Barry Purdon is hoping national pride will help secure Holmes D G the Pacer of the Year title.
The award will be presented at the annual harness racing awards dinner in Christchurch on Saturday night where Lyell Creek is certain to be a popular Horse of the Year.
But the voting for the Pacer of the Year is not so clear cut, with the major open class spoils shared between four horses - Holmes D G, Happy Asset, Yulestar and Homin Hosed.
As Homin Hosed has not returned to his best form after the injury he suffered during his staggering New Zealand Cup win, he is not a realistic hope for Pacer of the Year.
That still leaves three serious contenders, any of which could win the coveted title without surprise.
Holmes D G was the undoubted early season star, winning two major lead-up races to the New Zealand Cup before going down by a nose in the great race.
But he returned to beat Yulestar three days later in the New Zealand Free-For-All before leading throughout to win the Miracle Mile in Sydney, followed by success in the Trueur Memorial.
Things went bad for the 5-year-old at the Interdominions, where he mysteriously raced below his best and returned home without having made the Grand Final.
Now Purdon is hoping that disastrous campaign does not return to haunt Holmes D G.
"It would be a shame if that is what his season is remembered for because he did have a great first half of the season," said Purdon, who now only trains and drives Holmes D G but whose wife Katrina is in the syndicate which race the gelding.
"I just hope that the media who voted in the awards remembered he was the only Kiwi horse in the Miracle Mile and did us all proud to win. And, after all, the Miracle Mile is a great race.
"I would love to see him win Pacer of the Year because I have such a soft spot for him and I think he deserves it.
"But if he doesn't then I wouldn't begrudge it to Happy Asset or Yulestar because they also had great seasons."
Purdon had every right to be shocked when a viewers phone poll on Trackside last week saw Happy Asset secure nearly 75 per cent of the votes for Pacer of the Year.
The harness racing awards have a history of bizarre results, with many of those accorded votes only seeing the horses in the flesh once or twice a year.
That has usually led to a strong bias toward form at the New Zealand Cup carnival, the only Grand Circuit meeting of the season the majority of the New Zealand media attend.
One of the strangest decisions in the history of the awards was in 1983 when Australian pacer Steel Jaw, who won the New Zealand Cup by nine lengths, had to share the Horse of the Year title with champion trotter Sir Castleton after a deadheat in the voting. Yet the same voters did not award Sir Castleton the Trotter of the Year title, that going to Basil Dean.
But regardless of how the voting goes on Saturday night the champion trainer is adamant the best will again be seen of Holmes D G.
"He is only a few weeks away from the trials and he looks really well," he said.
"Both he and Mountain Gold will be heading to Addington for the Cup carnival."
Mountain Gold, Purdon's former Rowe Cup winner, will resume in October.
Purdon will launch a handy maiden assault on tonight's Alexandra Park meeting where he has impressive first-up winner Alert Motoring, debutante Trout and in-form maidens Magic Loch and Saucy Anvil engaged.
"Alert Motoring has only just turned three so there is plenty of improvement in him but he has the draw to be tough to beat in this grade.
"Trout has been working well at home without having being asked to do to much but she feels like the sort of mare who won't let me down and has the all important draw over a mile.
"And Magic Loch and Saucy Anvil both have to be chances in the last. Magic Loch beat Alert Motoring at the workouts last week and they ran a handy sort of time while Saucy Anvil has raced well is some handy maiden fields."
Purdon, who started the season by winning the $15,000 feature at Cambridge last Friday with Surprise Addition, is also happy with the progress of his latest stable purchase, speedy southerner Scotlynn Jag.
"He has come up very well and will make a nice 3-year-old."
Racing: Miracle Mile form key to title hopes
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