By Michael Guerin
What should have been a walk in the park is shaping as the highlight of the Waikato harness racing season.
Friday night's $20,000 Cambridge Classic could have been little more than organised trackwork for wonder pacer Christian Cullen - until yesterday.
The great horse may now have to actually raise a sweat for his money after the shock entry of arch-rival Holmes D G in the 2200m race.
Without Holmes D G, Christian Cullen would have faced just four rivals in his first race since the Auckland Cup.
Over the illness which robbed him of a chance to continue his freakish season during the Melbourne summer carnival, Christian Cullen will still be a near unbackable favourite on Friday.
In Holmes D G's absence Christian Cullen would have been able to simply stroll to the front and win but he now faces one of his toughest challenges of the season.
Christian Cullen looked superb when he paraded at Moonee Valley 10 days ago but will be short of race fitness on Friday whereas Holmes D G has contested two tough group one races in the past month.
To make things even tougher, Holmes D G has drawn barrier four while Christian Cullen will be forced to start from six.
After failing in the Hunter Cup, Holmes D G was pulled out of the Interdominions next month and was not expected to be seen back on the track so quickly.
"Just because I pulled him out of the Interdominions didn't mean there was anything wrong with him," said Holmes D G's trainer Barry Purdon.
"I just thought that series would be too tough on him at this stage but he is still a racehorse and he has to keep racing to be ready for his next big target - the Chariots Of Fire in April."
Purdon had not originally intended to start Holmes D G on Friday night but he said that does not mean his stable star will be below peak as he only had a couple of days off after the Hunter Cup.
"He should be ready and it is great for the Cambridge club to have a race like this," said Purdon.
Those sentiments were echoed by Cambridge Harness officials yesterday and they are now expecting their biggest crowd in years for the clash.
Forgotten Aqua back in running
Harness racing's forgotten horse will return this weekend.
Agua Caliente has shown he is one of the most talented pacers in Australasia in the past three seasons but injury and illness have conspired to rob him of a feature open class win.
After missing the New Zealand and Auckland Cups he is now approaching racing trim again and will have his first public workout for four months on Saturday.
Driver Glen Wolfenden said the 6-year-old was working well after being troubled by a myriad of problems since he last raced.
"He feels like he is getting back to something like his old self," said Wolfenden.
Agua Caliente is likely to return to racing against Christian Cullen in an open class mile at Cambridge on February 27.
"He will need at least that race to be fit enough to contest the Interdominions which start a week later," Wolfenden said.
"While that series may not suit him ideally it is hard to miss it when it is right on your back doorstep."
Horse Racing: Classic coup for Cambridge
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.