By Michael Guerin
Three favourites, three different states of readiness.
That sums up the powerful Barry Purdon/Scott Phelan assault on Addington tonight as the open class pacing season steps up a gear in the $60,000 Lamb and Hayward Canterbury Classic (9.35pm).
The stable have their elite pacers Merlin and Sooner The Bettor in the capacity field, up against Republican Party, We Walk By Faith and Alta Meteor, so basically all the local New Zealand Cup-winning chances aside from Akuta, who is sidelined this week.
The northern stable also have our best young trotters in Meant To Be (R7, No.7) in a small but strong three-year-old trot and Greased Lightnin as favourite in the $50,000 Garrards’ Sophomore Classic (8.38pm).
Merlin and Greased Lightnin were backed soon after markets opened and Phelan, who has travelled south with the team, says the time is right for Merlin to step up.
“He has had two runs back and been good but the crucial thing this week is he is back on the front line,” says Phelan.
“He has been off 20m in those two races so far and we all know how hard that is.
“He has good manners and if he steps well he is ready to be driven aggressively.”
Sooner The Bettor has beaten Merlin in both their recent Alexandra Park starts but doesn’t get a 20m head start tonight and how he steps will have a huge impact on his chances as the front line contains some fast beginners.
“He has also some times raced below his best at Addington, where he has never won, but we can’t fault him going into it.”
Republican Party, We Walk By Faith and Alta Meteor have all won impressively this campaign and could do so again without surprising but the capacity field will make it hard for those behind midfield with a lap to go with so much horsepower likely to be handy.
While Phelan is adamant both Merlin and Sooner the Bettor are ready for tonight he warns exciting trotter Meant To Be goes into his comeback with one trial less that would be ideal.
“Don’t get me wrong, he is really well and even stronger than last season,” he says.
“We are very happy with him but he has only had the one trial and a couple of the smart ones in the race are going to be fitter than him.
“This is only our starting point, not our Grand Final, so he might possibly be vulnerable.”
Greased Lightnin sits between those two levels of fitness, ready to win Race 8 but still on the up as a huge next two months loom for the three-year-old pacing crop.
He was a luckless fifth making good ground during a fast last 400m in the Group 1 Flying Stakes last Friday when fresh up and the superstars who beat him home last week don’t oppose him tonight.
Greased Lightnin has good gate speed which makes him the one to beat.
Purdon and Phelan also train the two favourites in main race at Alexandra Park tonight, with Better Knuckle Up (R6, No.2) favoured.
“He was very good coming from well off the speed against Merlin and those horses last start and he might be just a bit more forward than Jeremiah, who missed that race,” says Phelan.
