Horse racing: Swayzee the huge surprise in fallout from Night of Champions

Two-time New Zealand Cup winner Swayzee is staying in Auckland to contest three Alexandra Park Group 1s. Photo / Ajay Berry

The markets for many of New Zealand harness racing’s remaining autumn features have been left in disarray after the Aussie domination of the Night Of Champions.

But the TAB bookies should be able to open them again on Monday, as who will and who won’t be around for the next month becomes clearer.

The markets for all the feature open class pacing races left, the Taylor Mile, Roy Purdon Memorial and Messenger, were all closed on Sunday until it was confirmed which Australians if any would be staying.

The short answer to that is Swayzee is the only one of the five Australians to contest the Race by Sport Nation who will head to Alexandra Park, with the others flying home to Sydney on Sunday.

Swayzee is staying on in Pukekohe at Mark Jones’s temporary stables there, with Jones confirming trainer Jason Grimson is aiming him at all three of the Group 1s which start with the Taylor Mile on April 24.

“Jason wants to keep him going rather than easing up on him, being an older horse, and of course the other Aussies not being here helps,” Jones said.

Grant Dixon has confirmed Leap To Fame is on his way home and being set for the Inter Dominions in Brisbane while Captains Knock and Kingman both returned to Sydney for a spell, on the same plane as The Janitor and Gus.

Luke McCarthy said Kingman will bypass the Inters, as will stablemate Don Hugo and, in crucial news for New Zealand futures punters, last Friday night’s Cambridge winner Ripples is also already back in Sydney.

McCarthy confirmed she has come back here for the heats and final of the New South Wales Oaks “and then if we want, we can go back to Alexandra Park for the Sires’ Stakes Final on May 8”.

That means Ripples will definitely miss the Pascoes Northern Oaks on May 1, for which she is the $3.50 favourite, as it is the same weekend as the New South Wales Oaks.

Of the New Zealand big pacing names, the confirmed withdrawal from the three Group 1 pacing races is Merlin, as he heads to the spelling paddock.

“Clearly that wasn’t his best work last Friday so we think the best thing to do is give him a spell,” co-trainer Scott Phelan said, before adding Sooner The Bettor will start in the Taylor Mile.

Phelan also says Meant To Be, the first Kiwi home in the TAB Trot last Friday, will now be asked to adapt to standing-start racing in the Anzac Cup (April 24) and Rowe Cup on May 8.

“We think he should be all right at it and we were really happy with him last Friday.”

Meant To Be will be joined in those races by stablemate Higher Power as the Kiwis try to take advantage of the Aussies who trifectaed the TAB Trot, Keayang Zahara, Jilliby Ballerini and Gus, all heading home.

TAB markets had Jilliby Ballerini and Gus as the two favourites for both the Anzac Cup and Rowe Cup, before those options were shut on Sunday and neither will be starting so the markets will look vastly different when they reopen.

The other markets which could change dramatically this week are the 3-year-old trotter’s Sires’ Stakes and Northern Derbies.

Both had unbeaten filly Duchess Maria as the favourite but trainer Nathan Williamson says this week will be crucial to her chances of coming north.

“She is booked to fly up there still but she has had a niggly hoof issue and that has cost us a lead-in race,” Williamson said.

“I would want to see that improve this week to get the work and even a race into her to before heading to Auckland so we will know more later this week.”

As talented as Duchess Maria is, it would be a huge ask to come to Auckland to take on a 3-year-old crop in record-breaking mode led by Our Col, Petite Armour and potentially Kyvalley Ray, the latter costing punters plenty with an early gallop at Cambridge last Friday.

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.