Good book of drives for Orange

New Zealand’s best harness racing driver is facing the very real possibility of missing one of the country’s premier race nights.

And it won’t be because Blair Orange is suspended or unavailable. Quite remarkably, he doesn’t see himself having many, if any, drives at the Night Of Champions at Cambridge next Friday.

Orange will be at Addington tonight as he was last Friday and says he could well be there again next Friday as he has no confirmed bookings for Cambridge.

“At this stage I could miss it and be driving down here,” says Orange, who won the then Race by Grins on Copy That two years ago.

As usual Orange is focused on what lies directly ahead of him and that includes a tricky NZB Standardbred Handicap Pace (7.28pm) at Addington tonight in which he will partner Vessem.

Vessem was too strong in a 56.3 second last 800m at Addington last start and can clearly win again but Orange admits being off a 10m handicap in a four-horse race presents its challenges.

“They can be really hard races to drive in,” he told HRNZ.

“They will get into single file and you could make a case for every horse in the race.

“Vessem can win because he will eventually end up in open class. I am not saying he will be a star when he gets there but he is actually getting better.

“When he was a young horse he didn’t have a lot of speed but he is getting faster.”

The concern tonight could be if a horse like Renegade, on the front line, steps well and keeps running an even tempo how the two horses in the second half of the field get into the race without making it for each other.

Orange likes his book of drives tonight that also include Mystic Max (R7, No.8) in the $20,000 Peninsular Beachfront Resort Mooloolaba Handicap Trot in which he faces a 20m handicap but is one of the bigger guns coming out of a Group 1 into tonight’s 2600m stand.

“I think the trotting filly I am driving Paramount Picture (R2, No.2) will be hard to beat as she was really good on debut last start.

“And Secret Wish (R4, No.4) has to go close to winning as she was really good last start too and that should have improved her.”

Tonight’s meeting also sees the return of Father Time (R5, No.12) after he spent the start of summer chasing around superstar filly Keayang Zahara. He has trialled twice and has to be hard to beat even off a handicap in a big field in the Seahorse Supplements Handicap Trot (7.03pm).

For complete Addington fields, click here

by Michael Guerin, for Harness Racing New Zealand