Ya Rite Darl makes surprise appearance before $500,000 Ascent

A late change of plans will see exciting trotting filly Ya Rite Darl (What The Hill) head to Addington tonight rather than tomorrow.

Which provides punters with the most obvious of multi anchors for the last meeting at the big harness racing track before its biggest day.

Ya Rite Darl understandably opened $1.20 favourite for tonight’s Horses Perform Better On Betavet Trot, a race she was only thrown in to as an afterthought.

“We were actually going to take her to Addington for fast work on Saturday morning instead,” says driver John Dunn.

“But when I looked at the noms for this race we thought we might as well start in it.

“She is a very good doing filly so it won’t do her any harm.”

That means an extra race for Ya Rite Darl before she takes on the biggest race of her career, the $500,000 Ascent at Addington in a week.

While she looked smart last season she has been the big improver in this grade this spring and she would only have to seem to trot throughout to win tonight.

Team Dunn takes two other young trotting fillies in Petite Armour and Flying Dreams to the opening race tonight and John says the former is the better hope even after her expensive gallop last start.

“That was actually my fault, I let her hit her head on the mobile and she galloped so put that down to driver error,” he admits.

“I think she will trot this week and she should be fitter than the other filly (Flying Dreams) even though there isn’t much between them.”

The stable has Very Majestic in tonight’s Heat 14 of the World Driving Champs with Michael Nimczyk in the sulky and while the field isn’t intimidating Dunn says she is a mare who needs the right run to win.

Away from the WDC heats tonight’s other highlights include an even field of two-year-olds in Race 9 and a red hot debutante in the last race in the well-bred Transonic.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Michael Guerin, for Harness Racing New Zealand