Can Orange win Melton debut drive on huge occasion?

Favourite punters don’t have to worry about Blair Orange’s nerves just because he has never driven at Melton before tonight’s (Feb. 4) $500,000 Del-Re National A G Hunter Cup.

It has been a long, long time since anything rattled Orange on a harness racing track.

The 43-year-old pilots warm favourite Copy That (American Ideal) in tonight’s great race, the deepest pacing race seen in Victoria since pre-covid.

Copy That has won two New Zealand Cups and last start the PETstock Ballarat Pacing Cup, and has no queries over his form this campaign. The same can not be said for some of his big-name rivals.

If Copy That runs to the front from barrier six it will take something special to beat him and, while Spirit Of St Louis’ connections are suggesting he may be the first leader and stay there, Orange isn’t losing any sleep.

“There always seems to be a lot more talk around Australian big races, about what they are going to do, but at the end of the day the horses can only do so much,” he said.

“If we decide to go off the gate and earn the lead, great, but he has had some remarkable wins this season coming off huge handicaps and that means coming from off the speed.

“So he can do both now and if he has to sit parked and wait for Rock N Roll Doo or Expensive Ego to give us cover he can still unleash later.”

Orange is now clearly New Zealand’s number one premiership driver and recently drove his 2500th winner, a select club across the Tasman, and with a real shot he will be the first NZ driver to 4000 career wins, a race currently led by the great Tony Herlihy.

Sporting prowess is nothing new to Orange, whose confidence was forged on the fiery rugby league fields of his native Canterbury, in the South Island of New Zealand.

Orange was never big but his heart was and that carried him all the way to being a Canterbury Under 19 rep in a sport where there were a lot more tattoos and scars than pats on the back.

“I loved it, I’d still be playing footy now if I could,” laughs the former halfback.

“I was never scared playing league, no matter how big they were, if they ran at you they were going down.

“But eventually I had to make a decision, because I couldn’t play footy and drive professionally.”

Ironically, for one fearless on the footy field, Orange admits he was intimidated when he started driving at storied tracks like Addington.

“I don’t come from a harness racing family, nobody knew me and I was out there against legends and I doubted I belonged,” he said.

“That actually lasted a year or two, because of course you need the horses to help you prove yourself. But I got the right horses and got the chance to prove myself. I think I have done pretty well since.”

For complete race entries, click here.

by Michael Guerin for Harness Racing Victoria