Muscle Mountain was also back in the winners’ circle at Invercargill last start, and their gate speed coupled with respect earned makes it seem certain they will be the first two off the gate tonight, with Muscle Mountain likely to lead and Oscar Bonevena trail.
In a race with no rivals good enough to pressure them, the Group 1 event could be decided by whether Oscar can outspring the Mountain up the Alexandra Park passing lane.
“It looks a bit that way,” admits Muscle Mountain’s driver Ben Hope.
“We will be going forward and trying to lead, and while Oscar has had the better of us lately, I really liked the feel [I] got from him [Muscle Mountain] last week.
“He flew up to Auckland last week and Dad said he worked well yesterday, so he will get his chance.”
If Muscle Mountain gets a relaxed run in front and is in full flight when the pair hit the passing lane, it will take some serious sprinting from Oscar Bonavena to get past him.
But serious sprinting is Oscar’s speciality when he is at his best and the punters have already spoken, backing him in $1.65 while Muscle Mountain is out to $2.
Regardless of who wins, amilestone looks near-certain, as Oscar Bonavena needs to only earn $12,442 (a top-two finish) to become New Zealand trotting’s latest millionaire.
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.
