Republican Party has been New Zealand's best pacer this spring for young driver Carter Dalgety. Photo / Ajay Berry
What: New Zealand harness racing’s biggest meeting and one of the highest betting turnover sporting events in NZ.
Where: Addington, Christchurch.
Who: The IRT NZ Cup has 15 starters - while it is called the Trotting Cup, it is actually for pacers.
Cup raiders: Australian champion Leap To Fame and Kingman.
The big one: Worth $1 million the Cup is over 3200m.
Other features: $400,000 Renwick Farms Dominion (trotters), $200,000 Woodlands Stud Sires’ Stakes Final (2-year-old pacers), $200,000 Nevele R Fillies Final (3-year-old female pacers)
International flavour: Today also hosts the last of 20 heats of a hugely successful World Driving Championshps, led by Canadian driver James MacDonald (not to be confused with the champion jockey).
Watch: On Trackside (Sky 62) from 11am.
Fields: Fields for all 13 races available on TAB and Betcha websites/apps.
MICHAEL GUERIN’S CUP SELECTIONS
1: LEAP TO FAME
2: REPUBLICAN PARTY
3: KINGMAN
4: AKUTA
One man may hold the key to today’s $1 million IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup at Addington.
There will be 15 high class pacers from 11 different stables and two countries in our greatest harness race over 3200m. But what Carter Dalgety chooses to do in a few crucial seconds around the middle of the race could determine the outcome more than just about anything else.
Dalgety drives New Zealand’s leading hope Republican Party, trained by his parents Cran and Chrissie, who have craved a NZ Cup win since they were kids.
This is their chance.
Republican Party has clearly been the best pacer in NZ this spring with three crushing victories in fast times and on all three occasions he has held his top speed to the line.
That is crucial in a NZ Cup, where the searing speed over the long trip means the Addington home straight is no place for those who flinch.
There is plenty of class among local rivals like Akuta, Merlin and We Walk By Faith in particular but on his form of the last year, and even more so this spring, Republican Party’s best has the Kiwis covered.
So what is the problem?
Well, there are two of them and one is the harness racing sun that puts everything else in his shade: Leap To Fame.
The Queensland champion returns to NZ where he won the Race By Betcha in April for a race of the same monetary value but worth so much more.
His trainer-driver Grant Dixon has always wanted to win a NZ Cup, a race of near mythical allure to the best Australian trainers.
Leap To Fame has proved almost unbeatable.
He has beautiful manners, so while his mid-front line standing start position will be a mental test for him today, he should be no worse than midfield when everybody sorts themselves out.
But he is likely to be behind Republican Party as the Kiwi pacers do this big field, standing start stuff all year around.
If Dalgety secures that tactical advantage, after his spring form, it would seem logical he can head toward the lead inside the first lap.
Soon after could come the moment that decides this NZ Cup.
If Republican Party is in front and Dixon comes looking for control of the race, Dalgety has two options: hand him the front or leave him parked.
Give the lead away and he is almost guaranteed to be towed into second with the tiny hope he runs past Leap To Fame.
Leave the Aussie hero parked and he increases his chances of beating him but also copping pressure that leaves them both vulnerable late, including to the other Aussie in the race, Victoria Cup winner Kingman.
This time last year there would have been no decision to make. Republican Party was clearly inferior to Leap To Fame and he probably still is.
But that gap may have closed. Republican Party has gained a harder edge, constant battles have become frequent wins.
And after two recent defeats in Melbourne you could suggest Leap To Fame may have lost a percentage point or two of dominance. He is still the best horse in this race but no longer wears an undentable suit of armour.
A former first XV rugby star, Dalgety is not one to be intimidated by those bigger and stronger than him, so his first thought is, if he gains an advantage, keep it.
“The biggest advantage in racing is being on the marker pegs, especially at Addington on Cup Day, so if we can get to the front I won’t be handing up,” he told the Herald.
“I know what a great horse Leap To Fame is, he is a champion, and there are plenty of other very good horses in his race but if we end up in that position and hand up, we probably concede defeat.
“Our horse has never been better. He is flying and has improved since Ashburton [last start].
“Dad has been waiting all his life to train a Cup winner and we may never get a chance like this again so we won’t give it away and if Leap To Fame, or anything else, can come from outside us or behind us to win then they are just too good.”
If that most likely of Cup scenarios plays out then Republican Party’s chances increase, Leap To Fame’s slightly reduce, and rivals like Kingman, Merlin, Akuta and We Walk By Faith all get a larger glimmer of hope.
And we could get the gift of a vintage NZ Cup.
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.