Merlin shows his class in Holmes DG

By Michael Guerin

Training great Barry Purdon isn’t scared of Aussie champion Leap To Fame.

That doesn’t mean he thinks his stable star Merlin will beat Leap To Fame in the IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup at Addington Raceway on Tuesday, November 12 , but Purdon says he is not conceding the iconic race to the Trans Tasman raider.

Merlin confirmed he is, as this stage, New Zealand’s best chance of claiming back our greatest race, with a dazzling win in the TAB Holmes DG at Alexandra Park on Friday night.

He effortlessly overcame his 20m back mark to have the race in control by the top of the straight and led home a Purdon/Phelan first four, with Cold Chisel outstanding on his open class debut, Sooner The Better very good after an early gallop and Mach Shard best of the rest in fourth.

Merlin had clearly improved since his second in the Spring Cup and he is a bigger, more powerful pace than when he won the Race by Grins in April.

“He is stronger and in a really good place at the moment but there is still some improvement there,” says Purdon.

Those screws will be tightened even more for his next start in the Ashburton Flying Stakes after which he could go straight into the Cup on November 12, with the possibility of the Cup trial as a final blowout.

Leap To Fame’s shadow hangs over this Cup field so much it is hard to see the best version of him being beaten. Hard but not impossible.

“He is the benchmark, no doubt. He is a great horse,” says Purdon.

“But we can’t be scared of him. Merlin is also a very good horse and Zac drives him so well anything could happen.

“We know it is a big challenge but we believe in our horse.”

Cold Chisel may join Merlin in the Flying Stakes to prep for Cup week and the NZ Derby that follows (he is not in the Cup) but Mach Shard could take a different route to the Cup, potentially starting at Addington on October 18 and then in the Kaikoura Cup.

The four open class horses headline a team of 13 heading south for the stable and they are arriving in hot form with Purdon and Scott Phelan training four consecutive winners on Friday night.

Jeremiah continued his march up the three-year-old ranks in the Breckon Farms Mobile Pace with another impressive win and is NZ Derby and maybe even THE VELOCITY slot race bound.

Pacing filly Youaretheonethatiwant was stunning in her comeback Dunstan Horse Feeds Sires' Stakes 2YO Fillies, blazing her last 400m in 26.2 seconds to cap a great night for owner Dean Shannon, who remarkably also had an ownership trifecta in Holmes DG.

“She is the best of our two-year-olds male or female and she will head south for the Sires’ Stakes but she isn’t in the Sales Series because Dean bought her privately,” explained Purdon.

Two-year-old trotting filly Ocean Eyes beat the older horses to break her maiden but she will now have a short spell and be set for the Golden Gait night in December.

“She is a lovely filly too. We really have some good horses around at the moment so it is an exciting time.”

While the Purdon/Phelan team were the Kings of The Park for the second week in a row they have challengers for the feelgood story of the last month in the north from Pukekohe trainers Dave and Clare McGowan.

They trained a trotting double on Friday with Taylad To Use and Castana to make it four winners in the last seven days, all trotters.

When you consider the level of equine firepower they get to train and what most of them would have cost (not much) the McGowans have excelled beyond expectation in the last month which also includes Liaison’s win in the Metro Trot Final.

 

< BACK TO ALL

Related Category News

11 November 2024

Latest NZ Cup News : November 11

The weather forecast for Cup Day in Christchurch for Tuesday is looking good with 17 degrees predicted and more importantly, no rain. Tickets are still available at addington. co. nz 

More
10 November 2024

"This is my Cup" - Jason Grimson on the IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup

Jason Grimson isn’t short of confidence ahead of his IRT NZ Cup defence with Swayzee.

More