Sydney filly Perfumist looks the big winner in the barrier draw for New Zealand’s richest ever race, the $3.5 million NZB Kiwi at Ellerslie on Saturday.
The Bjorn Baker-trained filly drew barrier two from where she should be able to hop straight on the speed, her preferred racing style.
Herdraw is certain to see her shorten when the TAB market reopens after the draw. The biggest loser in the draw appears to be Public Attention, who has drawn the outside barrier 14.
The draw was made at the Hilton Hotel in Auckland last night while the rest of the fields for Saturday’s $9m Barfoot and Thompson Champions Day will be released around 10.30am on Wednesday.
Four emergencies have been announced for the NZB Kiwi but they were not allocated barrier draws because if there is a scratching, the replacement chosen by the slot holders will use the withdrawn horse’s barrier draw.
Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.
