Racing: Hanger set to swoop at Ruakaka

Santa Monica winning the group one Railway at Ellerslie on New Year's Day. Photo / Trish Dunell

It is a numbers game for punters willing to back Hanger in the sprint feature at Ruakaka tomorrow.

Because co-trainer Roger James says the classy five-year-old can win his seasonal debut, but with a very big "if" as the question mark.

Hanger comes into the $35,000 Patron's Trophy well, a potential serious open class galloper with just 54kgs and a small field to aid with his get back and charge late style.

And while he hasn't raced since a booming finish to just be beaten at Ruakaka in late June, James has no concerns about Hanger's fitness.

"We have been able to get plenty of work into him so we won't be using fitness as an excuse," confirms James.

So there are plenty of numbers that seem to suggest Hanger can win but the one that concerns James is the last 600m or even 400m sectionals.

"He can get back a bit as we all know and at Ruakaka if a good horse kicks on the home turn they can be hard to run down," he explains.

"So that would be my worry. If we are back and they kick at the 400m we might struggle to catch them."

Hanger's career stats confirm that. In nine starts below 1300m he has one win and four placings, yet his eight starts at distances further than 1300m have produced three wins and four placings.

He can get back a bit as we all know and at Ruakaka if a good horse kicks on the home turn they can be hard to run down.

Roger James on Hanger

"Ultimately for much of this season we see him as a miler for the bigger races," says James.

What may aid Hanger tomorrow is that after a busy winter, Ruakaka has become progressively more favourable for horses coming down the middle of the track as the inside gets worn.

The last meeting there on August 31, when the rail was out 2.5m, not one leader won and over half of the winners came from well back, most down the middle of the track.

With the rail back in the true tomorrow there may be a slight advantage for just the leader but the reality is swoopers may be far more in play now than they were at the start of the northern winter circuit.

That would be good news for Hanger and those who roll the dice on backing him. One trainer hoping that isn't the case is Stephen Ralph, who bring his Railway winner Santa Monica back to a track she loves.

Santa Monica finished second in this race last season and her four starts in the far north have resulted in two wins and two seconds.

She has been solid in both the Foxbridge Plate and Tarzino Trophy to start the season and drops a fair way in class but because of that steps up to 59.5kg, a weight Ralph admits could have been worse.

"Originally we thought we would be topweight and might have to use a claimer so we were happy to see Consensus in there so we don't have to give them all weight and Trudy [Thornton] can still ride," explains Ralph.

He is adamant the six-year-old mare is fit enough to win and thinks from barrier two she will get across stablemate Admiral (barrier one) at the start and potentially trail.

"That is what we would love to do and that would give her a great shot at winning but we are wary of some of those down in the weights."

While the sprint shapes as one of the races of the day the most hyped horse at Ruakaka will be Catalyst, who has opened a $1.50 favourite for the Cambridge Stud Stakes after a dazzling win at Hastings last start.

Northern lights

• Ruakaka hosts one of its biggest meetings of the year tomorrow.

• Railway winner Santa Monica returns to one of her favourite tracks in the open sprint.

• Catalyst is red hot for the Breeders Stakes after his stunning last-start victory.