KEY POINTS:
Mark Jones hopes he has the key to the strangest harness race of the season.
Jones will partner Lethal Rocket in tonight's $120,000 Sales Series Pace at Alexandra Park and says the debutante is the horse to beat.
But punters can be excused for not getting too carried
away, as the 1700m event is not your regular feature race.
While most $120,000 races in any racing code are the highlight of the week and the centre of much discussion, this race could hardly be more anonymous.
Because it is the only New Zealand tote race restricted to horses bred to Northern Hemisphere time it draws a field of immature juveniles, most of whom have never raced.
Usually this race attracts a small field and a dominant favourite, with any horse good enough to win a normal juvenile race far too good for his opponents. But this season it will host a capacity field with virtually no form. In two words: punter's nightmare.
Yet Jones, one of the keenest form students among leading harness racing drivers, thinks he may be able to turn that nightmare into a dream result.
He says Lethal Rocket may be on debut but he knows more than many horses who have raced five times.
"He has been to a lot of workouts and Dean [Taylor, trainer] knows how to get them ready," said Jones.
"I drove him at the Addington trials a couple of weeks ago and he was very impressive. I know any race is hard to win from barrier eight but he is a beautifully-mannered pacer and I'll be surprised if something comes from behind me to beat me."
Taylor does have an exceptional record with debutantes and that should be enough to see Lethal Rocket start close to favourite.
And the question for punters is, if they don't back him where do they look?
Only two of the 13 starters - Pocketfull Of Power and Kenny Maguire - have been placed, and both of those were thirds in weak maiden races. Plenty of others have trials form but not much of it stands out.
The one exception is Mach's Tenor, who trialled well at Alexandra Park two weeks ago.
He did enough then to catch the eye of trials commentator and astute form judge Craig Thompson.
"He showed a lot of gate speed, which isn't going to help him this week, but still won well," said Thompson. "He is a lovely big horse and I thought one of the few in the race who had shown as much promise as Lethal Rocket."
Both youngsters face tricky draws though, adding to the puzzle.
