Racing: Te Kanarama fails badly at Auckland trials after good start

New South Wales horseman Graeme Watts sat quietly in the stabling area at Alexandra Park yesterday after the running of the feature Free-For-All pacing trial.

Watts had just driven his favourite pacer Te Kanarama in the 2200 metre event and the result was not what you would expect from a pacer that is rated at $9 to win the $750,000 Mach Three Inter Dominion Pacing Grand Final on March 18.

The 5-year-old enjoyed a dream sit in behind the front-running Blue Chip Rock but then flew into a mad gallop with 400 metres remaining and finished a conservative 100 metres behind the field at the finish.

This was not the ideal performance from an equine athlete six days out from the opening round of Inter Dominion qualifying heats.

"Te Kanarama didn't handle pacing around that final bend and it's not what I came over from Sydney to encounter," said Watts.

"I'll have to sit down and look at making some gear adjustments to Te Kanarama's racing gear and think about coming back to Alexandra Park on Wednesday morning to see if we can get him around that final bend.

"I'll have a talk with Barry Purdon [Te Kanarama is stabled with Purdon for the duration of the Inter Dominion Carnival] and see if together we can get to the bottom of this problem.

"We did do quite a bit of work with him at home training him to pace in the right-handed direction but it's different when you get onto a roomy track like this and you're running quick sectional times.

"To me he just seemed a bit goofy pacing around this track and didn't know what to do at times.

"Hopefully with a bit more experience training around this track he should be fine."

Te Kanarama recorded a similar performance in his last start when galloping with a lap to run in the $450,000 Hunter Cup at Moonee Valley and losing all chance.

The pacer was given a thorough veterinary examination after the Hunter Cup and nothing was found to be amiss with him.

"I just think it's a confidence thing with this pacer as he's had 21 race starts and this is the first time he's stepped out onto a racetrack where they race right-handed.

"I've just got to get him pacing confidently in this direction otherwise we've travelled a long way for a massive expense to get nothing."

Attorney General won the trial, sprinting impressively from a handy on the pace sit, to defeat Blue Chip Rock by a length. A further half-head away in third position was Maheer Lord.

The 2200 metres was covered in 2m 45.7s (mile rate 2.01.2) with closing 800 metre and 400 metre sectional times of 57.3 seconds and 28.8 seconds.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY