By Michael Guerin
It is hard to believe it has almost been a year since Who’s Delight won a race but that could change at Addington tonight.
The rugged pacer has been one of our bravest intermediate and even top grade performers since he last visited the winner’s circle last May but looks to be in the right race at today’s day meeting which dovetails into the massive card at Alexandra Park tonight or the Warriors’ clash with Newcastle if you live in Christchurch and are doing the local Anzac Day double.
Plenty of our harness people probably wouldn’t mind being at Addington today, then chucking the horses on the transporter and heading next door to the NRL game but many of them will be at Alexandra Park instead. Among them, John Dunn, the most public face of Diamond Racing.
“We will only have the two at Addington,” Dunn tells HRNZ.
That will leave red, black and white colours to be carried by Who’s Delight and Dalton Shard in the $20,000 The Last Post Free-For-All, over the 1980m mobile.
Dunn says whichever of the stable’s two runners gets the better trip could decide their chances but he likes the effort he has been seeing from Who’s Delight.
“He has still been hanging a bit but he is going huge races,” says Dunn.
“He gets a good enough draw this week and I can see him going forward and getting his chance.
“He is very well and I think he could be hard to beat.”
The pressure in the race with the hard-running Beach Ball and Vessem, who has been in great form, could see a strong tempo which would suit Dalton Shard, who is best saved for one run and will need to be from a wide draw.
Looking further North to Alexandra Park, Dunn says the stable has strong chances but in incredibly hard races.
“I would have loved to have drawn inside Marketplace with Got The Chocolates in the Derby,” he says.
“Marketplace drawing the ace gives them all the options and while he took a trail on us in the Harness Million I am not sure whether they will do that again.
“But obviously getting to the markers would really help us.”
The stable has Ya Rite Darl and Tyrons Strapping Lad in the $100,000 Breckon Farms Northern Trotting Derby and the former strode into calculations with an effortless win last Friday.
“She went great and has a perfect draw but we all know how hard Meant To Be is going to be to beat after he won like that fresh up without a trial.”
Dunn likes the sneaky each way chances of Mighty Logan in the $100,000 Fiskens and Son Anzac Cup in which he starts on the front line with the big names off 10m.
“I think he has a chance if he can step fast and run hard,” says Dunn
