Eamon Maguire dominated last season’s southern 3yr-old ranks and was trainer Graeme Anderson’s stable star. But while the 4yr-old has been building up towards a new campaign, Anderson has unleashed Titan Banner on the open-class scene, grabbing the title from him. Titan Banner may have to keep a good look over his shoulder because in time his junior stablemate may just snatch it back.
Asked whether Eamon Maguire could reach the his older stablemate’s heights, Anderson does not see why he can not.
"He is a better-gaited horse and has more speed than Titan Banner at the same age."
It is that fluent and flawless gait that will be the key to his chances in tomorrow’s cup as Eamon Maguire will face the standing-start tape for the time. Anderson
is well aware that anything can happen under race conditions.
"When we took him into the track to work him he began really well and down the beach took off and began like a rocket. But it is a different story at the races."
"He should be OK off 30m on his own and he has got the best driver on [Dexter Dunn]."
Should Eamon Maguire make a mistake and set himself an impossible task to win the race, there will be a line-up of handy horses and drivers to seize the winning opportunity.
The progressive It Ain’t The Money has a perfect one-from-one record from behind the tapes and impressed with a fresh-up win at Ascot Park earlier this month.
Tomorrow’s race conditions — a 2700m standing start — are not those Anderson would have wanted ideally to kick off his 4yr-old’s campaign, but there were no other viable options locally, he said.
The horse has the annual Kaikoura meeting on his agenda later this month where he will contest a $50,000 race for yearling sales graduates.
Titan Banner, who has come through his Methven Cup win in brilliant order, was likely to race in the Kaikoura Cup on the same day, Anderson said.
Tomorrow’s feature trot marks the return of star Southland trotter Dark Horse who kicks off her season from the back mark of 60m.
With no trials or workouts leading into her return, a win would represent a pinpoint training performance by Nathan Williamson. It would also help boost the horse’s Dominion chances.
Dark Horse is 17th on the order of entry for the 3200m New Zealand Cup week feature and needs to reach a top-15 ranking to start in the race. Williamson’s brother, Brad, lines up his first runner as a trainer in race 1. Heez Belmont comes into the event on the back of a recent trial win at Oamaru.
- Jonny Turner
Updates
Additional information for meetings today.—M2 Rotorua
Rider
Race 8: Don’tblamethemusic — Cameron Lammas.
Scratching
Race 3: Fullinbloom
Weather, fine; track, dead4; trail in true position
M6 Ashburton RC
Riders: Race 1: Goodtago — Shankar Muniandy
Race 5: Xpersei — Jillian Morris
Race 8: So Brazen — Amanda Morgan (a1)
Scratchings
Race 1: Bells Of Ouzeley
Race 2: Goodtago
Race 8: Tiffany’s Time
Race 9: Twoznotenough
Race 11: Redesdale
Weather, fine; track, dead4; rail in true position
