Racing: Fancied Myron mulls over 45m handicap

Myron and the punters who support him are on a hiding to nothing at Alexandra Park tonight.

The best horse in the night's feature race will need a miracle to win from his 45m handicap but trainer Alan Fausett admits that doesn't phase him.

The Pukekohe trainer didn't originally have tonight's 2700m race on Myron's programme but was almost forced into starting by events beyond his control.

One was the abandonment of the free-for-all scheduled for tonight's meeting, another the incredibly slow time in last Friday's North Shore City Stakes, in which Myron finished fourth.

"They only went 3:32 for the 2700m last week and to keep him up to peak fitness he needs another run," said Fausett.

"Had the free-for-all got off the ground this week it would have been ideal but since it didn't this race was really our only option."

Myron is still very much on target for the New Zealand Cup even after appearing to battle into fourth place last Friday.

"It was a better run than it looked," explains his trainer.

"He lost a few lengths around the home bend and then had to work hard to make ground in the straight because the inside of the track was very deep.

"But he still didn't finish too far behind Mi Muchacho."

While he is happy with Myron's preparation, Fausett is an astute judge of horses and admits winning tonight is almost certainly beyond the five-year-old.

"I don't think he can give a horse like Badlands Bute a 35m start," he admits.

"At Alexandra Park they pace their sectionals too quick to make ground and I'd be happy to see him running on.

"I am not saying he can't win because anything can happen but we have to be realistic."

Making Myron's task even harder is the fact the 12 runners are spread over five different handicaps, ensuring the field will string out early, meaning Myron could settle up to 15 lengths from the leaders.

It also contains stayers like Prince Of Peace, Jag Star and Lord Vader who should keep the pressure on and speedsters like Badlands Bute and Napoleon who can flash home with the right trip.

Badlands Bute was also a victim of the deep passing lane last Friday and will strip a lot fitter tonight even though the race is a giant step up in class.

Last season's dual Derby winner comes in well under the handicaps and with usual driver Tony Herlihy back in the sulky looks the horse to beat.

Napoleon could be the value option as he has had little luck racing against the big guns and is good from a standing start, while Prince Of Peace may only need a top three finish to guarantee himself a spot in the New Zealand Cup as form contenders continue to drop away from the great race.

Another pacer who disappointed at Alexandra Park last Friday, Aqua Blast, should bounce back in tonight's other main pace, the Sires' Stakes heat.

Aqua Blast led but faded to third against the older pacers but trainer-driver Frank Cooney believes the muscular three-year-old will be fitter tonight. "He hadn't raced for three weeks before that so I think he will be better," said Cooney.

Aqua Blast has drawn ideally on what is not an overly fast front line and should lead, which is usually half the battle in sprint races at Alexandra Park.