‘Leader Peter’ McMullen’s attitude could shape tonight’s Cambridge sprints

The Janitor takes on the best Kiwi pacers at Cambridge tonight in preparation for next week's $1 million Race by Sports Nation.

WAIKATO’S HUGE HARNESS WEEK

Tonight

** $60,000 Flying Mile Trot

** $60,000 Flying Mile Pace

Friday, April 10

Night Of Champions

** $1 million The Race by Sports Nation

** $530,000 TAB Trot

The leader of the Australian assault on New Zealand’s harness racing autumn riches admits he may not be able to help himself at Cambridge tonight.

Which makes Pete McMullen the driver to beat and fear, in tonight’s two $60,000 sprint races.

Tonight’s meeting provides the two lead-ups to next Friday’s far richer slot races, the $1m The Race by Sports Nation and $530,000 TAB Trot, albeit tonight’s race don’t contain next week’s favourites Leap To Fame (pace) and Keayang Zahara (trot).


But they do have two other outstanding Queenslanders in The Janitor and Gus, both to be driven by McMullen and trained by his wife Chantal Turpin.

The Janitor is one of the big movers in the Australian open-class ranks in the last year, having finished second to Leap To Fame in the Miracle Mile three weeks ago, while Gus spanked the Kiwi trotters not once but twice at the New Zealand Cup carnival.

At their best and with good draws they would be the clear pair to beat tonight, but both are drawn wide and have bigger fish to fry next Friday.

As is so often the case in lead-up races to the really rich stuff, driver intent will be pivotal and that is where McMullen’s natural instinct may prove decisive.

He is, after all, nicknamed “Leader Peter” because of his aggressive style and he admits that could kick in tonight.

“The wide draws don’t make it easy but I might not be able to help myself,” McMullen says with a smile.

“With a horse like Gus, once he settles early I might just let him go because that is how I often drive him.”

That was the winning formula in both his Group 1 wins during Cup week and if Gus is launched in the first half of tonight’s Waikato Trotters Mile, he should be able to easily get outside likely leader Hillbilly Blues and make his life difficult.

On the flip side, if Gus doesn’t launch and Hillbilly Blues is able to control the race and get a head of steam up at the 600m mark, he very clearly becomes the one to beat.

Which scenario is more likely?

Probably Gus being put into the race, so expect his prince to shorten tonight in a race where the pair should dominate over Oscar Bonavena, who is likely to be driven more conservatively.

The Flying Mile Pace has more moving parts, with The Janitor up against most of our elite pacers – and crucially, he lacks the natural gate speed usually associated with Australia’s best pacers.

New Zealand’s pacing ranks are going through a cyclical funk after three straight years of having their collective butts kicked by the best Australians, and The Janitor could well continue that tonight after a storming past six months.

Again though, his chances could come down to McMullen’s intent.

If The Janitor settles near last and doesn’t move down the home straight the first time, he faces being at least three wide on a sub-55-second last 800m and for all his talent, that is an awfully hard way to beat all of our best pacers.

He can undoubtedly win but his chances are probably no better than the likes of We Walk By Faith, Sooner The Bettor, Republican Party or even Merlin, because The Janitor could end up covering the most ground.

“It sounds like he has settled in well but the lack of gate speed won’t help,” admits McMullen.

“And yes, next week is the main target so this will be an interesting race.”

The Janitor’s best chance may actually be moving as soon as the field settles and getting outside the leader, so the first half of the race could be just as telling as the second.

With Sooner The Bettor the likely leader, he will take catching but the chances of We Walk By Faith depend on him get the right trail, and the same goes for Republican Party, as he is probably best suited to sitting one-one (which could happen).

Merlin could also be better off using his gate speed early, because if he goes back to last he faces a near-impossible mission.

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.