Menu

Good draw gives Argyle a chance to secure sweet trip and go back-to-back on Saturday

Trainer Mark Dux can see a likely scenario that will give Argyle a great chance of scoring back-to-back wins at Albion Park on Saturday night.

The four-year-old put a long drought behind him when he exploded home to score at odds of $31 last week and, in a field of similar quality this week, he has finally landed a good draw in the second race.

But while Argyle and Angus Garrard will leave the gate from two, Dux doubts they can cross the pole runner, Luvbite, who led all the way from one on Tuesday.

“There is speed outside us though and I can Midnight Calm going forward - when he’s free rolling in front he can run a bit of time.

“It will all come down to whether Luvbite holds the lead and, if he does, and leaves Midnight Calm out there, we could be sitting pretty in the one-one. If that unfolds we’ll be strong at the finish.”

Dux believes he finally has Argyle in the right condition to hold his form.

“He hasn’t had a decent campaign yet, something’s always gone wrong. But I can’t fault him at the moment, his times have been good, and I think he’ll be thereabouts.”

If you go back through Argyle’s form, Dux says you’ll see how he’s come up against far better fields.

In his first start in the state last November he finished second in a Group III three-year-old race behind Future Assured, now a free-for-all horse with 11 wins.

Since then, first a knee injury then a foot abscess have sidelined him for long periods.

“It’s a nice enough field on Saturday night but I’m sure he’ll race well.”

Only two horses in the 1660 metre race are rated higher than Argyle, giving him a great shot at taking the major slice of the A$20,770 stake.

Argyle races at 9.13pm NZ time at Albion Park on Saturday nightArgyle races at 9.13pm NZ time at Albion Park on Saturday night

Our runners this week: How our trainers rate them

Nathan Delany

Nathan’s comments

Wednesday night at Cambridge

Race 1: Lincoln Maree
5.11pm

“She’s finding her feet and was a bit unlucky at Taupo. She put in a few rough ones out of the gate - she was like that early in her prep and could just jump out of it - but she’s generally doing things right now. She trained well on Saturday and, with the right run, could run top three.”

Race 3: The Night Fox
6pm

“He won really well on the second day at Hawera and if he races anything like he’s training he’ll be hard to beat. He ran a 27.3 quarter during the week and I was just sitting on him. I’ll tell Craig to go forward, set an even tempo and cut him loose at the 600. I think he’s our best of the night.”

Race 6: Lincoln Lover
7.35pm

“Hopefully he’s improved since Taupo when Fergie drove him a treat in front. I actually think he’s better coming off something’s back but I’ll leave it up to Fergie. He’s up a bit in grade but has the right draw to be in it all the way.”

Ray Green

Ray’s comments

Friday night at Auckland

Race 5: Lincoln Wave
7.32pm

“He had an easy run last week and he can go a lot faster than that. He should be hard to beat. It won’t matter if he doesn’t find the lead from six, he’ll be just as effective coming from off the pace. He’s a pretty classy horse, classier than most of those against him.”

Race Images - Harness