By Michael Guerin
The boys are most definitely back in town.
And while watching the return of one of our pacing superstars at Addington on Friday night was a lot more comfortable than watching the other, the result was still the same.
Both Marketplace and Jumal won and both were brilliant in doing so.
Marketplace was an effortless winner of the NZI Chairman’s Handicap after everything went right for him from the second he stepped on the track looking in immaculate order.
He stepped well enough for Craig Ferguson to soon work him to the lead and then the cool southerner let It’s Tough take that pacemaking role a lap from home knowing he would beat him for speed.
He did.
The four-year-old breezed past, which is no disrespect to the leader, and is certain to only get fitter as he nears the Go Media New Zealand Trotting Cup for which he is now the clear second favourite.
It’s Tough proved again he will not be out of place in that iconic race while Republican Party was excellent in third after the leaders got away early on the second half of the field and when he did move he ended up parked.
Republican Party had every reason to peak on his run and stop but was very brave in third suggesting once handicap season is over and we get back to free-for-all open class pacing he has more big wins left in him.
While there was always a feeling of inevitability about Marketplace’s win Jumal’s dominance of the three-year-old ranks looked under threat 100m from the post in his comeback race, the Wai Eyre Farm Lazarus Stakes.
The benchmark boy was allowed to work forward three wide right from the start by Blair Orange to sit parked but worked to do so and then back straight pressure came that got him a little more motivated than Orange would have liked.
Jumal was bolting turning for home but left lonely in front he and the punters who backed him in from $2.30 to $1.50 had reason to worry when Franco Lomu, who had trailed the leader, worked his way to the favourite and maybe even got level.
Jumal did what really good horses do and fought back from a gutsy win, pacing his last 800m in 54.8 second and Orange knows it was only a starting point.
“He was really good considering he was fresh up and I know he has a lot of improvement in him,” he said.
“We are going to have a lot of fun with him this campaign.”
Orange was at his imperious best on Friday driving four winners and he gave Habibti Pat the perfect steer for the four-year-old mare to down the boys in the D G Jones Banks Peninsula Cup and book his place in the $400,000 Renwick Farms Dominion Trot on Go Media New Zealand Trotting Cup Day at Addington on Tuesday, November 10.
Last season’s Trotting Derby winner was midfield early, worked into the one-one and while she only dawdled around the home bend when she straightened she won like a very good mare, albeit the backmarkers never had a chance to getting near her, with Mighty Logan the best of those.
Co-trainer Greg Hope rated her the No.1 seed of his open class trotters after the race, some statement when you consider Mr Love is their reigning Rowe Cup champion.
Two of the other trotting stars of the night came from the Matty Williamson barn with both Master McGoogan in the Sundon Stakes and Tactical Bid in the mid-grade trot outstanding and with the promise of more to come this spring.