The Janitor
THE Aussie raid starts at Cambridge on Thursday night.
Star stablemates The Janitor and Gus are the “advance party” ahead of Cambridge’s huge Night of Champions on Friday week.
A record eight Aussie horses – five pacers and three trotters – will tackle the two features, the $NZ1 million Race by Sport Nation and the $NZ530,000 TAB Trot.
That’s one more than when Australia won both features last year with Leap To Fame and Arcee Phoenix.
Gus, who won the huge Group 1 double at Addington’s NZ Cup Week when he last visited NZ last November, will be first to step out at Cambridge on Thursday in the seven-horse $60,000 Group 2 Waikato Trotters’ Flying Mile.
It is his first run since finishing fourth to champion mare Keayang Zahara in the $100,000 Group 1 Hammerhead Mile at Menangle on March 14.
Trainer Chantal Turpin said she was keen to give Gus and The Janitor another run and look at the Cambridge track before their main targets.
She has also opted to leave Gus, who had a history of galloping at the start, out of the draw for both his NZ starts.
“We’ve worked that hard to get him this far,” she said. “We won’t change anything for this trip, but will put him back in the draw when we go home and see how he goes in a couple of lead runs before the Inter Dominion (in July).”
So, Gus will start from the outside (gate seven) in a race where Hillbilly Blues (two), Ya Rite Darl (five) and veteran Oscar Bonavena (six) look his key rivals.
Without any other Aussies in the race, Gus clearly looks the horse to beat.
The Janitor, who was a slashing second to Leap To Fame in the Miracle Mile last start, also has a wide draw (gate six) in a small field of seven.
But it’s not a major issue for him because The Janitor doesn’t have much early speed and likes to sit and swoop.
While he won’t have the stars Aussies in Leap To Fame, Kingman and Swayzee to contend with, The Janitor will face the best of the Kiwi hopes for the Race by Sport Nation in Thursday’s $60,000 Group 2 Waikato Pacers’ Flying Mile.
We Walk By Faith (two), Sooner The Bettor (three), Republican Party (five) and Merlin (seven) look the best of the locals.
Turpin’s husband Pete McMullen will make the trip across to drive the pair.
PHOTO: Club Menangle/Pacepix
