Latest news with #TaylorMile
NZ Herald
07-08-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Forgotten superstar of harness racing Akuta ready for comeback
'But Barb put a really detailed plan in place and part of that was once it was healing, to keep it that region stretched and active. 'So he spent time being ridden and then he has been wonderfully looked after by Tony Shaw, who now has a share in the horse as our way of saying thank you for all the work he has done with him.' So can punters back the former Auckland Cup winner with confidence tonight? 'Well, he seems very sound and has handled everything well so far,' explains Purdon. 'He is working like a good horse should and on class you would think he could have their measure.' However, Purdon has been doing this for long enough to know the easiest way to undo a campaign is to start it by giving a horse a headache. Which brings us to tonight's tactics from the outside of the front line over 1700m with junior driver Brooke Wilkins, her junior concession allowing Akuta to start in the race. Punters who take the short odds would love to see Akuta race forward, wrest the lead and blow his rivals away as a former Taylor Mile winner should in a mid-grade sprint. After all, punters taking short odds love an easy watch. 'The problem with going forward is if he doesn't work out it is hard to have a Plan B,' says Purdon. 'I'd hate to see him have a hard run and be finishing on his hands and knees in his first race in so long. 'It will be up to Brooke to drive him how he feels and how the race looks, but if he has any luck he should probably win anyway.' That is true but even tonight's rivals who are rated 20-40 points below Akuta are capable of pacing a 1:53 mile rate or quicker for 1700m. Whether Akuta is actually a sensible bet will come down to final price, with the opening TAB quote of $1.35 too short to be value. Purdon and his son Nathan are in the perfect position to rate the opposition as they also train Treacherous Baby, who looks one of Akuta's main rivals. 'As good a mare as she is, it would be hard to see her beating him,' says Purdon. The stable also has two reps in Race 2 tonight, with little between River (No.1) and debutant Georgie Best (No.6). 'There wouldn't be much between them but they were supposed to go in a two-year-old race that didn't get off the ground so they have to take on the older horses. 'River will be hard to beat and with her draw might be slightly the better chance but I would prefer to see her driven with cover, being a two-year-old filly against the older horses. 'But if the colt [Georgie Best] can get in front of her and even around to the lead he would be really hard to beat.' Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald's Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world's biggest horse racing carnivals.
NZ Herald
01-05-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Cullen: Have faith in my star's standing start manners
'I think he can begin quickly,' says co-trainer Hayden Cullen, who with wife Amanda is in the best form of his career. 'He has only had the one stand and I know he only finished fifth but he was off a 30m handicap by himself, at Cambridge and once they began he had nothing to race so just mucked around. 'He was safe but not fast and ended up being last most of the way and never really got into it. 'But it wasn't his manners that cost him and being a good pacer I think he can use his draw this week so the stand doesn't bother me.' On his Taylor Mile win and fourth as the only horse coming wide in last Friday's Messenger, if We Walk By Faith leads or trails freegoers like Sooner The Bettor or Rakero Rocket, he will be the horse to beat. The Cullens also have the enigmatic Don't Stop Dreaming in the race and while Hayden opts for We Walk By Faith as their better hope Don't Stop Dreaming, like all those on the 10m mark, could win if the race gets turned on its head at the start. 'He was good last week and didn't have a hard run, which should suit him this time, and he can go close but of course that might depend how the race is run.' Republican Party looks the best placed of the pacers on the 10m mark as he is a great beginner and has been in wonderful form so he if can step quick enough to gain an advantage over some of the front markers, then the complexion of the race might change. That will also be the case for Mo'unga, although he is the horse who looks unluckiest to be back on the 10m mark while what Chase A Dream does tonight is anybody's guess. On a night with so many big trot races, the juvenile pacers have their autumn finals with Alecto (R8, No.2) looking to have a major advantage in the draws over unbeaten Australian filly Ripples (9), who beat her last Friday but raced erratically. In the boys final, Fugitive (R6, No.6) looks the most advanced but Andretti (4) should be a big improver on last Friday. The Cullen team also have high-class filly General Jen taking on the older horses in Race 2 and she prepares for the Sires' Stakes Final next Friday. Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald's Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world's biggest horse racing carnivals.
