By Michael Guerin
The Ashburton Flying Stakes could decide the New Zealand Cup chances of Jeremiah and Better Knuckle Up.
And it may now also play a pivotal role in the preparation of their stablemate Merlin after his moderate fifth at Addington on Friday night.
Jeremiah and Better Knuckle Up head south next week to join the rest of the Barry Purdon/Scott Phelan raiders already in Canterbury and they looked in fine form for the trip when they quinellaed the Vale Chris Garrard Pace at Alexandra Park on Friday night.
Both were slow away and had to make up enormous ground in the 2200m stand and their runs had equal merit.
Better Knuckle Up dragged Jeremiah into the race but it was a beautifully-timed drive from Barry Purdon that proved the difference as Jeremiah got over the top of his stablemate late in sizzling sectionals.
“He is a pretty good horse, they both are,” said Purdon, driving his second winner in two meetings after six years out of the racenight sulky.
“He has speed and they will both head to the Ashburton Flying Stakes next.
“That should give us a really good idea of where they stand and we can make our decisions about whether to aim at a New Zealand Cup after that.
“They both have the Christian Cullen against their own age group down there as well and there are other options for them during Cup week as well.”
One of those is the NZ Free-For-All, a race Merlin won last season but quite incredibly he now hasn’t won a race in 10 starts since.
He was only okay, by his own high standards, when fifth behind Republican Party in the Canterbury Classic at Addington on Friday.
“He maybe gets a pass mark but really I think he should have finished second,” said Purdon.
“He will likely head to Ashburton next too and we’d like to see him go a little better.”
Purdon will also head south next week to join up with the team and can look forward to the upcoming three-year-old races in both gaits with some excitement after Greased Lightnin and Meant To Be were both excellent in their races at Addington on Friday night.
Meant To Be will improve on his fresh up second to Habibti Pat in the three-year-old trot while Greased Lightnin looks to have gone to another level after a storming win in the Garrards Sires’ Stakes Sophomore.
“He went great and he had taken ground off the best three-year-olds in the Flying Stakes the start before too,” said Purdon.
Greased Lightnin as of yet doesn’t have a spot in The Velocity but after the last two weeks it is hard to believe there are 10 three-year-old pacers in the country better than him.
