Doo has more to offer

Australian harness racing’s most exciting pacer Rock N Roll Doo (Rock N Roll Heaven) won’t be at his peak for his New Zealand debut.

Trainer-driver Mick Stanley warned a deliberate plan to give the stunning last-start Victoria Cup win an easy time since arriving in NZ will leave him “a tad underdone” going into Monday’s (Oct. 24) stellar Group 2 Ashburton Flying Stakes (2400m).

“He’s been across here for about a week, but landed in Auckland and then made the road and boat trip down to Christchurch,” Stanley said.

“He had two days off in Auckland before heading south then another couple of quiet days when he got here, so he missed four days of work.

“That’s by design. We wanted to get across early so we had plenty of time and we didn’t rush him into anything. It’s his first big trip away.”

Stanley always looked at the Ashburton race as a stepping-stone.

“We’ve always been going to Ashburton, but never with a view to being fully wound-up. It’s a race to get some standing-start practice under race conditions and get another race under his belt before the (NZ) Cup,” he said.

“As much as I’d love to win (as Ashburton), it would be a bonus because I know how much improvement he’ll take from the experience.

“We’ll see how he comes through it before we decide what to do with him between that race and the Cup (November 8).”

Rock N Roll Doo meets most of NZ’s top pacers, headed by his co-NZ Cup favourite Self Assured, at Ashburton.

“It’s a strong race, we knew it would be. It’s the most traditional NZ Cup lead-up race,” Stanley said.

Stanley has been with Rock N Roll Doo since he arrived at Cran Dalgety’s stables just outside Christchurch last Sunday and will stay right through until his NZ Cup assault.

Rock N Roll Doo is aiming to become just the second Aussie-trained pacer to win the NZ Cup since My Lightning Blue in 1987. Kerryn Manning’s Arden Rooney won it in 2015.

Stanley has been blown-away by the interest and respect for his stable star in NZ.

“To think he is equal favourite and you’ve got a legendary horseman like Mark Purdon saying how impressed he was by his Victoria Cup win is pretty surreal to be honest,” he said.

“There hasn’t been a day go by where I haven’t had a TV crew here filming and/or media ringing me to ask about him. It’s a real buzz.”

Australia will have two NZ Cup runners with star NSW pacer Majestic Cruiser booked on a flight from Sydney to Christchurch, via Auckland, on October 31.

Majestic Cruiser returns from a spell in a 2300m free-for-all at Menangle on Saturday night.

Trainer Jason Grimson will back him up in Saturday week’s Group 1 Len Smith Mile at Menangle before taking him across to NZ.

Majestic Cruiser went to NZ and beat their best pacers in the Group 1 Messenger at Auckland’s Alexandra Park in April.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Adam Hamilton, for News Corp