Caretaker trainer Cran Dalgety admits Thursday night will be a big learning curve for Aussie harness racing raider Rock N Roll Doo (Rock N Roll Heaven).
The former Victoria Cup and Len Smith Mile winner opens his NZ campaign from a back row draw in the star-studded $60,000 McMillan Equine Feeds Pacers Flying Mile at Cambridge, against the likes of Don’t Stop Dreaming and Merlin.
It’s a key race, just eight days out from the $1m Race by Grins, also at Cambridge.
āHe hasnāt been here long, but he’s a big, raw, rubber-neck sort of fella and weāre going to learn a lot more about him in this race,ā Dalgety said.
āIāve been chatting a lot with Mick (Stanley, trainer) and heās told me about his quirks, but the ability is obviously there.
āIād be pleasantly surprised if he came out and won this week, but, equally, he should run well on his form before leaving Aussie and what weāve seen here so far.
āI like the draw, two-out on the back row. Heāll be in the running line without doing any work and you canāt say that for quite a few others draw wide on a track where the first bend comes up really quickly.
āItās a hard race to read, but thereās no shortage of nice horses in it.
āWeāre just looking forward to getting him to the races and seeing where we sit.
āThe main reason weāre going this week is to find out more about him and then we can tinker with anything we might need to before the big one the week after.ā
Owner Brendan James confirmed Anthony Butt had booked to drive Rock N Roll Doo in his NZ races.
Butt has driven him at his past three Aussie runs, including a close second in the Group 1 Lighthorse free-for-all ā basically a Miracle Mile consolation ā at Menangle on March 9.
āHeās been here about a week and settled in well,ā Dalgety said. āNow itās time to find out more about where we sit with him.ā
Rock N Roll Doo won the Group 1 Len Smith Mile on September 2, last year and backed-up to add the Maryborough Cup 13 days later.
But the big, rangy pacer has been winless in 10 starts since.
For James, returning to NZ comes with mixed emotions.
Rock N Roll Doo had an unsuccessful NZ Cup campaign in late 2022 and then landed the āAussie Ladsā slot in last yearās Race By Grins before health issues and form slump saw his trip aborted.
āWeāre thrilled he got a slot (Barrett Homes) this year and thereās definitely some unfinished business,ā James said.
āWeāve also got the option to stay for races like the Taylor Mile, Messenger and even the Auckland Cup if weāre happy with him over there.ā
To see the Flying Mile field click here
byĀ Adam Hamilton, for Harness Racing New Zealand