Wow! Clues for the free-for-all when you see how fast they went trying to catch Copy That

Blair Orange’s expert rating of Copy That undoubtedly won him Tuesday’s $600,000 IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup and it resulted in some extraordinary sectionals being clocked by some of the also-rans.

With his foot firmly down all the way, Orange made it hard for challengers to get into the race as he clocked an official 3:54 for the 3200 metres.

His time was just nine tenths of a second outside the New Zealand record set by Lazarus in 2016 and just one tenth of a second slower than the next fastest time run by Thefixer in 2018.

Addington Raceway’s GPS clocking system StrideMASTER credits Copy That with a closing 1600 metres in 1:53.06 and, while this is 9.34 metres short of a mile it illustrates what an impossible task his rivals faced to catch him.

Trainer Ray Green with Blair Orange, who rated Copy That to perfection. PHOTO: Ajay Berry/Race Images.StrideMASTER recorded Self Assured as coming from 12th at the 1600 metre mark and rocketing home in 1:51.89. To finish fifth, less than two lengths from Copy That, was one of the runs of the race, given he was held up leaving the final bend, locked wheels and punctured a sulky tyre near the 300m.

But Addington’s The Ultimate Racebook gives the cup speed prize to sixth-placed Old Town Road who came from 13th at the 1600 metre peg, running 1:52.05 home.

What gave him the edge was he travelled 3244 metres, while Self Assured, buried deep on the markers most of the way, covered only 3222 metres.

Closing mile in 1:51.2

Taking into account the ground he covered, Old Town Road was credited with an equivalent last mile time of 1:51.2. (The formula used to adjust the time from 1600 metres to a mile involves dividing the extra 9.34 metres by the velocity at the 1600 metre crossing. Depending on velocity the difference is around seven tenths of a second. The time equivalent also calculates the average speed of the horse from one marker to the next and then divides it by the exact distance the horse has run for that sectional.).

Runner-up Majestic Cruiser also smashed the clock. Positioned ninth at the 1600 metre peg, he came wide and paced home in 1:52.19, covering 3237 metres, 19 more metres than Copy That.

Alta Wiseguy, who draws the pole in Friday’s $200,000 NZ Pacing Free-for-all, also stood out on the clock in running seventh, 3.9 lengths from the winner.

After starting from wide on the second row, he was 11th at the 1600 metre mark and paced his last 1600 metres in 1:52.53. What made his effort exceptional was he came six wide round the home turn and ended up covering 3255 metres, the furthest of all runners.

Evidence of just how fast the cup was run on Tuesday is borne out by the post-to-post times recorded by StrideMASTER.

While Copy That’s official time was 3:54 flat, his GPS recording was 3:52.16.

If you’re wondering why the discrepancy, StrideMASTER managing director David Hawke explains that the official start time is triggered when the tapes go back (and when the horses are still standing) but StrideMASTER’s times are triggered by the first horse to cross the start line.

The difference is the time it takes for the leading horse to step away and get to the start line after the tapes have gone back.

The table below lists:

• how fast each runner paced their last 1600 metres
• where they were in the field when they hit the 1600 peg
• their actual post-to-post time
• their official time and
• how many extra metres they covered in the running.