Harness Million attracts top fields

$700,000 across twelve races is up for grabs tomorrow night at Addington.

There are two feature harness racing contests for two year olds; the $150,000 Listed NZB Standardbred Harness Million Two Year Old Fillies Pace and the $200,000 Listed NZB Standardbred Harness Million Two Year Old Colts and Geldings Pace.

West Melton trainer Hayden Cullen lines up Winelight (Downbytheseaside) in the Harness Million Two Year Old Fillies Pace.

She was a game third last week after driver Olivia Thornley tried to steal a break inside the last 600 metres. Winelight was run down late by Stella Rouge.

“If you reverse the roles with a few of the others and had we got the run on the fence, we would have got home just as good I think. We had to go a bit earlier than we would have liked. She just got tired late but she had every right to,” Cullen said.

Winelight has recovered from last Thursday’s run and is ready to go again.

“She’s quite a hardy filly, loves a bit of work and seems to have come on since the race.”

Without You (Captain Crunch) trained by Purdon Racing is also in the mix in tomorrow night’s fillies’ feature. She got too far back in in her race last week and finished ninth, but she had excuses.

“She actually got a stone in the eye. The next day her eye was all swollen over and it took a couple of days to come right. She hit the gap with a bit of pace and was going to run into it, but Dad said she just stopped and started to weave about. She seems well (now), and the training has been good,” Nathan Purdon said.

Finishing in the top three tomorrow night will certainly boost the chances of a filly making it into next month’s G1 $100,000 Ace of Diamonds at Addington. The four top qualifiers currently are Youretheonethatiwant, Captains Mistress, Beetastic and Gone Surfin.

Meanwhile in the colts and geldings Harness Million, Purdon Racing gears up two runners – Rubira (Always B Miki) and Demon Blue (Art Major).

Rubira had a tough run last start and was beaten into third by horses that received softer trips.

“It was an incredible run from the winner (Marketplace) but I don’t think of the others, you can say one is better than the other at this stage. He’s got an extremely awkward draw (one on the inside of the second row) and may never see daylight in the run. I think he and Marketplace are the best two horses going at the moment,” Purdon said.

Demon Blue was an impressive seven and a half-length winner at his last start against lighter opposition. He gets a tricky second line draw.

“If any of our horses are going to surprise on the night It’ll probably be him. He’s coming into form at the right time and he’s strengthened up from where he was earlier on when he went to Auckland. The trip away has made the horse, but he may not have the brilliance of Rubira just yet. If the race played into his hands he could be the underdog. He’s certainly a first four chance anyway.”

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink