Racing: Stable spreads wide for raid on features

Geoff Small knows just because he has done it twice this year doesn't mean he can do it again.

Small continues his season-long battle with champion pacer Auckland Reactor when All Tiger tackles the $100,000 Woodlands Taylor Mile at Alexandra Park tomorrow night - just one highlight of a frenetic weekend for the South Auckland trainer.

Small will be in Penrith tonight where Zenad will start favourite in the $50,000 Renshaw Cup, before flying back to be at Alexandra Park tomorrow night.

There he will line-up freakish

3 -year-old filly Lauraella in a $20,000 race before All Tiger's clash with Auckland Reactor.

Then it's back to Sydney for the A$100,000 ($126,000) Len Smith Mile at Menangle on Sunday, in which stable star Changeover will start favourite with stablemate Awesome Armbro not far behind.

But while the two Australian races provide Small with better winning chances, it is the clash with Auckland Reactor that excites him the most.

His elite pacers have spent much of the season chasing Auckland Reactor home, being placed behind him in the Auckland Cup, New Zealand Free-For-All and Summer Cup at Addington.

But Small is also the only man to train two horses to beat Auckland Reactor - All Tiger inflicting his first defeat at Cambridge in January and Changeover beating him, like every other rival did, in the Interdominion Final four weeks ago.

"He is a great horse and you always like to race the best because it is pretty satisfying if you beat them," said Small.

"But while I couldn't be happier with my horse I am not sure he can beat the Reactor again.

"The time we did beat him was because of the standing start and to be honest, at his peak, The Reactor is a freak."

But Small and stable driver David Butcher are not the sort of men to concede, suggesting they could give Auckland Reactor plenty to think about tomorrow night.

"If we could get the lead I wouldn't be surprised if David tried to stay there and parked him out," said Small. "But we have to get there first."

While All Tiger has been the open-class find of the season, he still doesn't have Auckland Reactor's X-factor, suggesting his $4 fixed-odds quote may be a touch short.

Those are the same odds Australian bookies are offering for Zenad at Penrith tonight, even though he finished a long way behind Changeover in a free-for-all at Albion Park last Saturday.

"He just wasn't right for that race and was never ever travelling well there but I hope we can turn him around," said Small from Sydney.

And he reports that Changeover could not be better for his season-ending run, where he has drawn wide in a race that gives him a shot as at a sub 1:53 mile time.

"He needed the run last week so to win and beat the other fella [Awesome Armbro], who was more forward, was a good performance."

Last Saturday's win took Changeover past stablemate Elsu as New Zealand's richest ever pacer.

Retaining that record is another war Small may one day have to wage against Auckland Reactor.

SMALL CHANCES
* Trainer Geoff Small has favoured runners in three major races around Australasia this weekend.
* All Tiger faces the most daunting task, taking on Auckland Reactor at Alexandra Park tomorrow night.
* Zenad will start favourite in an A$50,000 race at Penrith tonight.
* Changeover and Awesome Armbro head the betting for the A$100,000 Len Smith Mile at Menangle on Sunday.