By MICHAEL GUERIN
He is the first of the new wave, the pretender to harness racing's crown. Tomorrow night he is also in trouble.
Exiting juvenile City Rogue will make his Alexandra Park debut carrying plenty of extra baggage.
Like a $200,000 price tag for starters. And the expectations of a harness racing public craving a new pacing star.
City Rogue has burst onto the scene at a time when pacing is mourning the loss of its two greatest heroes - Christian Cullen to retirement and Courage Under Fire to a fate even worse - living in Wollongong.
Just weeks after Courage Under Fire was whisked away to be trained by Brian Hancock, the bidding war started for City Rogue.
He was burning up the trials track for trainer and co-owner Robin Butt in January and the offers, including some from the north, got very serious very quickly.
It was if the champions of recent seasons had convinced owners that if you can find the right horse no price is too high, a philosophy still in evidence at the recent yearling sales.
A five member syndicate, with Butt still retaining a share, eventually bought City Rogue for around $200,000 and he has not disappointed them.
By the time he made it to the racetrack the hype machine was in action. Small dividends and big quotes soon followed.
The excitement is not totally unjustified. City Rogue may have a few lessons to learn but he also has an enormous stride and the fluent acceleration of a top horse. A top class juvenile can sprint a 27 second last 400m - City Rogue makes that look easy.
Unbeaten in three starts, he is the best 2-year-old to have raced so far this season but being a son of Holmes Hanover he looks certain to be even better next year, when a fattening menu of Derbys and stakes races await.
So the future looks painfully bright. Just maybe not tomorrow night.
City Rogue faces his toughest test in the $75,000 Juvenile Championship and not just because of the elite opposition.
He will start from one on the second line, hardly the ideal place for one whose talent is still matched by his greeness.
"It really is a terrible draw for a horse like him," said driver David Butt.
"I think I will have to try and poke through early and then hope the gaps come later because it is hard to pull back and give the others a start in this sort of race."
The push-out rule means Butt could be left praying for a gap as favoured rivals Matai Mackenzie and London Mews enjoy the sort of runs close to the pace that usually win major juvenile races.
"I hope they go hard up front which would open up the field and give me a crack at them. If they sprint and come the last 800m in 57 seconds then I have no chance from back on the fence."
While City Rogue and Butt face an interesting tactical battle the Canterbury horseman is adamant that with luck they can overcome the odds.
"He is the best juvenile I have driven and he is very clean-gaited so I am not worried about him handling the right-handed track."
That confidence might surprise a few who saw City Rogue nearly throw away his unbeaten record at Addington last start by galloping briefly at the 150m when clear of London Mews.
"That was sort of my fault. I was just keeping him going with the reins when he brought his tail down on the reins and got a surprise, which caused him to gallop."
As for those premature comparisons to Christian Cullen and Courage Under Fire?
"We'll take that battle one race at a time," laughs Butt.
Racing: Tough time in big city for Rogue
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