‘The master’ salutes in first G1 of Grand Prix day

The man they call ‘the master’ of New Zealand harness racing’s trotting scene caused a minor boilover in the inaugural $100,000 Group One Ace of Spades when he trained and drove Confessional (Father Patrick) to a convincing victory.

The first G1 of Grand Prix Day was not without some drama, with Tectonic (Majestic Son) and Imperial Monarch (Imperial Count) galloping in the score up, with the former being sent to the unruly for his efforts.

Imperial Monarch botched the start a second time. Still, most of the juvenile trotters were away safely with the Coaster Howe trained Maxwell Edison (Majestic Son) crossing down from barrier six to be an early leader.

He was soon joined by the odds-on favourite in Gold Bullion (Muscle Hill), with Bob Butt wasting no time getting his charge to a forward position where he looked set to dictate the 1980m affair.

With $100,000 up for grabs, it was clear that the opposition were keen to make their own luck and the three wide line was busy going past the winning post. When Nairn got to the outside wheel of the favourite with 1000m to go, he put the hammer down and went on with the job and set about turning the juvenile feature into a staying test.

The favoured runners kicked clear of the rest of their rivals and turning for home it looked a race in two, but when Butt pulled the reins to take the passing lane, disaster struck, with Gold Bullion going out of his gait and extinguishing his chances of G1 glory.

It left the blue-blooded son of Habibti clear inside the last 150m, and it was their Confessional remained, clearing away for an easy three- and three-quarter length win. The winning time of 2:25.5 for the 1980m mobile shaved 2.2 seconds off the previous New Zealand record for 2YO colts and geldings.

CONFESSIONAL REPLAY

“It all worked out nice, he’s a very good stayer this horse so I thought I might as well make use of that and try and take a bit of heat out of the others,” said Nairn.

“He was travelling well, and he sort of wanted to knock off a bit when he was clear on his own, but he went a great race.

“We try to have them right on the big days and it doesn’t always work out like that, but it’s great when it does. It was unfortunate for Bob to have a gallop but that’s racing I suppose, and it was our day today.

“I was very happy with Confessional, he felt super in his work this week and really felt like he was ready for a big run which gave me plenty of confidence to drive him like that today. It’s a fantastic family, there are hardly any duds and some nice horse. It’s all very well winning young horse races but it’s another test again to race into the top grade so we will have to see how he goes taking the next leap,” he said.

Southern Diamond (Creatine) was rewarded for his consistency throughout the year with a G1 second for the Purdon/Phelan camp while Tectonic flew home for third after being sent to the unruly to cap a 1st/3rd finish for Nairn trained runners.

“Tectonic is going to be a nice wee horse in the future, his manners have made it a bit awkward for him, but it was great to see him get a bit today,” said Nairn.

In winning the inaugural $100,000 G1 Ace of Spades, Confessional added to the incredible CV of his mother Habibti as a G1 winning trotter. Confessional also provided his sire, Father Patrick, with his first G1 credit in New Zealand which is just reward having dominated the 2YO ranks for much of 2022 where his biggest crop to date have flourished.

For complete Grand Prix Day results, click here.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink