Don’t Stop Dreaming seems almost as potent leading or swooping but from barrier two over a mobile mile, trainer-driver Mark Purdon knows leading would be the better scenario.
This is where Purdon’s personal preparation comes in.
“I think Sooner The Bettor is the sort of horse who would be keen to take a trail on him but I don’t know about the two horses drawn directly outside him,” says Purdon.
“They are both pretty good obviously so I will have to do a fair of video work and see how their gate speed is and how they like to race so I can have my tactics right.”
The pair outside him are Better Be The Best, the best 3-year-old in New South Wales and their Derby winner last season, while outside him is Frankie Ferocious, the latest flying machine from a team Purdon knows well.
He is trained by Jason Grimson and driven by Cam Hart, the combination that beat Purdon’s pacer Akuta with Swayzee in the New Zealand Cup in November, while they also downed Self Assured with Majestic Cruiser in a Messenger at Alexandra Park two years ago.
Frankie Ferocious has been airborne in two starts for Grimson so if he or Better Be The Best reach the lead early, Don’t Stop Dreaming’s job becomes a lot trickier.
That raises the question: how does Purdon eke enough gate speed out of a horse like Don’t Stop Dreaming to beat the red-hot Menangle milers at their own game?
Purdon is not one for short-term boosts like hopple shorteners or buzzing horses up in prelims, believing the elite horses often have more gate speed than expected when asked.
But he does have one card to play.
“I will look to pre-warm him up two or three races before the Chariots,” Purdon explains.
“He is not a horse who races sore but he can be a horse who takes a while to warm into things, so to get his mind on the job and body ticking over, I will pre-warm him.”
Before then, Purdon and his brother Barry’s pair have a different sort of heat to worry about as Menangle was expecting temperatures around 39C yesterday, when all 12 Chariots contenders were supposed to enter the Menangle retention barn for surveillance 48 hours before the race.
“I hope that gets delayed, that’s just too hot for 12 horses to be stuck inside under one roof, even though they have fans to try and keep them cool,” he explains.
The exact situation that could muddy Don’t Stop Dreaming’s chances, a hectic early speed and pressure, would seem the perfect one for his arch-rival Merlin, who can win if those inside him go too fast early but would face a huge task if one of the two favourites got an easy lead.
Before leading the Kiwi charge tomorrow, the two stables headline tonight’s biggest race at Alexandra Park, where Chase A Dream is favoured to lead and beat Cold Chisel again in the $60,000 Alabar Classic.
Short but sweet harness bets
1: Inasinglemoment (Alex Park, Race 1): Looks a natural and created a big impression on a winning debut last winter. Looked ready, winning at the workouts last weeked and meets a weak field.
2: Chase A Dream (Alex Park, R5): If he leads, he should win but can also win coming from behind. Top pick in what looks a two-horse race with Cold Chisel.
3: Duchess Megxit (Alex Park, R8): What was shaping as a great early Oaks prelude between the Duchess Megxit and Coastal Babe now looks a one-filly race after Coastal Babe’s scratching.
4: Jolimont (Alex Park, R7): Took on the best 3-year-olds last season and destined to make his way to open last. Looked forward enough beating stablemate Little Spike (R5) at the workouts last week to suggest he ready for tonight.
5: Twista (Alex Park, R3): Still learning but hit the line well against the best 3-year-olds last start. Drawn to be the one to beat.
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.
