Son of Vincent claims first Group feature on revamped Alex Park surface

Harness racing’s newest training partnership of father/ son duo Mark and Nathan Purdon wasted little time in getting on the board with a feature victory when Sherlock (Vincent) shook off the bridesmaid tag and secured his first Group Race win at Alexandra Park last night (Feb 3.)

The talented son of Vincent was ultra-impressive in taking out the $50,000 G2 Alabar Classic for three-year-old colts and geldings, holding out a fast-finishing Son Of Mac (American Ideal) and stablemate Sinbad (Downbytheseaside) for a gritty win on the revamped surface at the ‘ribbon of light.’

Ten of the country’s elite sophomore pacers greeted the starter for the 19th edition of the Alabar (Elsu) Classic, and there were fireworks early with Neptune and Aardies Flash firing off the mobile arm, trapping Sherlock three wide into the first bend.

While that trio jostled for position, Herlihy aboard Son Of Mac for the third time in his career seized the initiative and hunted up along the markers to secure an early trailing position. Herlihy then hooked Son Of Mac out and around the leading pair of Zachary Butcher and Neptune to find himself in front with a lap and a half to run.

Herlihy then elected to hand up to Orange and Sherlock who had worked overtime to firstly get outside the leaders and finally find the pegs for the first time across the showgrounds bend.

From there they dictated the tempo of proceedings before being asked for the ultimate effort up the lane where the son of Vincent was brave in holding out the challenges from the rest of the field.

While the name on the training partnership may be new, it was a case of the old firm getting back together with the country’s leading reinsman, Blair Orange, donning the All-Stars silks for a familiar feature race win.

Speaking with Track Chat’s Jo Steven’s after the race, ‘The Postman” was incredibly gracious of the efforts of his charge and the team behind the colours he adorned.

“We got a wee bit lost early and had to work really hard the first corner and then down the back to the find the lead,” said Orange.

“He got a couple of nice sectionals early, but I had a really nice horse sitting on my back (Son Of Mac) so it was a good effort to outstay him up the lane.

“The All Stars are a marvelous outfit, and everyone knows their record so it’s just a privilege to pull their colours on and drive for a great bunch of people,” he said.

SHERLOCK REPLAY

The win secured the second NZ Group Race victory for the progeny of up-and-coming sire, Vincent (Art Major), with the All-Star’s decision to secure three or four more of his stock at the recently completed national yearling sales looking like an educated decision.

Last month’s devastating flooding in the Auckland region caused widespread damage to the track, prompting a complete reconstruction.

Under the guidance of Harness Racing New Zealand’s long-serving track and venue inspector John Denton, a total of 1200 tonnes of product was then removed from the track, and a lime-and base laid in its place, which was then rolled to create a strong base.

The noticeably darker surface received a flowing report from the country’s leading driver.

“It’s actually really nice and it seems to be running really fast and I’m sure it will only get better once it wears in a bit more,” said Orange.

The winning time of Sherlock for the 2200m journey was 2:38.8 was the fourth fastest in the history of the G2 victory, however it was another three-year-old that lit up the track early in the night, eclipsing the time in what must be close to a record for the class of up to R49 pacers.

The Steven Reid and Simon McMullan trained Lou Baby (Sweet Lou) was awesome in the hands of Andre Poutama, producing an all the way win in 2:38.5 with a blazing 1:55.9-mile rate for his second win in just eight starts.

* There was also a sensational bit of bad luck for the 3YO Harness Millions 2nd placegetter in Sooner The Better and his connections when the gelding was late scratched on vets’ advice due to a serious laceration of his tongue while in the tie ups.

For complete Auckland results, click here.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink