced since winning the NZ Trotting Derby last November, giving Team Hope a great three-strong attack.

But the most intriguing newcomer is Resolve, the 2023 Dominion placegetter behind Oscar Bonavena who hasn’t raced since January 2024 and comes back for Paul Nairn as an eight-year-old.

While the big trot has close enough to a full field the Avon City Ford New Brighton Cup is short on numbers with just the six acceptors and The Lazarus Effect set to start very short as he returns to the front line after starting off a 10m handicap when winning on debut.

He also has, as trainer-driver Bob Butt indicated after that win, the blinds back on to help him concentrate better.

Away from the big boys the best juvenile pacers return at both Addington and Alexandra Park, with Tour Party against Chiggsy, Travel Agent and Faith Not Fear in a cracker of a $15,000 two-year-old race at Addington.

While at The Park, Coal Fire clashes with Dino and the impressive Lucky Luka in the Woodlands Stud Sires’ Stakes heat and Daisy Bay is set to start favourite in the Dunstan Sires’ Stakes Fillies heat after she drew barrier 3.

Her last start conqueror Belle Biddy has to start from the outside of the second line because of her previous heat win.

To see the Addington fields click here 

To see the Auckland fields click here