Racing: Hiccup haunts trainer

Mark Walker wants to knock a King's Chapel nightmare out of his brain.

The talented sprinter is only a touch short of the million dollar mark for earnings, so not much has gone wrong in his New Zealand career, which is only 14 starts old.

The one glitch was when he finished fourth in the $100,000 Waikato Draught Sprint a year ago.

Sedecrem won the race brilliantly and King's Chapel did well to hold on for fourth after taking charge of rider Noel Harris with more than 1000m to run.

He tore around the field, engaged Pay My Bail in a speed duel and had long run his race when the likes of Sedecrem and Zvezda came along.

It resulted in the blinkers being removed from King's Chapel and the stallion has raced much more relaxed ever since.

This will be King's Chapel's first raceday appearance since finishing 3 3/4 lengths from Savabeel in seventh place in the Cox Plate in October.

He looked in the right shape to be a big threat tomorrow when he did a solo gallop between races on the first day of the meeting last Saturday.

"His preparation for this has been beautifully timed, provided it doesn't rain," said trainer Mark Walker yesterday.

The MetService's prediction is for rain tonight and tomorrow.

Ken Ring, whose reputation for forecasts based on lunar cycles is becoming massive, favours a little dampness, but not enough to make a significant difference to the track.

King's Chapel is a definite speed horse, who thrives on firm surfaces. Any easing of conditions is likely to downgrade his performance.

The obvious danger is Keeninsky.

Trainer Stephen Autridge sees the No 9 barrier draw of the 11 runners as a major hurdle. Keeninsky is another natural speedster, who could left parked outside the speed from that draw.

"We'll just have to go out there with an open mind. It really comes down to what Danbird wants to do."

Keeninsky won the group one 1200m Telegraph at Trentham last month. Autridge does not see the jump to 1400m as a concern.

"He was only just nutted over 1600m, so 1400m is not going to worry him. I'm very pleased with the way he's come through."

The weight-for-age conditions might be the key to Sedecrem scoring back-to-back wins in the race.

It was a massive performance to get to within half a head of Keeninsky in the Telegraph when he was 100-1 to win halfway down the home straight.

His 9th placing to Maroofity in the Thorndon Mile could not be deemed a failure the way the race was run and this time he will appreciate the two-week gap between races, rather than seven days.

Don't judge Danbird on his Railway 9th behind Recurring. Showers on the day produced a surface late in the programme that was right against the speed horses and it was significant that Recurring and runner-up Gee I Jane came from the back of the field.

The chances of Keeninsky and Danbird will depend on where each of them lands in the running. As speed horses, the possibility exists for them to bring each other undone.