Racing: New recruit ready for more Magic, as weather woes put two meetings under threat

Magic Four is ready to win at Addington tonight after an impressive trial last week. Photo / Supplied

Team Dunn will line up two horses at Addington tonight who played central roles in the most dramatic harness races of the last 12 months.

Mataderos (R6, No 4) and Magic Four (R7, No 3) represent the premiership-winning stable and both come out of races that shocked the harness racing industry last summer.

Mataderos was runner-up last November when his stablemate Sundees Son obliterated the national 3200m record in the Dominion, trotting times many thought would never be recorded here, while Magic Four pulled off one of the greatest upsets in New Zealand pacing history when he came from nowhere to beat Akuta and Franco Indie at 100-1 in the Harness Millions at Alexandra Park in February, back when he wasn't trained by the Dunns.

Both return tonight but while new stable recruit Magic Four has a perfect draw in a mobile 1980m, Mataderos faces a 40m handicap in his trot.

"He can still win but it is never easy off a handicap first up and he will probably be driven cold," says John Dunn. "That might make him vulnerable to what the others do."

Enghien has a recent race under his belt so could get a tactical advantage over Mataderos.

Magic Four hasn't shown anything like his career-highlight shock before or since but has a touch of class and Dunn says after an impressive trial last week he is ready to win.

The stable also has mares Soundsofcash and First Rose in race eight. Dunn opts for Soundsofcash as the better hope as he believes First Rose will need her outing.

"But it is a tricky field, small fields often lack pace and that makes it hard," he says.

The stable also has four maidens in race five and Dunn says his drive Who's Delight is the best chance of the quartet.

Weather woes put two meetings under threat

This weekend's two Central Districts gallops meetings are under threat with track inspections this morning to decide whether they proceed.

New Plymouth is scheduled to race tomorrow and Waverley host a jumps and highweight programme on Sunday but with up to 200mm of rain forecast both meetings are in doubt.

The New Plymouth meeting looks the more doubtful of the two, with heavy rain almost all day yesterday leaving the track waterlogged with concerns surface water may be on the track during today's inspection.

"We have had a lot of rain and we are hopeful more than confident the meeting can go ahead," says Taranaki racing boss Carey Hobbs.

"If the weather forecast is right and we get as much rain as they are predicting I doubt we can race. In fact, it would be extremely unlikely.

"We can only hope the rain stops and things change but we will make the call as soon as we can after the track inspection so everybody knows in advance."

The Waverley meeting on Sunday faces a similar dilemma although it is in a slightly better position, only being rated a heavy8 yesterday.

It will also be inspected this morning but unless it has surface water a decision may not be made then as it has more time to drain and the weather improve before Sunday.

Cancellation of a major Saturday meeting would cap an extremely frustrating winter for the thoroughbred code.

Many pundits have asked why synthetic tracks can't be used to host Saturday meetings if they have to be moved from their scheduled turf tracks.

This weekend's rare potential double cancellation in the Central Districts comes as the new Awapuni synthetic track held its first trials yesterday, raising the possibility of the new track being a secondary option in the region.