Friday's Canterbury Classic shaping up to be beauty

By Michael Guerin

The horses missing from Friday night’s Lamb And Hayward Canterbury Classic might prove an unexpected bonus for the Go Media New Zealand Trotting Cup.

Because the great race on November 10 now looks certain to have vastly different form lines as well as one hell of a lead-up race this Friday night.

The south’s best pacers, barring the injured Got The Chocolates, all meet in the 2600m stand this week with The Lazarus Effect up against Marketplace, Republican Party, It’s Tough and Methven Cup winner Franco Sinatra.

That makes it the race of the spring so far in New Zealand and will prove a crucial guide to who Kiwi punters think has the best chance of defending our punting pride come Cup week.

But there are two big northern names missing from the Canterbury Classic with trainers Barry Purdon and Scott Phelan choosing to miss the race with both Merlin and Better Knuckle Up.

The stable were already Harness Million Trot winners at Addington last Friday with Duke of Bourbon and have their two open class trotters in Higher Power (front line) and Meant To Be (10m) flying south for Friday’s R D Butt Canterbury Park Trotting Cup.

That pair join fellow northerner Hillbilly Blues in the big trot which is missing the first three home from the Renwick Classic last Friday.

The Purdon/Phelan team also have War Party taking on Nazare and the southerners in Friday’s $50,000 Garrard's Sires’ Stakes Sophomore on Friday so while there will be plenty of northerners at Addington the region’s two best pacers won’t be there.

“We are keeping them up here for a race at The Park on Friday week,” explains Barry Purdon.

“And then that will probably do them until the Cup. Obviously they are not going to Ashburton and I think we will bypass Kaikoura and just go to the Cup trials with them.”

Considering Merlin won the Kaikoura Cup last year that may surprise some but it also sets up three very diverse form lines heading towards the Go Media New Zealand Cup.

The southerners, headlined by the big names who clash this Friday and possibly again at Ashburton and Kaikoura, versus Merlin and Better Knuckle Up from the north and of course the Australians, headed by Leap To Fame and defending champion Kingman.

That is an almost ideal situation for the Cup, which while dominated by Leap To Fame in the markets, will at least have plenty of different angles and talking points for parochial punters.

Friday’s Addington meeting has the three black type races back to back to back in the middle of the card then followed by a super strong intermediate race in which Arafura meets Stella Rouge.

To see Friday's Addington fields click here