“Mark had already booked his tickets, so will now drive General Jen instead – and to be honest, we can’t really split them.”
That means two of the favourites have swapped drivers, with Purdon having reined Arafura to win the NZ Oaks in November while Orange has done most of the driving behind General Jen.
Which mare proves the stable’s best chance could come down to luck and tempo, with General Jen brilliantly fast but Arafura the more proven stayer and winner of both Oaks last season.
“We all saw what General Jen did last start, and she can win again. But if I had to opt for one of ours, I’d go Arafura,” says Cullen.
“She may not have raced for two months, but she is very forward and loves the 2600m.
“She will need some luck from the second line, but I think she is the best stayer.” The Group 1 is crammed with talent, but the lead-up race two weeks ago suggested the 4-year-old mares may have more upside than their older rivals like Francent and Esmeralda.
Francent did have to work hard last start in the Garrards Championship though, and with a better draw tonight gets her chance to try to fight the younger brigade off.
The Breeders is the highlight of a stacked Addington programme, with Mr Love the $2.50 favourite for the Lamb And Hayward Trot even off a 20m handicap.
Pinseeker is red hot to win the Studholme Bloodstock feature pace after easily beating Hadron Collider last start, but Cullen, who trains the latter, thinks the gap between them will close tonight.
“Our horse needed the run last start, so will be a lot better this week, but Pinseeker is going to be very hard to beat.”
One of the early highlights of the meeting will be Race 1, which boasts plenty of talented pacers still on the way up, including the Cullen-trained Volare.
“Our filly has just kept getting better, but it is a really good field so it won’t be easy,” he says.
DALGETY HOPING TO RESTORE PRIDE
Trainer Cran Dalgety says Republican Party won’t get a better chance to heal New Zealand’s dented pacing pride than in tomorrow’s A$250,000 Hunter Cup at Melton.
And that is even though the reigning Horse of the Year has to take on Leap To Fame, Swayzee and Kingman.
Those three Aussie superstars have dominated New Zealand’s best pacing races in the past two years, but Dalgety is hoping they go to war and leave themselves vulnerable to Republican Party using the passing lane late in the staying Group 1.
“We get our chance, even though they are so hard to beat on their home tracks,” says Dalgety.
“I’d love to see our fellas sitting in the trail behind Swayzee and then having access to crack at them late after Leap To Fame has put some pressure on.
“It won’t be easy, but he has improved heaps since last week’s run at Kilmore, and I think he gets his chance.”
Leap To Fame is racing for an A$1 million bonus if he can win tomorrow night’s great race.
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.
