NZ Sires Stakes: Nathan hopes work pays for Krug

Trainer Nathan Purdon is going to ask superstar pacer Krug to dig deeper than ever before to hold on to his three-year-old crown.

The two-time Group 1 winner finds himself in the unusual position of not being favourite for the $150,000 Sires’ Stakes Final at the iconic New Zealand Cup meeting at Addington tomorrow for a variety of reasons.

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Not only has he drawn the second line while arch rival Its All About Faith looks the likely leader from the ace, but Krug has looked vulnerable in both his latest race and at Wednesday’s Cup trials.

He hung when beaten in a heat of this series at Ashburton last week and again when well beaten behind Amazing Dream in his trial last Wednesday.

Purdon drove Krug himself in the trial and detected two problems he needs to fix by Tuesday.

“He hung again on the last bend,” said Purdon. “I had a rein burr on him but we might go back to a boring pole for Tuesday.”

The other issues was Krug blew heavily after the race, confirming what his young trainer suspected.

“We have reduced his work load the last couple of weeks because it has been such a long campaign,” he offers.

“But that has meant he is short of his best and he can’t win on Tuesday like that, so we are going to up his work.

“He is by Bettors Delight and they can usually cop the extra work, so we are going to up it every day and try and get him back to his peak for Tuesday.”

Even if he does, Krug is still going to need to come from behind Its All About Faith to win, almost certainly covering extra ground, as will the other favourite in the race American Dealer.

That is not impossible but with Its All About Faith having such good gate speed and few expected challengers until the other favourites circle, the race looks his to lose.

The only concerns for those backing him is that in five of his last six races Its All About Faith has found a way to get beaten, often losing concentration and focus.

“I think the draw makes Its All About Faith the one to beat now,” says Purdon. “But we know how good our horse is so, maybe, with that extra work, he can fight back again.”

The Sires’ Stakes is just one of four Group 1s on harness racing’s biggest day and there has already been considerable market movement in the $540,000 IRT New Zealand Cup with Copy That replacing Self Assured as the favourite.