Driver Luke McCarthy has landed a Dream drive in the Chariots Of Fire at Tabcorp Park Menangle this Saturday night.
MICHAEL GUERIN | @GuerinSports
JUST days after one of the richest wins of his career Luke McCarthy has been handed a surprise Chariots Of Fire drive.
The master of Menangle will pilot New Zealand pacer Chase The Dream in the $200,000 Group 1 on Saturday night for trainers Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen.
The Kiwi pair have three in the race, with Purdon obviously sticking with $1.45 TAB favourite Lazarus and Rasmussen choosing to drive Our Waikiki Beach, even after his slower than expected start to the season.
That means McCarthy, who reined Bling It On to win the $500,000 Hunter Cup at Melton last Saturday, gets the bonus drive on Chase The Dream.
The muscly little pacer has been impressive winning both his Menangle starts but has drifted to $21 in the markets after drawing wide.
But McCarthy is a boost to his chances as Menangle’s pre-eminent drivers of group one since the track’s opening almost a decade ago.
“Luke has driven a lot for us in the past so to get him on Chase The Dream is a real bonus,” said Purdon.
Purdon was also pleased with Lazarus’s barrier of four but warned punters it may not be the fancied scenario of a hot favourite jumping to the lead.
“There looks to be a lot of speed there but from the draw we have options,” said Purdon.
“He has gate speed, as we saw in the Victoria Cup, but we don’t need to make any firm plans yet.
“I can see it being a 1:50 mile, even quicker so even our other two being drawn out wide doesn’t bother me too much.”
Purdon was still pleased with Lazarus’s win in the $100,000 Bonanza at Melton on Saturday even though it wasn’t as dramatic as his Victoria Cup demolition job a week earlier.
“They ran a fast last half (800m) and his class came to the fore but he isn’t going to win by a big margin every time.”
Meanwhile, the stable has taken a cautious approach with champion mare Dream About Me, nominal favourite for the $200,000 Ladyship Mile on February 25.
Last season’s NSW Oaks winner was scratched from the Brian Hancock Cup last Friday with a minor virus and is not entered for Menangle on Saturday.
“I didn’t want to enter and then not be entirely happy with her later in the week so she can have her lead-up race to the Ladyship next week instead.”
Harness Racing NSW (HRNSW) is the controlling body for harness racing in New South Wales with responsibility for commercial and regulatory management of the industry including 33 racing clubs across the State. HRNSW is headed by an industry-appointed Board of Directors and is independent of Government.
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