Racing: Cambridge draws top-quality fields

What a difference a couple of days makes.

By having their feature meeting of the season delayed by less than a week, Cambridge harness racing are set to see their major race turnovers skyrocket.

The Waikato club holds its biggest programme of the year on Friday night but this year the fixture is six nights later than last season, when it was held on January 2.

That, coupled with the absence of two totally dominant superstars, should see turnovers on the club's feature races improve enormously.

Last season, the meeting came just two days after a premier day at Alexandra Park and the effect on the major races was disastrous.

Only four horses lined up in last season's Waikato Flying Mile, while a moderate field of 10 started in the feature trot.

Neither race was helped by having redhot favourites in Auckland Reactor and One Over Kenny and while the meeting attracted a huge crowd the feature race turnovers were disappointing for the stakes provided.

That won't be a problem on Friday night though with the club having to ballot out two horses in the $60,000 pacing mile and the $27,500 open-class trot over 1700m.

And the races have drawn the best horses of each gait racing in the north, with Changeover, Pembrook Benny, Highview Tommy and excitement machine Tintin In America in the Pace and Springbank Richard, Raydon, Houdini Star and Pocaro in the Trot.

To add to the glamour of the evening, the Waikato Guineas has drawn one of the strongest 3-year-old pacing fields of the season, with Four Starzzz Flash, Sir Lincoln, Russley Rascal and Kotare Mach.

In fact, almost all races on the programme are at capacity.

The boost comes at an important time for the Cambridge-Te Awamutu club, who have struggled with stakes levels this season and have become somewhat of the second-tier club in the north when compared with stakes at Alexandra Park.

However, Cambridge has two huge meetings coming up in the next 10 days with which to gain exposure and some much needed turnover before they start the countdown to hosting the Harness Jewels in June.

Friday's meeting will also be a key pointer to just how many elite New Zealand pacers and trotters cross the Tasman for their respective Interdominion campaigns.

Victories for Houdini Star or Springbank Richard in the trot could seal their trips, while Pembrook Benny is definitely heading to Australia and could be joined by Changeover at the Interdominions if the big horse can post another win.

Spy defied his usual racing pattern to claim the $12,000 Northland Trotting Cup at Ruakaka yesterday.

The 5-year-old sat three wide for the last lap of the feature pacing event at the dual code Ruakaka meeting.

And while that has not proven to be a winning formula for him in the past, a frenetic early speed meant the pacemaker Raven Aveross came back to him in the straight as he scored his first win since August.

The win was the seventh in his career and continued another great week for the ATC Trot Syndicates, who won with Tintin In America at Cambridge last Friday.

It was also the second recent country cups win for trainer Gareth Dixon and driver Peter Ferguson after Cyclone Night won the Te Awamutu Grass Cup last Tuesday.

The connections of former trotter of the year Sovereignty are confident he can return to his best form after discovering the reason for his recent form lapse.

Trainer Sean McCaffrey says hoof soreness has been the reason Sovereignty galloped at Cambridge on Christmas Eve and subsequently missed the National Trot last week.

"But we are confident that is the problem and we can treat it and work around it with shoeing," he said.

While the Interdominions later this month are out, Sovereignty should be at the Auckland Cup meeting before being set for the Rowe Cup in May.

HUGE BOOST
* Cambridge has attracted its best fields in 18 months for Friday night's meeting.
* The two feature races have a total of 12 more starters than the corresponding races last year.
* Spy won the Northland Trotting Cup yesterday.
* Top trotter Sovereignty is expected to be back racing in February.