Racing: Sacred Star on track for Ellerslie's iconic Railway

Regular rider Vinnie Colgan is back in the saddle on Sacred Star for the Railway on Monday.Picture / NZ Racing Desk

Forgotten sprint king Sacred Star has weight on his side as he aims for one of the most improbable victories in the history of Ellerslie's iconic Railway.

Not just the light weight he has to carry in the hottest race of the season so far, but his own weight as well.

The Cambridge sprinter goes into Monday's $200,000 Sistema-sponsored dash for cash having not raced for 17 months, with nagging hoof issues keeping him away from the track.

Before they delayed his career he was one of New Zealand's best sprinters of recent times, his signature win in the 2015 Telegraph at Trentham a four-length demolition job in which he nearly broke 1min 07sec for the 1200m carrying the then 57kg topweight.

While that crowned him king of the local sprinters, Sacred Star has only raced here five times since but has competed in three Stradbrokes, for two fifths and a sixth in the famous Queensland sprint.

Trainer Tony Pike admits the enormous break since he last raced could play against the eight-year-old on Monday but it also brings with it some advantages.

"Because he hasn't raced for so long, and therefore won anything, he gets in beautifully with 55kg under the set weights and penalties conditions," Pike said.

"For a horse as good as him who has raced well against some of the best in Australia that is a luxury weight and he has raced very well fresh in the past."

Pike is right.

The last time Sacred Star carried less than 55kg in a New Zealand race was when he finished third in the Thorndon Mile nearly four years ago.

But that isn't the only weight on Pike's mind heading into Monday.

"He is a horse who is always going to carry a fair bit of weight but his peak racing weight is 548kg and he weighed 552kg this morning, so he is getting pretty close."

That means Scared Star has shed around 15kg since returning a sparkling gallop between races under Damian Lane at the Ellerslie twilight meeting on December 13.

"He has come to hand really nice since then so we are hoping the weather holds and we can draw somewhere in the middle barriers because he is not really the sort of horse who likes to get locked away down on the fence." The TAB have Sacred Star $10 before tomorrow's crucial barrier draw, with regular rider Vinnie Colgan back in the saddle.

Volpe Veloce is the $4.60 favourite for the Railway after her comprehensive last start win and while she may be viewed as a 1400m-1600m mare, she has never been beaten in five 1200m races or at Ellerslie.

Heroic Valour and defending champion Start Wondering share the $6 second line although the latter's Sprinter of the Year season last term will see him carry 59kg.

While the Sistema Railway looms as the highlight of the massive New Year's Day programme the moved Avondale Cup has added a confused look to the market.

Add in the Rich Hill Mile, Jamieson Park Auckland Guineas, Dunstan Feeds Stayers Championship, Stella Artois Royal Stakes and the Barneswood Farms Eclipse Stakes and the meeting is what many purists believe is New Zealand's strongest of the year, even if the Karaka Million meeting on January 27 has gone into warp drive.

● Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman had the Midas touch yesterday with a hatful of winners across both North Island venues.

The Cambridge trainers enjoyed a four-timer at the Rotorua meeting and with a hat-trick at New Plymouth as well they celebrated their most successful day in terms of individual winners.

True Enough, Princess Sapphire, Mental Telepathy and Ladynadel comprised their winning Rotorua quartet with Desert Storm, Break My Stride and Mighty Power successful at New Plymouth. Additional reporting NZ Racing Desk