By Michael Guerin
The two biggest young guns of New Zealand pacing face potentially brutal barrier draws at Friday night’s mammoth Addington meeting.
And the causes of both Marketplace and Jumal could be made even more difficult by their key rivals drawing the ace in each race.
The 13-race card is stacked with outstanding fields with a common theme of the best horses getting the hardest jobs.
That was not unexpected in the Commodore Hotel Main Pace in which Akuta and Republican Party share the 25m backmark or in the Braxton Farriers Worthy Queen Trot, in which Oscar Bonavena, Muscle Mountain, One Over All and the returning Bet N Win face daunting 20m handicaps over 2000m.
But while those disadvantages were pre-ordained it was luck of the draw, or should that be no luck, for Marketplace who faces barrier eight of nine in the $100,000 Dawkins Group Flying Stakes and the unbeaten Jumal who will start from the second line in the NZBS Harness Million Two-Year-Old Pace for the boys.
They are undoubtedly both good enough to overcome their draws but they are made even more difficult by the fact in the Flying Stakes last start winner Rubira has drawn barrier 1 and has the gate speed to use it.
And in the Harness Million the hugely talented Zeus Lightning has barrier 1 so looks set to bet a long way in front of Jumal when the big field settles into some sort of order.
That didn’t stop the TAB bookies opening Jumal at $1.85 but Marketplace drawing outside all of his main rivals saw his price pushed to $2.20, huge odds for him.
The luckless draws for the better young pacers continued in the NZBS Harness Million Two-Year-Old Fillies in which Shezsofast will start from widest of the eight runners.
Earlier in the night there are just four starters in the $75,000 NZBS Harness Million Trot, with Aussie baby Kyvalley Ray set to start a hot favourite.
To see Friday night’s Addington fields click here
