Can the Empire strike back?

Can Empire City (Volstead) bounce back to win the SENZ – New Zealand Two Year Old Trotting Stakes at harness racing HQ tomorrow night?

Oamaru trainer Phil Williamson hopes she can.

The two year old filly impressively won on debut at Addington at the end of June. At her next start she sat parked and finished fourth, beaten nine and a half lengths by the smart Wilma’s Mate (Tactical Landing).

“She was disappointing that day. We couldn’t find a lot wrong with her but she ended up with a cold a few days after. Hopefully we’re back on track and the best version of her will be hard to beat,” Williamson said.

Empire City goes into the Group Three feature fresh without any workout or trial, but Williamson is not worried about that.

“I’ve known this race was on her radar, I’ve worked her accordingly and I’m happy with her. I think she’ll be hard to beat with a reasonable passage. The draw is a bit nasty, but they say it’s a starting number and not the finishing number, so we’ll go with that.”

Friday’s trotting feature has drawn a capacity field.

“You’ve always got to respect Paul Nairn. He’s got a couple in there and they’ve drawn well. The way Matty’s horse Princess Sadie (Muscle Mass) has been running she must be tough to beat. Kaleb Bublitz’s horse The Merc (Royal Aspirations) is a nice horse.”

Torquay Street (Father Patrick) also gets her chance for Williamson in the $40,000 race. She’s been racing against older company in the south and fine tuning her ringcraft.

“She’s displayed good manners so far. She’s drawn well and I expect her to go a nice race. She’s been a bit unlucky at her last few starts. She could be the smoky in that field.”

Williamson trained Springbank Lachie (Majestic Son) to win the 1981 edition of the Trotting Stakes.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink