Rising star about to take on the elite

The NZ Herald reports that harness racing trainer Mark Purdon has a word of warning for punters as Akuta (Bettor’s Delight) prepares to step into open class.

The sensational three-year-old pacer will take on established elite in Krug (Bettor’s Delight), Alta Wiseguy (Mach Three)  and Pembrook Playboy (Bettor’s Delight) in the $30,000 Hannon Memorial at Oamaru on Sunday (Sep. 18).

How he performs on Sunday and in his next two starts may determine whether Akuta will be given his chance in the New Zealand Cup at Addington on November 8.

That would be an extreme rarity a three-year-old starting in the Cup but Akuta is effectively four and would have been rated as such until harness racing moved to a calendar year season.

So while Akuta would create history if he was to win the Cup, in reality he is the same age as when Lazarus won a star-studded Cup by 10 lengths in his four-year-old season.

Nobody is suggesting Akuta is Lazarus yet, or ever will be, but he is uniquely-talented.

“He is very well and has been good in his two trials but he is older now and has really filled out and he has a lot of condition on him,” says Purdon who believes punters may not see the best of him on Sunday.

“He will definitely improve with one run and probably two so I’d be happy to see him run a place as long as he goes well.”

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Reprinted with permission from the NZ Herald