By MICHAEL GUERIN
It wasn't pretty. It wasn't flashy. And it wasn't even that easy.
But it worked and Holmes D G has another $45,000 in the bank to prove it.
The Grand Circuit champion had to fight for what many punters thought was a mere formality in the $75,000 City Of Auckland Free-For-All at Alexandra Park last night.
In a race of surprises, Holmes D G was first crossed at the start by Pic Me Pockets and Happy Asset before eventually working forward to find the front, and then had to resist a dogged challenge from rank outsider Classic Turbo.
The latter threatened to continue the upset theme of this Auckland Cup carnival by charging up alongside Holmes D G at the 200m point but the favourite just held on.
But while it was hardly the most spectacular win of his $1.5 million career, Holmes D G's trainer-driver Barry Purdon said punters had more cause for alarm at the start of the race than the end.
"I was shocked when Happy Asset crossed up that easily out of the gate and I was pretty keen to get off the markers so I wouldn't get locked up," said Purdon.
"But I wasn't that worried when Classic Turbo came at us in the straight.
"It was a real sprint home and Hommer goes a lot better when he is rolling along. Once he got his momentum up I was pretty confident were going to hang on," he said of the dramatic, 27.2s last 400m.
The 24th win of his career keeps Holmes D G on track to become New Zealand's first $2 million standardbred and he will take his next baby step toward that goal in the Flying Mile at Cambridge on January 12.
He then heads to Melbourne to erase the demons of last season's disastrous Interdominion campaign.
While Holmes D G kept doing what he does best, the run of Classic Turbo was the highlight of the race.
Earlier in the night Mark Purdon had the most enjoyable suspended night of his career when stablemates Perfect Seelster and Jack Cade took out age-group features.
Purdon has been suspended from driving for two meetings after last Friday night's Great Northern Derby and had to watch from the grandstands as juvenile Jack Cade started his career in stunning style in the $30,000 Coca Cola Cardigan Bay Stakes.
It was the first win for Jack Cade's sire Il Vicolo, who Purdon trained to win two New Zealand Cups. iF last night's performance and recent trials are anything to go on Il Vicolo looks one of the hottest locally-produced stallion prospects in New Zealand in recent years.
Driver Tony Herlihy reined four winners last night and was at his freakish best with Perfect Seelster in the $120,000 PGG Sales Series Final.
After starting from the middle of the second line the gelding was in the trail soon after the start after a sizzling early duel between Hero and Matai Mackenzie.
From there he surged to a gutsy win, remaining unbeaten from three starts this season.
Racing: Turbo charge close to upsetting Holmes DG
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