Catch us if you can, says Gath

Former Miracle Mile winner Catch A Wave (Captaintreacherous) is ready to add to his Group 1 harness racing haul in tomorrow’s $200,000 Group 1 NZ Free-For-All (1980m) at Addington.

On paper, the eight-time Group 1 winner only finished 11th in Tuesday’s Junior free-for-all, but a deeper look shows he smashed the clock after getting back to last and coming four and five-wide.

“We were really happy with him,” trainer Andy Gath said.

“We knew we were always up against it from the draw and didn’t want to risk trying to go forward.”

“His sectional times were fantastic, and he just kept getting pushed wider and wider. He covered so much extra ground than everything else.”

Backing up quickly has also been a winning formula for Catch A Wave through much of his career.

“Most of his big wins have come on the quick backup,” Gath said. 

“History tells us he’ll be better this time than Tuesday; that’s part of the reason we made the trip over.”

“Tuesday was all about peaking him for this main target.”

Gath has spoken with his wife, Kate, who drives Catch A Wave, about using barrier four to try and lead.

“It’s time to press the button. Finding the marker pegs would be a game changer,” he said.

“Republican Party will get out well from one, but so will The Falcon in two.”

“It might be A case of whether one or both will be happy to trail us. Finding the front is certainly Plan A.”

Catch A Wave led throughout to win last year’s Miracle Mile.

The five-year-old brilliantly won the huge Nullarbor/Fremantle Cup double in April but has been struggling to recapture that form since.

“Strangely, we put some of that down to racing at Melton. For some reason, he seems to do his best racing away from home,” Gath said.

“We’re really happy with how he’s settled in. The run was terrific on Tuesday, and a sprint race like this really suits him.”

Catch A Wave has been backed from $6 into $4 since Wednesday’s barrier draw.

He is one of three Aussies in the NZ Free-For-All. The others are Jess Tubbs’ Better Eclipse (gate nine, $10) and Aroda (15, $101).

Swayzee’s trainer Jason Grimson has also bought and taken over training the emerging The Falcon ($13). Swayzee’s driver, Cam Hart, will take the reins, and he starts from gate two.

Young Kiwi star Merlin, owned in Australia by Dean Shannon, is backing up after a slightly disappointing fourth in Tuesday’s Cup.

He will start from gate five and is a $2.25 favourite.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Adam Hamilton, for Harness Racing Australia