Rowe Cup and Roy Purdon Memorial highlight big night at Alexandra Park

Friday Night Lights will be stacked with Group racing at Alexandra park tonight, highlighted by the Rowe Cup and the Roy Purdon Memorial.

Mighty Logan "can win" Rowe Cup 

By Michael Guerin

The man who knows how to win Rowe Cups is starting to believe his next one might come sooner than expected - like at Alexandra Park just after 9.30pm tonight with Mighty Logan.

John Dunn reined Sundees Son to win Auckland’s biggest trotting race in 2019 and 2021, only Covid canning the 2020 Cup costing him a likely treble.

Tonight he returns to Alexandra Park with Mighty Logan, who is no Sundees Son just yet but probably won’t have to be.

The heavily-backed trotter led and won the Anzac Cup last Friday when gifted a front line advantage over key rivals Oscar Bonavena and Muscle Mountain and he gets the same tonight as the big two fared poorly in the random draw.

Add to that the potential fitness doubts over Bet N Win, who missed that lead-up race last Friday, and all of a sudden Mighty Logan becomes the horse to beat in the Rowe Cup.

“It is getting to the stage where he has to have a good chance,” says Dunn. 

“He has the manners and if he settles handy that gives him a big advantage over Oscar and Muscle Mountain.

“We all know how good Bet N Win is but he missed a race last week which isn’t easy  when you are racing over 3200m so a lot has gone right for us that hasn’t for other horses.”

Dunn says Mighty Logan always had the potential to be a Cup winner but his improvement coupled with others disadvantages means his time may come sooner than expected.

Still, he is a nine-win horse up against some more proven stars so will need to produce the same level of performance as last Friday to complete the double.

Either Oscar Bonavena or Muscle Mountain could win without surprising while Bet N Win is talented enough and could sit handy on the markers doing no work, the usual path to 3200m glory at Alexandra Park.

Earlier in the night Dunn will partner Ya Rite Darl (R7, No.6) in the Woodlands Trotting Oaks against her own stablemate Frazzled and favourite Habibti Pat.

Habibti Pat was the best of the three in the Derby last Friday but if Ya Rite Darl can use her gate speed to cross to the lead that will be a huge help.

The stable also has a handy filly in Cool For Cats (R8, No.1) in the Delightful Lady Final and her tactics could be crucial as if she leads then Australian visitor Ripples could get the race-winning trail but if she doesn’t hold the lead it becomes advantage to Alecto.

Good draw enhances We Walk By Faith's chances in the Roy Purdon Memorial 

By Michael Guerin

Don’t let We Walk By Faith’s lack of standing start form put you off taking the best odds in tonight’s $100,000 Roy Purdon Memorial at Alexandra Park tonight (8.55pm). 

Because dig a bit deeper and there is more to his one start, one miss record from behind the tapes as he goes into a race where standing start manners will be crucial.

Tonight’s race, named in honour of the Godfather of New Zealand harness racing, is a 2200m stand but with four of the biggest names starting off 10m, which could prove extremely difficult if the front markers step and run hard.

The toughest to catch would be We Walk By Faith, who came from near last to win the Taylor Mile two starts ago starting off level marks with tonight’s rivals so he is beautifully placed starting in barrier 1 on the front line.

Whether that proves a gift or a curse will depend on if he can begin safely or quickly, and get a marker pegs run while others like Republican Party, Chase A Dream or stablemate Don’t Stop Dreaming have to come wide.

“I think he can begin quickly,” says co-trainer Hayden Cullen, who with wife Amanda is in the best form of his career.

“He has only had the one stand and I know he only finished fifth but he was off a 30m handicap by himself at Cambridge and once they began he had nothing to race so just mucked around.

“He was safe but not fast and ended uo being last most of the way and never really got into it.

“But it wasn’t his manners that cost him and being a good pacer I think he can use his draw this week so the stand doesn’t bother me.”

On his Taylor Mile win and fourth as the only horse coming wide in last Friday’s Messenger, if We Walk By Faith leads or trails free-goers like Sooner The Bettor or Rakero Rocket, he will be the horse to beat.

The Cullens also have the enigmatic Don’t Stop Dreaming in the race and while Hayden opts for We Walk By Faith as their better hope Don’t Stop Dreaming, like all those on the 10m mark, could win if the race gets turned on its head at the start.

“He was good last week and didn’t have a hard run, which should suit him this time, and he can go close but of course that might depend how the race is run.”

Republican Party looks the best placed of the pacers on the 10m mark as he is a great beginner and has been in wonderful form so he if can step quick enough to gain an advantage over some of the front markers, then the complexion of the race might change.

That will also be the case for Mo’unga, although he is the horse who looks unluckiest to be back on the 10m mark while what Chase A Dream does tonight is anybody’s guess.

On a night with so many big trot races the juvenile pacers have their autumn finals with Alecto (R8, No.2) looking to have a major advantage in the draws over unbeaten Australian filly Ripples (9), who beat her last Friday but raced erratically.

In the boys' final Fugitive (R6, No.6) looks the most advanced but Andretti (4) should be a big improver on last Friday.

The Cullen team also have high class filly General Jen taking on the older horses in Race 2 and she prepares for the Sires’ Stakes Final next Friday.