“I was pretty gutted because it had all gone so well early and you wouldn’t think old Arcee would let you down,” Lee said.
“It was just one of those things, he had an off day and it cost us as well.”
If there is a silver lining to that cloud, it is that Jilliby Ballerini never got to be fully extended after Lee’s corner-cutting early meant she handled her first 3200m start well and she heads to the more suitable 1980m mobile of today’s NZ Trotting Free-For-All at Addington a happy horse rather than in recovery mode.
“You would think this race will suit her better,” Lee said.
“She has come through Tuesday well so she should get her chance on Friday.”
Jilliby Ballerini should be able to follow potential early leader Muscle Mountain across to get handy or even lead today and she will take a power of beating, but her opening $1.75 quote looks a bit skinny.
Bet N Win, who started from the second line on Tuesday, and the other hard-luck stories, Mighty Logan and Oscar Bonavena, can all win but perhaps the most surprising price in the market belongs to Tuesday’s Dominion winner Gus.
He was stunning with more left at the end on Tuesday and there is no reason he can’t win again, so his $8.50 final field price looks enticing.
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.
