The strangest New Zealand Trotting Cup build-up in years got even weirder today when two horses not even going to the great race quinellaed one of its biggest lead-ups.
Spankem led home fellow four-year-old Pats Delight in the $50,000 Kaikoura Cup, with horses who were considered serious chances for the $800,000 New Zealand Cup at Addington in two weeks well beaten behind them.
Spankem, a one-time top juvenile has won just one race in 10 starts since, missed most of last term after an unsuccessful Victoria Derby campaign. Because he is only finding his feet again after seven months away from the track he isn’t even entered for the Cup.
Pats Delight was good enough to win the Harness Jewels and almost snare the NZ Derby last season but he isn’t heading to the NZ Cup either, with the pair likely to contest the junior free-for-all on Cup day and then potentially the NZ Free-For-All on November 16.
Not that Spankem’s trainers Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen need another Cup starter as they have five aimed at the race and they will be charged with fending off an increasingly-strong looking Australian team.
Chicago Bull must be getting close to New Zealand Cup favouritism after his quite stunning win after galloping early at Alexandra Park last Friday while Tiger Tara lost few friends in defeat when second in the Cranbourne Cup on Saturday night and the pair look to have a class and big-time racing edge on many of their Kiwi rivals.
While Spankem provided the shock of the day yesterday the feel-good story was the continued brave comeback of Speeding Spur, who overcame a 10m handicap to win the South Bay Trotters Cup.
As almost every other race on the day showed, coming from well back at Kaikoura is incredibly hard to do, yet Speeding Spur was driven with supreme confidence by co-trainer Josh Dickie and swooped up wide down the back straight the last time to win going away.
That has moved him to $6 equal favouritism for the $300,000 Dominion, the major trot of Cup week on November 16.
The next lead-up to the New Zealand Cup comes at Addington on Friday night where Ultimate Machete, who just clings to favouritism, will need an impressive performance to retain that position.
