Alexandra Park awakes from its summer slumber tonight to set up northern harness racing’s two biggest months of the season.
But with the meeting the first step down a long and steep path for many, it provides punters with challenges trying to balance the sheer class of some against therace fitness of others.
The $40,000 Lincoln Farms Founders Cup is the best example of that, as well as the night’s best race.
It sees Republican Party return to the track where he has won two Auckland Cups and just about everything else that matters in the last 15 months, but facing barrier seven over 1700m, with a ton of speed inside him.
“I almost didn’t put him in this race,” co-trainer Cran Dalgety admitted.
“I almost trialled him on Tuesday to get him fitter and went to next Friday.
“Don’t get me wrong, he is fit enough to win, but I don’t think he is fit enough to be driven hard and win so I’d like to see him tucked in and get one run at them.”
The best version of Republican Party wins tonight’s race at least five times out of 10 and if he is eased early but then still finds himself dragged into the one-one later, he will probably win it tonight.
Aiding his cause is the fact his big-gun rivals Akuta (barrier six) and Merlin (eight) are in the same boat and all three could be driven conservatively early and sting punters.
Making their cause even more difficult is the gate speed of rivals like The Lazarus Effect (one), Rubira (three) and Sooner The Bettor (four), the latter one of the fastest beginners in the country.
Trainer Barry Purdon has both Merlin and Sooner The Bettor entered and says he’d like to see junior driver Harrison Orange head forward on Sooner The Bettor and wouldn’t be unhappy to see him stay in front.
Over 1700m with the millionaire pacers likely to be driven cold, that makes Sooner The Bettor at least the best-value bet at around $7, if not the best winning chance.
While the Founders Cup contains many of our elite pacers, it has plenty of competition for what might ultimately prove the night’s highlight.
Some very, very good 3-year-old pacers here, including Jumal (6) and the only two horses to have beaten him, Allamericanplayer (3) and Freeze Frame (4).
Jumal set the bar very high to start this campaign when he beat The Lazarus Effect fresh-up but Freeze Frame was almost as impressive pushing Better Knuckle Up close here in an open-class race last Friday.
And while Allamericanplayer’s last-start win was in an easier field, he has already shown his best work can measure up to the southerners.
Jumal may have the widest draw but is super quick off the gate and that could be the deciding factor.
Sees the return of potentially our best trotter in Hillbilly Blues (4), who was wonderful in the back end of 2025.
He has good gate speed and should improve with his trial last Friday so if he runs to the front, the big boy probably wins.
But there is gate speed outside him from Belle Neige (6), who is his stablemate so that could be good or bad, while Meant To Be (7) and Bet N Win (8) could add to the early pressure.
Watching that all unfold will be the old marvel Oscar Bonavena (11), who isn’t well suited by the distance but becomes a chance if they go crazy up front.
The bet: Hillbilly Blues the best winning hope so if he gets close to $3, take it.
Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.
