“We will back him up at Kaikoura because it will suit his training regime better,” Purdon told the Herald.
“He takes a lot of work and if we start him next week we can then do what we want with him in that last two weeks before the Cup.”
Back-to-back Monday feature races is not usually the Purdon way but Mark, who trains in partnership with son Nathan, says Akuta can handle it.
“He is very strong, stronger than when he won the Auckland Cup last campaign. Because of that he finds his work easier and even if his races easier than at the start of the year.
“He is just better now than he was when he won the Auckland Cup.”
Republican Party chased hard for second and confirmed he is a Cup player but it is hard to make a case for any of those who finished further back beating Akuta if he behaves himself at Addington.
Kango was a brave third while the winner’s stablemate Self Assured sat in the one-one and raced like an equine sports car with a flat tyre. He will need to lift for Cup week, a trick he managed to pull off last season.
Maybe the biggest dangers to Akuta’s New Zealand Cup claims weren’t even at Ashburton yesterday, with Old Town Road still in Auckland but flying down this week to potentially take him on at Kaikoura.
Then Aussie raiders Swayzee and Spirit Of St Louis will turn up for Cup week and if Swayzee, in particular, can lead then Akuta is going to need to be next level to beat him.
The emotion on track after Akuta won just a week after his owner Ian Dobson passed away rose further two races later when Dobson’s famous colours were also worn to an even easier victory by Muscle Mountain in the Trotter’s Sprint.
After mucking around and getting beaten in his previous start, Muscle Mountain was liberated by driver Ben Hope yesterday and obliterated by rivals by six lengths.
Hope punched the sky with his whip as a salute for Dobson and Muscle Mountain confirmed himself as one of our best ever trotting sprinters.
The question of his Cup week will now be whether he can conserve his energy enough to win the 3200m Dominion, which will be made significantly more challenging if he has to give arch-rival Bolt For Brilliance a start on November 17.
Flying Stakes Day
What: One of harness racing’s biggest meetings.
Where: Ashburton.
Why so important: Not only high-quality racing but crucial lead-ups to NZ Cup week.
The emotion: The man who owned both feature race winners, Ian Dobson, passed away last week.
What next: Kaikoura Cup next Monday then NZ Cup week two weeks later.
