Dual New Zealand Cup hero Copy That has been handed the perfect opportunity to put a NZ$1milllion exclamation mark on his career at Cambridge on Friday night.

The wonderful pacer is likely to start from the seemingly perfect barrier three in The Race by Grins, the $1million slot race that will have eight New Zealand and two Australian visitors for its second running.

Copy That drew barrier four on Monday night but emergency Smiffys Terror drew barrier two and is unlikely to gain a start so the favourite will almost certainly start from three with one of the other favourites, Old Town Road, drawn inside him at three and therefore likely to start from gate two.

The only mare in the race, No Matter Wat, was guaranteed the ace draw but is unlikely to be a factor in the early burn in her first open class start, so most punters will expect Copy That and Old Town Road to end up in a lead-trail scenario.

They were the two big winners in the draw because the other two horses who shared $4 equal favouritism over the weekend Self Assured and Akuta both drew the second line.

Self Assured, who won the inaugural Race by Grins starting from barrier eight and coming from last last year, will start from two on the second line, most likely following out Old Town Road, while Akuta will follow out Copy That.

There was no luck for local pacers Kango (eight) and Nicholas Cage (nine), while the two Victorian raiders Better Eclipse (seven) and Triple Eight (five) have tricky front line draws.

Copy That has taken punters, and his connections, on a rollercoaster ride in the last 18 months.

At his best he has won two New Zealand Cups, a Ballarat Cup and recorded some national-record smashing victories off ludicrous handicaps, but he has also fractured a leg kicking a fence in Victoria in December 2021 and suffered an official internal bleed after choking down as hot favourite in the Hunter Cup in February.

Most of the lows on that rollercoaster have been in Australia and he has been incredibly consistent during his open class career in New Zealand, and is at his most potent when he is able to lead.

While he is not certain to secure that role in the 2200m mobile on Friday the market will price him as the likely leader and it wouldn’t surprise to see him start odds on.

The driver with potentially the most say in that could be Zachary Butcher, who will partner Old Town Road from barrier two.

He showed good gate speed and worked hard early before fading late to fourth in the Flying Mile at Cambridge last Thursday, a race brilliantly won by Self Assured over Copy That after they came from well back.

“I am really confident he (Old Town Road) will be a better horse this week and watching the draw was quite nerve-wracking because by the time we got to choose there was only one good barrier left, so I am stoked with two,” says Butcher.

If he is able to cross to the markers early would Butcher want to stay in front or take a trail?

“Anybody who wants to know that will have to tune it to find out,” smiles Butcher.

The Race by Grins will be the last race on a fast and furious Cambridge card with more than 3000 tickets already sold and club officials capping the event at 5000.

NZ$1million Race by Grins, Cambridge, Friday night

Field:

1: No Matter Wat

2: Smiffys Terror (em)

3: Old Town Road

4: Copy That

5: Triple Eight

6: B D Joe

7: Better Eclipse

8: Kango

9: Nicholas Cage (1 second line)

10: Self Assured

11: Akuta

The queen of New Zealand harness racing was back doing what she does best at Cambridge last Thursday night and the punters who stuck with Self Assured loved every second of it.

Natalie Rasmussen, who had not driven in a race this season until Thursday, produced a gem of a drive to get Self Assured home in the $45,000 Dunstan Feeds Cambridge Flying Mile even after he started from the outside of the front line.

The race was the final lead-up to the $1million Race by Grins next Friday and the defending champion did exactly what he did in the slot race last season, kept his powder dry early before sweeping into the race at perfect time and sling-shotting Copy That.

The latter was big and bold in second while Akuta, who worked harder mid-race closed again for third with Old Town Road, who burned early, fourth.

The top four were so similar in merit of performance the TAB bookies instantly opened them all $4 for The Race by Grins before Monday night’s barrier draw.

It showed all four are peaking at the right time and there were reasons to forgive several others after the first 800m of the mile flew by in just over 55 seconds, leaving the leaders vulnerable with the last 800m in 56.8 for a 1:52 mile.

It was an indication of how brutal next Friday’s slot race could but while Thursday’s race served as a reminder of how potent Self Assured is, it did the same for Rasmussen.

An all-time great of Australasian driving, Rasmussen has chosen to enjoy life away from harness racing as well, and after so long at the top who can blame her?

That will mean her race driving will be more infrequent but she loved being behind a world class pacer in Self Assured, especially for one of her favourite owners Jean Feiss.

“While I still enjoy driving I also enjoy other things in life too and I am happy to watch as other people drive the horses,” says Rasmussen.

“But Jean wanted me on him and I was happy to be on. So to come back and drive a really good horse and have him go like that was very satisfying.

“And I think he will go even better in the big race next week because he didn’t really have a proper hitout in his first run back a few weeks ago.”

The opinions expressed in The Forum are those of the author and may not be attributed to or represent policies of Harness Racing Victoria, which is the state authority and owner of thetrots.com.au.