Horse racing: Krug gallops into contention

Harness Racing Krug gets a rub down. Photo / File.

Cran Dagety says the world best galloping trainers have proven a horse like Krug can win the $900,000 The Race at Cambridge on Thursday night.

Dalgety takes the three-time Derby winner into the new slot race without a race in five weeks, almost unheard of in harness racing but something not uncommon in the thoroughbred world.

The move was all but forced upon Dalgety by Krug hitting a Menangle wall when luckless there through February, returning to New Zealand a tired horse.

That, coupled with two potential lead-up races not getting off the ground in the last two weeks means Krug will be super fresh and Dalgety likes that, whether it was his choice or not.

"The galloping trainers do it all the time whereas I think in harness racing we have got it in our minds we need to be racing every week or fortnight," says Dalgety.

"He has had enough racing and is fit enough without lead-up racing so he can win for sure."

It is not the first time Dalgety has looked outside harness racing for guidance on racing and recovery, with his involvement as a Coast to Coast athlete two decades ago confirming to him the importance of rest and recovery in human athletes and therefore equines.

"He has a lot of room between him and the ground," said Dalgety, a reference to the fact Krug's stomach is high and tight so he is ready to rock on Thursday night.

Krug has drawn barrier four, which sounds a little like no-man's land but Dalgety says it suits.

"We know we are not going to burn off the Aussies early so I can see Blair (Orange, driver) slotting in the running line and not burning too much.

"There will be speed on and it is two laps, not one so we are going to try and conserve energy for the first one." Krug looked a happy horse at Derek Balle's Pukekohe property on Monday, albeit with his coat just starting to provide a barrier against the winter cold to come.

The best version of him can surprise the bookies on Thursday, as he showed when a close up third to South Coast Arden and Self Assured in the NZ Free-For-All in November, the most obvious form reference to Thursday's race.

That day he paced his last mile in an actualized sub 1:50, something he did officially at Menangle two months later before the wheels started to fall off the Sydney campaign.

He would normally be one of the fastest horses off the gate in a New Zealand race but this front line is one of the fastest assembled in a race here for years so conservative tactics early look his best chance of getting his slot holders some serious payback.

For all the scary speed of the Australians, Dalgety says Self Assured is the one to beat.

"He is probably the best horse and he has Mark Purdon," he says matter-of-factly.

Krug has moved in slightly from $15 to $14 in final field betting, while Alta Orlando has also had support whereas Mach Dan has been the final field drifter from $15 to $21.

The Race
What: New Zealand's horse racing's first ever major slot race.
Where: Cambridge Raceway.
When: Tomorrow night, first race 6.05pm, The Race at 8.55pm.
How much: $900,000.
Conditions: 2200m mobile start.
Who: Five New Zealad and four Australian pacers, all contracted to slot holders who bought their slots in the race.
The favourite: Self Assured at $2.40 ahead of South Coast Arden and Spankem.