By MICHAEL GUERIN
Peter Wolfenden is prepared to push his luck just that little bit further.
The Hall Of Fame horseman has been in unbelievable training form lately, starting last Thursday's Alexandra Park meeting with five wins from his last five starters.
And while winter stakes are hardly comparable with the riches of summer, Wolfenden's stable stars Agua Caliente and Natural Glow have been cashing in better than many would expect.
Agua Caliente carried away nearly $20,000 in stakes for his last two wins while Natural Glow's last three starts have netted more than $22,000.
The pair's wins have come off huge handicaps but Wolfenden sees no point stopping now so Agua Caliente will line up off a 60m backmark in the class three and faster pace at Alex Park tomorrow night.
And if he wins he will do what no pacer has been capable of in the last decade.
While he has already won off a 55m handicap this season no pacer has won off a 60m handicap in the last 10 years and experts were yesterday struggling to think of the last pacing winner of such a mark.
"He is well enough and the race is there so he might as well start," said Wolfenden.
"It will be a big ask but it will be his last start this campaign. After this he can have two or three weeks off and come back to prepare for the real open class races."
Agua Caliente will be a hot favourite to break the 60m hoodoo, with the field weaker than that he beat off 50m in the Thames Cup when he last raced on June 2.
While he is bound for the spelling paddock, Wolfenden says Natural Glow will be set the same task next week.
"There is a class three trot for her and I think she will be off 60m in that so we will give her a crack at it before she goes out for a spell."
While pacers winning off 60m handicaps at Alexandra Park are unheard of in the modern era, trotting legend Idle Scott bettered that mark twice in a week in 1992.
Idle Scott, who went on to win a New Zealand trotting record 46 races, won a class four trot off 70m in May 1992, unbelievably giving champion mare Pride Of Petite a 60m start and a beating. For good measure he won a class five trot the next week off 65m.
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If possession is nine-tenths of the law then Brian O'Meara will be feeling pretty happy with himself.
The Canterbury trainer still has expensive yearlings Oscar De La Hoya and Sergio Garcia on his property even after rumours swept the harness racing industry of a bust-up between O'Meara and his key owner Ian Dobson.
Dobson owns shares in both yearlings, who were the star lots at the yearling sales in March, and has told at least one industry source close to him his horses would be leaving O'Meara's care.
But the youngsters, a half brother to Christian Cullen and a brother to Courage Under Fire, are still in O'Meara's care and he is adamant that is where they will remain.
"The horses will definitely be staying here. I own a share in Oscar De La Hoya," said O'Meara yesterday.
But O'Meara did confirm Dobson has already taken two other young pacers away, fuelling speculation the relationship between the former partners in champion Christian Cullen is not smooth.
One of the yearlings Dobson has taken off O'Meara is a juvenile by leading US stallion Artsplace and will be joining the stable of rival Canterbury trainer Robert Dunn.
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Champion junior driver Mark Jones will return to Alexandra Park tomorrow night as he chases 100 wins for the season.
Jones did not drive a winner at three meetings last week and was considering giving up his attempt to become the first New Zealand junior driver to crack the ton.
He goes into tonight's Addington meeting on 88 wins, with nine meetings remaining for the season.
"But I have such a good boom of drives tonight I am confident of picking up at least a couple of wins," said Jones.
"The way the programming of the races is falling I will be coming to the northern meetings for the rest of the season."
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While Jones chases 100 wins for the season, for Aussie driving hero Chris Alford that would make for a shocking season.
Alford, best known here as the man who pilotted Golden Reign to win the 1995 Interdominion Pacing Final, took his season's tally to 202 for the season on Tuesday.
It is the fifth season in a row he has topped 200 wins for the season, driving a staggering 263.5 winners last season.
Making Alford's feat even more remarkable is he had a shocking start to the season before driving 44 winners last month.
Alford is only 32 yet has already driven 2250 winners, more than any driver in New Zealand history.
Racing: Decade of history against Agua Caliente
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