Didjamaken Bolt scored one of the great Addington Raceway comebacks when he outclassed his rivals in a 1.54 mile parked out on Show Day.
In only his second start in two years for Merv and Meg Butterworth, Didjamakem Bolt had made a lapse at the start when resuming at Ashburton and also made a mistake at the trials.
"I didn't want to be parked out ideally but I was aware he had made those mistakes and so I wanted to keep him balanced and with room."
"After that even tho parked I thought he would be hard to beat" Mark Purdon said after the stable's 7th win at the carnival.
"We will keep him down here over the holidays racing in events like the Ashburton Cup and those sort of races."
"We have no long term plans for him just see how it comes"
Hardly surprising.
Didjamakem Bolt went amiss after a hugely impressive win in 2.18.6 for the 1950m, his fourth successive win.
At that stage many, not excluding Mark, were thinking in terms of the New Zealand Cup this year.
Alas his wind operation and leg injury was followed by more problems and he had had a slow buildup before resuming at Ashburton.
Fortunately this prep has been almost incident free.
"If ever a horse deserved this it is him" said Meg reflecting the patience the owners have shown with DJ because his great potential could not go unexplored.
"A bigger thrill than winning the NZ Cup with Arden Rooney" Merv added.
DJ is by the same sire as Smoken Up and looks as though he might have a similar durability all going well.
Certainly his ability is right out of the ordinary-which is why Merv and Meg were not afraid to outlay big money for him at an early stage of his career.
David McCarthy
All Stars Racing Stables – Check site here