Happy to be back

By Michael Guerin

After the longest wait of their careers trainers like Cran Dalgety are just happy to be back doing what they love.

Even though today’s comeback to racing at Addington, the first horse racing meeting held in New Zealand since March, won’t have any equine superstars.

It also won’t have any crowds and in a few weeks when the return to racing feels normal and other sport join racing as part of our daily lives, the pacer who wins the comeback race at noon today will be forgotten.

But for the racing industry it is a day over two dark months in the making and Dalgety can’t wait.

“I know these might not be the best horses in the world but we are going to be out there racing and that is what every body wants,” says Dalgety.

“So I can’t wait to get back there and try and win some races.”

Dalgety thinks he can do just that with El Dorado (R6, No.5) and Chevron Action (R7. No.9).

“They are both ready,” he says confidently.

“El Dorado was fit when he joined our stable a few months ago and had a quiet run at the trials last week but I like him.

“I think he is a horse who can win two or three races pretty quickly.

“And the filly (Chevron Action) almost won the Trotting Oaks here.

“So has been trialling well and the last few times she has been from a standing start she has been really quick away. So she has to be hard to beat.”

One of the hottest favourites on the day will be Skipper's Delight in race nine, coming out of an eighth in the Flying Stakes against the best three-year-olds last start and he gets a front line draw so should be able to dominate as one of the class horses of the meeting.

Addington will back up with another meeting on Friday night, Invercargill race on Saturday and the first North Island horse racing since lockdown was enforced will be Cambridge harness on Sunday.