More The Better, Two-old Pacer of the Year, is primed and drawn to resume racing on a winning note in a heat of the NRM Sires’ Stakes at Forbury Park on Thursday night.
More The Better, who has not raced since winning the Harness Jewels at Cambridge in June, ran Titan Banner to a nose in a workout at Ashburton on September 27, the last 800m in 56.5. Titan Banner has won 10 races and he is a nominee for the NZ Trotting Cup.
More The Better has drawn one, which has provided the winner of four of the seven Sires’ Stakes heat winners at Forbury Park since the distance was changed from a mile to 1700m (mobile) in 2009.
More The Better is trained by Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen, who trained the 2013 winner, Alleleluia. More The Better was outstanding as a 2yr-old with six wins from 10 starts. His other major race victories were the Sires’ Stakes Final and Yearling Sales Final at Addington and the Cardigan Bay Stakes in Auckland.
The Purdon- Rasmussen stable also has Ultimate Machete and Spondulicks in the Sires’ Stakes heat on Thursday night. Ultimate Machete ran More The Better to half a head in the HJ and won a heat of the Sires’ Stakes at Addington in March. Ultimate Machete won a workout at Ashburton on September 27, the last 800m in 57.2. He has has drawn the outer in a six-horse field.
Spondulicks, who is having his first start, qualified in 3.05.5 for 2400m (mobile) when second at Ashburton on September 20. He won a workout there a week later.
Mongolian Hero, a winner fresh up at Addington on September in a C2-4 race could make his presence felt. The Paul Court –trained colt won a heat of the Young Guns series at Alexandra Park in February.
Eamon Maguire (race 8) and Torrid Bromac ( r7) are top chances on a nine-race programme. The Graeme Anderson-trained Eamon Maguire was a first up winner at Forbury Park in July and he returned after a break to succeed at Invercargill on September 17.
Torrid Bromac won over 2600m (mobile) in track record time of 3.11.8 for all ages at Oamaru in May, one of his five wins from the West Melton stable of Steven McRae. Torrid Bromac is now trained at Woodend Beach by Regan Todd.
“His owner felt he (Torrid Bromac) would be suited at the beach and I am pleased to have him,’’ said Todd. “He has had a couple of trials and was just nabbed by Expressive Victor in the second of them. Expressive Victor came out and won last week.”
Todd had hoped to give Torrid Bromac another run in company at Rangiora last Wednesday but he settled for a workout there with well performed trotter Habibti when the organised workouts were abandoned.
Matt Anderson, who has won 46 races, combines with Torrid Bromac in the race for junior drivers.
Zenmach is among those opposing Torrid Bromac. The Geoff and Jude Knight-trained Zenmach won five races between July and November last year. He was put aside in March after his form slumped. He ran second to Captain Dolmio in a workout at Gore on September 24.
Tayler Strong