By MICHAEL GUERIN
Flight South won't be using one of the sharpest weapons in her arsenal at Addington tonight.
The Auckland Cup winner returns to racing in the $25,000 The Nobilo Free-For-All just five months after her career looked in jeopardy because of a suspected suspensory tear.
The injury turned out to be a hairline fracture of a cannon bone. While broken bones in horses are rarely good news, trainer Andrew Neal said that was better than suspensory damage.
"With a fracture, when it heals it shouldn't affect her again, whereas suspensory problems can be a long-term thing," said Neal.
Neal nursed Flight South back to the track with a swimming programme and was convinced she was ready to race by a flashy workout at Cambridge last Saturday.
"I couldn't find anything to work her with so I ended up working her with a galloping pacemaker.
"I was rapt because she paced 2400m in 3:4, her final 800m in 55.8 seconds which was enough to convince me to send her to Christchurch."
The times are almost identical to those Flight South worked last season before her first trip to Addington when she won the PGG Mares Championships in what would have been a national record for 1950m, except Addington's electronic timing was not working.
"Going into this race I think she will need the run but I thought the same thing when we went south last time and she paced a national record for this distance.
"So she might surprise us."
But Flight South's lack of race-hardness means Neal will instruct catch driver Nigel McGrath, with whom Flight South is stabled, not to use the mare's blazing gate speed.
Flight South is one of the fastest beginners in New Zealand pacing but her best performances have been when allowed to settle and come from off the pace, as she did when winning at Addington last season.
"I know she has that gate speed but she is much better with a sit and when they are fresh it is a big ask to go hard early against the best horses. So I think Nigel will just let her roll off the gate and try and find a sit."
The fact Neal is not heading to Addington to drive Flight South is a good indication tonight's pipeopener may not be too brutal on the mare.
Once through tonight's race, Flight South will head to the Ashburton Flying Stakes and Kaikoura Cup. But even though she is only a class-nine mare, Neal does not have to chase the victory that would bridge the gap to open class to make the New Zealand Cup field.
Under a sensible rule change, Addington officials can choose to select a class nine horse for the New Zealand Cup providing that the horse has won a group one race in the last season. And the Auckland Cup qualifies as a pretty serious group-one race.
Also in need of an outing tonight could be former Derby king Stars And Stripes.
The disappointment of last season faces a second line draw in tonight's sprint. Unless he has developed the ability to work hard in the middle stages of a race - something glaringly missing from his weaponry in the past - he will need an awful lot of luck.
With most of the established open class players in tonight's event drawn badly, the race provides an ideal opportunity for horses like Bruzem, Mike's Pal and in particular Pic Me Pockets to take a step closer to open class.
The latter had to bow to Holmes D G last Friday at Alexandra Park but could get a perfect sit tonight from what looks an ideal draw and would be well-suited to a fast-run 1950m.
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.