By MICHAEL GUERIN
Summer Man should prove an exception to one of the golden rules of Alexandra Park punting tonight.
The three-year-old trotter will start favourite in the minor trot even though he has to start off a 20m handicap over 2200m.
So if he wins he will achieve one of the hardest feats at Auckland's harness racing headquarters because horses hardly ever win there off the backmark in 2200m races.
While standing start 2200m races are not common, they greatly favour the front-line horses because by the time the field settles the leaders are often 10 or 12 lengths in front of any horses who start off handicaps.
In a good pacing race that is almost impossible to overcome and even lower-grade trotters racing at Alexandra Park are able to trot their last mile in 2:5.
That means a horse like Summer Man may have to trot 2:2 miles coming wide around other runners tonight.
But his trainer Dave Gibbons rates Summer Man highly enough to do that.
"I think he is the best young trotter I have had for a long time," said Gibbons, who has a proud history with squaregaiters.
"I know it is not easy to win off handicaps over 2200m but he has been stepping well.
"It is only a small field so I still think he will be very hard to beat."
And Gibbons says the handicap may even help Summer Man.
"Last start at Cambridge he got a little lost starting off the front almost by himself but I think he will concentrate more following other horses out."
Summer Man beat his main rival tonight, Citra Jati, in that Cambridge win but meets him 20m worse off tonight.
The pair were constant rivals as juveniles last season and the honours were shared, but Citra Jati's manners have let him down on occasion this season.
Safely through tonight Summer Man will head to Ashburton next month for the Hambletonian, the first feature three-year-old trot race of the season.
While Gibbons is confident Summer Man can overcome his handicap, he is not so sure about stablemate Sunny Gem in the fifth leg of Pick 6.
The talented mare faces a 30m handicap in a large field in what will be her first race for more than two months.
"She worked really well last week but the size of the field will make it hard for her," said Gibbons.
"But I think she is a very good mare and I can see her winning another five races in the next season or so.
"She will end up in open class and if she got there in a hurry I wouldn't be scared to start her in the Rowe Cup in April, although we are not actually aiming her at that."
Gibbons is also hopeful of better luck for his smart pacing mare Shesa Troublemaker in race seven tonight.
"She never got clear last week but gets the draw to lead early tonight.
"That will give her some options, even though it is a stronger field than last week's."
Racing: Trotter good enough to beat handicap
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