Partyon is out the defend her Breeders Crown title. Photo / Harness Racing Victoria
New Zealand's faltering challenge for the Breeders Crown roared back into life yesterday.
Three wins in as many races for the Kiwi-trained pacers in heats at Menangle have boosted chances of a serious New Zealand team at the rich Crown finals day at Melton in Victoria next month.
For much of the last decade New Zealand horses - both pacers and trotters - have dominated Breeders Crown day, with the added bonus of Kiwi horses who travelled to the meeting extending their season by a month because of the late finish to the Australian harness racing season.
That has often led to the crazy situation of horses turning four in New Zealand on August 1, yet reverting to racing as three-year-olds when they cross the Tasman for the Crown a few weeks later.
But while the Breeders Crown, with its two-year-old pacing finals worth more than A$300,000, has been enormously lucrative for New Zealand horses, this year's representation was looking shaky.
Already the biggest names from the two and three-year-old pacing ranks have pulled out, their trainers instead preferring to spell horses like Vincent, Ultimate Machete and Spankem after long seasons rather than press on until late August, meaning they would probably not race again until after Christmas.
So the all-conquering Purdon-Rasmussen stable won't have their absolute superstars at the Breeders Crown and Mark Purdon even expressed doubts over whether he would have any reps at the meeting unless they could win their heats in impressive fashion yesterday.
That box was ticked on three separate occasions as first juvenile Sicario, then group-one winning filly Partyon and Queensland Derby winner The More The Better also easily won their heats at Menangle.
None was asked for their best by catch driver Luke McCarthy but Partyon still paced her last 400m in a sizzling 25.9 to confirm she will be returning to Melton to defend the title she won as a two-year-old last season.
The More The Better won even easier and in a similar final sectional with a 26.1 last 400m while Sicario's win was mere trackwork so the All Stars will have three major players for the Crown semifinals on August 19, followed by the finals on August 27.
But they will be readied for the series without the Purdon-Rasmussen polish, with Purdon leaving yesterday for a holiday before representing New Zealand at the World Drivers Champs, and Rasmussen also holidaying before supporting her partner at the series.
"We are lucky we have good staff but it still makes it tricky getting them ready for the Crown with both of us being in Canada," admitted Purdon.
Top horseman Cran Dalgety is also taking three reps to the Breeders Crown, even after two of them, Bettor Joy and Master Moonlite, were beaten in their non-tote heats at Addington last Friday. Bettor Joy was clearly outpointed by Angel Of Harlem, who trainer Barry Ward is likely to send to Anthony Butt to train and drive for the Crown.
But with those defeats for Dalgety's big name pacers and Purdon-Rasmussen not sending their top guns, the New Zealand team for the Crown is in the usually unthinkable position of not having any dominant favourites for the pacing series.
Northern pacers King Of Swing and Big Mach are also likely starters but Alexandra Park heat winner Utmost Delight is out of the series and heading to the paddock.
New Zealand's trotting team for the Crown is also lighter than usual but does boast the shining light of three-year-old star Enghien, who will be red hot to win his division as well as the Victoria Trotting Derby in two weeks on the way through.