Bettors Anvil drawn to test favourite in $200,000 final

Tim Williams knows that now or never may actually end up being never.

But he thinks tonight’s $200,000 Garrards Sires’ Stakes Final at Addington is his best chance to find out whether Bettors Anvil (Bettor’s Delight) can beat three-year-old harness racing superstar pacer Marketplace.

Williams drives the muscular colt who is trained by his bosses Steve and Amanda Telfer and he gets the best of the barrier draws for the big three in the Group 1 sprint.

The draws are a reversal of the three favourites rankings on performance so far: Bettors Anvil has barrier 4 and the gate speed to use it, Got The Chocolates has been our second best three-year-old and gets barrier 7 while the undoubted star of the crop, Marketplace starts from the outside of the second line.

Marketplace has won all the races that matter in the last year but Williams, the hugely popular driver who is closing in on 1000 career wins, thinks tonight if his best chance to stretch him.

“We have the draw and the chance to use it,” he says.

“The trip north has really improved this horse and he knows what it is all about now. He moved really fast when I wanted to lead on him last week and while that wasn’t against these horses I think he deserves his chance to do the same again this week.”

That is conservative driver code for “I’d be keen to stay in front” or at worst make Got The Chocolates work and then the two pretenders can lead and trail and if Marketplace can work around the field, sit parked and still beat them, so be it.

“We know what a great horse Marketplace is but hopefully he will settle a long way behind us so we get our chance,” says Williams.

While Bettors Anvil and Got The Chocolates should sort themselves out in the first 600m, Marketplace has the advantage that the rest of his rivals aren’t good enough to get in his way so when he moves he should be able to cruise to the parked out position without too much traffic.

That could leave punters asking themselves a simple question: are you happy taking $1.28 for Marketplace to win sitting parked the last 1000m?

The answer for multi punters might be yes, straight out win punters might just wait and watch.

Williams, who sits fourth on the premiership, has a strong book of drives across a stacked Addington programme rating Seaside Rose (R5), Father Time (R9) and Akatea (R11) as his next best chances.

“Seaside Rose has been going great races and she will going forward from her wide draw because she is a front of the field horse,” says Williams.

“She has to be hard to beat because I think she knocked off last start and while her stablemate [Sweet Diamond] is also racing well I think my mare is the better chance.”

Williams says Father Time is one of his favourite horses and he’d love to win tonight’s $50,000 NZB Uncut Gem Classic Trot.

“He is a real dude of a horse and Kevin [Townley, trainer] has set him for this race,” enthuses Williams.

“He has trialled well since he last raced and I think off the front he will be hard to catch.”

He thinks Akatea should be better suited well drawn tonight over 1980m tonight than she was over 2600m on this track last start while he has no doubts about Double Jeopardy’s ability in Race 8 but also realises he is a field full of quasi open class horses.

Tonight’s meeting sees juveniles Fugitive (Race 2) and Duchess Maria (Race 6) expected to repeat their recent Alexandra Park wins while an even pacing fillies field in the Bionic Chance Bracelet adds to one of the deepest Addington meetings of the year so far.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Michael Guerin, for Harness Racing New Zealand