Racing: Committed Christian may answer prayers

Paul Kerr has vowed that tonight's Great Northern Derby will not be turned into a stable benefit at the expense of his rivals.

Kerr trains two of the favourites in the $125,000 classic at Alexandra Park and it must be tempting to use them as a two-horse team to ensure victory in the great race.

Pay Me Christian (barrier one) and Alta Sirocco (three) are drawn to dominate the early running and it would be easy for Kerr to ask his drivers to fall into a lead-trail scenario.

That would allow Alta Sirocco to lead and cop any mid-race pressure, giving harness racing's newest $1 million colt, Pay Me Christian, the trail and the fast-track to Derby success via the passing lane.

Such pre-race organising is, of course, against the rules but is virtually impossible to prove and is quite blatantly used in major galloping races throughout Europe.

But Kerr says the thought has not even entered his mind.

"I have two horses going out there to win and I hope I am lucky enough to get it with one of them," he said.

"They have different owners and different drivers and I wouldn't dare tell them how to do their job.

"I know, looking at the draws, they could end up in front and trailing but if they do that will be because their drivers think that is the best place for them separately. It is their decision alone."

Kerr couldn't be happier with the pair, who have thrived since coming north to prepare for the race.

"They worked well in their final workout before coming up here but they have really raced ahead since.

"Their work at Alexandra Park on Sunday morning was just outstanding and I couldn't be happier with them."

That should ease the worries of some punters that the pair have not raced since the Sires' Stakes Final at Addington on November 8.

That 1950m event was won by Pay Me Christian and is the best example of why he is the horse to beat tonight.

On that occasion he was not only the best pacer in the race but significantly more tractable than Alta Sirocco, who cost himself by running wide on the home bend before storming into fourth.

While Kerr says there is nothing between the two horses, it doesn't take much badgering to get him to admit Pay Me Christian is the one to beat tonight.

"He has what should be the better draw and the gate speed to use it so I guess he has to be the one to beat.

"But they work as good as each other at home so the gap may not be as big as people think."

Kerr is not kidding himself that tonight's race is a matter of turning up and collecting the cheques.

"On paper it looks a great race for us but these are the best 3-year-olds in the country. It is a Derby and they are very hard races to win."

For all that, Pay Me Christian deserves his $2 favouritism as he will cover less ground than his rivals and would only need a quiet middle 400m or 800m sectional to have too much speed over the final lap.

The biggest danger to him cementing his $1 million-plus pricetag from a sale this week would be extreme mid-race pressure.

The most likely horses to pour that on would be the Geoff Small-trained pair of Ambro The Thug and Awesome Armbro.

Both are genuine Derby-quality stayers who may not have the sheer speed of Pay Me Christian. From their second-line draws they have no choice but to move mid-race to get handy and try and outstay the favourite.

Whether they can is doubtful unless Pay Me Christian is asked to burn too much early.

Jays Debut is an obvious danger if the pace is on because he is a strong pacer who would relish a hard 2700m, especially as he is likely to be out of the early fireworks.

Another suited by a tough contest would be Monkey King, who was stunning beating moderate opponents at Alexandra Park last Friday.

He showed electrifying speed to come from last at the 200m mark, and while this is a huge ask for a horse of his inexperience, he could divebomb them late if driven cold.

Roddick, who appeals as a class stayer in the making, looks the best of the rest in one of the better Great Northern Derby fields of recent years.

But the bottom line is only one of these horses is worth $1 million yet, and when that horse draws the best marble in the race, he should win.