There was little doubt Locharburn would be at Addington on the second Tuesday in November, but he booked his ticket for the New Zealand Cup last night anyway.
The Kevin Chapman-trained pacer was sitting fourth in the rankings, and he served notice on rivals still at home in their stables with his Maurice Holmes Vase win last night.
The 6yr-old took over from Costa Del Magnifico with 1700m to go in the 2600m pace, and driver Dexter Dunn stole some soft sectionals between the 1600m and the 800m.
However, Tiger Tara never relented in his quest to get past Locharburn despite sitting parked from the 1700m, forcing Dunn to eke a little extra out of Locharburn to hold on by a neck and gain automatic entry into the New Zealand Cup.
Tiger Tara’s run was clearly the best of the others, although Franco Nelson made ground up the inside and was past the two leaders 200m after the line after being two lengths in arrears at the finish.
Locharburn moved into $7.50 for the New Zealand Cup with the TAB bookmakers after his win, with Tiger Tara tightening to $11.
Earlier in the night, Sunny Ruby’s customary sprint took her past her rivals in the straight to win the c4 and faster trot by 2 lengths over Tornado Valley.
And at Alexandra Park, Dominion Trot hopeful One Over Da Moon relished starting off equal marks from the mobile barrier, holding off Realmein by three-quarters of a length in the last 200m for trainer-driver Tony Herlihy.
