The $40,000 Northern Southland Cup run at the harness racing meeting at Ascot Park on Saturday drew a very even field with one exception – Mossdale Conner.
Due to the vagaries of the dropback system, Mossdale Conner is only rated a C6 pacer in New Zealand so was only given a 20 metres handicap in The Northern Southland Cup while Quick As A Trick and Titan Banner were both given 30 metres handicaps.
Now Mossdale Conner might not have won a race this season in thirteen attempts but his placings had earned him over $180,000 prior to Saturdays race.
On the Australasian Grand Circuit for 2015– 2016, Mossdale had finished fifth on the overall table behind the joint winners Lennytheshark and Smolda.
Yet many pundits somehow saw him as vulnerable on Saturday but Mossdale Conner showed the advantage of competing at that top Grand Circuit level all season with a comprehensive win during which he hardly got out of second gear.
Away well for Ricky May from his 20 metres handicap, Mossdale Conner went to the front after 700 metres and that was race over from there.
Keeping up a high tempo from there, Mossdale Conner went to the finishing line with plenty left in the tank and took forever to pull up past the line.
He always looks a bit flat when out on his own as he was on Saturday where as in reality he is waiting for something to race
Costa Del Magnifico went another top race to run second, especially in light of the fact he had been cast in his box the previous Sunday and had been under the care of the vet most of the week and had missed valuable work as well.
Democrat Party battled on for a good third but did have the run of the race most of the way.
Ricky May was shaking his head when talking to Harnesslink in the birdcage post race.
" He has won that so easy it was scary."
" He has never got out of second gear and if something had been able to challenge him, there would have been big gaps to the rest.
" When he is on his game like he was this afternoon, he is right up there with the best on the Grand Circuit and I don't think a lot of people realize how big the gap is between a race like today and the Grand Circuit."
" I know that Greg (Hope) is toying with giving Mossdale Conner a decent break this year as he has never had a decent break in his whole career."
" He doesn't have to improve much from this season to start winning some of those Grand Circuit races," Ricky said.
Brent Shirley, the trainer of Costa Del Magnifico was happy with his performance but ruing the bad luck he had suffered pre race which meant his pride and joy went into the race under done.
" I am not saying for a minute we would have beaten Mossdale Conner but we would have certainly made him work a lot harder for the victory." Brent said
Mossdale Conner paced the 2700 metres from a stand in 3:20.2, a mile rate of 1:59.3 with closing sectionals of 56.6 and 28.
His winning time was just one tenth of a second outside of the track record held by Isaiah of 3:20.1.
The way Mossdale Conner has progressed this season on the Grand Circuit, he looks certain to become one of the big players in all the classics next year.
Harnesslink Media