Better Knuckle Up and Higher Power the stand-outs at Alexandra Park

By Michael Guerin

Champion trainer Barry Purdon isn’t saying the stable star pecking order is changing after a stellar night at Alexandra Park on Friday.

But he admits it could be.

Purdon and training partner Scott Phelan trained the last half of the eight-race card with We Will Rise Again, Higher Power, Better Knuckle Up and War Chief, with Harry Orange driving the two richest winners and Zachary Butcher the other pair.

The two open class wins could hardly have been different, with Higher Power showing explosive speed after getting forced to three back on the markers while Better Knuckle Up worked to the lead mid-race and ran away from Merlin and Jeremiah for a stable trifecta in the Holmes DG.

Both Higher Power and Better Knuckle Up had the benefit of 10m head starts over their better performed stablemates but the ease with which they beat Meant To Be and Merlin respectively suggests the gaps between the two top class pairings is closing.

Or in Higher Power’s case maybe it has closed all together as he was dynamic winning the City Of Sails Trot.

“That was a great win from him, the ease with which he did it surprised me a little,” says Purdon.

“We have always thought there wasn’t that much between them but Meant To Be has had the superior record but Higher Power has just improved so much.

“They will be back on level handicaps for the big races and that will help Meant To Be but Higher Power is in a really good place as everybody saw tonight.”

Higher Power using his manners and new-found explosiveness to down Meant To Be and the rest of the north’s best trotters doesn’t come as a total shock but the way Better Knuckle Up put paid to his stablemates in the Holmes DG did.

He was away well by his standards and after settling third got the lead off Jeremiah at the bell, leaving Merlin to slot into third.

Merlin did run on adequately but Better Knuckle Up still ran away from him like a horse who has a Cup win in him, especially next season when some of pacing’s  biggest names like Leap To Fame won’t be around.

“That was a huge win and I think that is the best he has gone,” said Purdon.

“And both of those wins were good drives from Harry. He is a real talent and he will be driving Better Knuckle Up in the New Zealand Cup.

“We know Merlin will keep getting better so we are happy with where he is at too.”

Better Knuckle Up was $41 into $18 for the Go Media New Zealand Trotting Cup after the win (he finished fourth in the Cup last year), while Merlin has gone the other way and now is remarkably out to $41 to win the iconic race.

Exciting three-year-old War Party, who has been on a winning run lately, is being set for the New Zealand Derby and Purdon and Phelan now have to decide whether War Chief, who was excellent winning the last on Friday joins him.

“Scott has always been big on War Chief and I know it is a huge ask to go down there to take on Jumal because he is a very, very good horse but if the owners are keen it is going to be hard to say no.”