Racing: Big names cop poor draws in features

Champion mare Mainland Banner faces a difficult end to her amazing season after drawing awkwardly in the $100,000 New Zealand Messenger.

The New Zealand Cup winner and certain Horse of the Year is looking for her fourth group-one win of the season on Friday night but faces a far tougher assignment than her effortless victory in last week's Taylor Mile.

On that occasion she was able to amble to the lead before jogging around in 1:55.1 but on Friday she has drawn barrier five, outside second favourite Baileys Dream (two), whose connections will be reluctant to gift Mainland Banner the pacemaking role.

Also drawn inside the great mare is Mr Bojangles (one), who was never really clear in the home straight last Friday and will be far better suited by the 2700m this week.

The Taylor Mile was very much an afterthought for Baileys Dream after he won the Easter Cup, yet he was a gutsy second and with the possibility of him leading on Friday he will have his share of supporters who say he can test Mainland Banner.

That alone should stop the bookmakers posting the great mare any shorter than the $1.50 she was paying last week.

Mr Williams, who was a flying fourth last Friday after starting from barrier eight, has once again fared poorly, drawing outside the favourites at barrier six.

His stablemate Molly Darling is a surprise absentee from the Messenger, having instead been whisked off to Melbourne for the first leg of the Victoria mares' triple crown.

She will start in the A$20,000 ($23,700) Cinderella Classic and with local superstar Innocent Eyes bypassing the race Molly Darling is a certain favourite.

She will then clash with Innocent Eyes in the two latter legs of the triple crown.

While Mainland Banner faces a sizeable test on Friday, so too do the other star attractions on the night.

Interdominion hero Delft has to overcome a 10m handicap in the $100,000 Rowe Cup, last Friday's 3-year-old trot winner Houdini Star has a second-line draw in the Great Northern Derby and budding champion filly Top Tempo will start from the outside of the second line in the $130,000 PGG Wrightson Sales Final.

Delft's handicap was mandatory after his Interdominion win and he will still start favourite in the Rowe after a flashing fourth in his lead-up race last Friday.

He was 20 lengths from the leaders at one stage and had to come five wide on the home turn but still made ground on the winner, Inspire, who had a 20m start on him.

This week that start is reduced to 10m and open-class newcomer Inspire has drawn wide on the front line, alongside Australian visitor A Touch Of Flair.

The latter is the big winner in the handicaps as he was off the 20m backmark with Delft last Friday but comes in off the front this week.

His trainer-driver Russell Thomson still has to worry about how the 5-year-old handled the track after his two gallops last Friday, both on the top bend which can prove so costly for horses inexperienced at Alexandra Park.

Houdini Star will need to prove he is the best 3-year-old trotter in the country to win the Derby because not only has he drawn the second line but his arch-rival Galleons Assassin has drawn perfectly at barrier two.

That was the only good news for his trainer Mark Purdon yesterday, though, with Top Tempo copping a horror marble in the richest race of the night.

She will still start a hot favourite after three unbeaten race starts and an awesome 1:58.4 trial win last Monday.