Wilkins to make NZ debut at Alexandra Park tonight

[Wandering Eyes]

By Jordyn Bublitz

After having nine driving wins across the Tasman, Brooke Wilkins will make her Kiwi debut at Alexandra Park tonight.

The 27-year-old will drive Treacherous Baby in Race 1, the Alex Bar and Eatery Mobile Pace for her employers Mark and Nathan Purdon.

Born in Sydney into a racing family Wilkins was always going to get involved in the sport but her racing career stalled in 2019.

“I actually had a bad fall, and it put me out for quite a while,” she said, “afterwards I moved to Melbourne and worked for Emma Stewart, and she pushed me back into driving.”

Across the Tasman she had 39 training wins and nine driving successes.
 
For the past two and a half years she has been honing her craft with Purdon Racing with driving taking a back seat due to travelling often with their horses.

“Since moving up to Pukekohe Nathan (Purdon) pushed to see if I’d drive a couple at the trials and it sort of went from there.”

“Then this mare on Friday needed a junior driver so it worked out pretty well.”

Just this week Wilkins drove comeback pacer Akuta at the Pukekohe trials.

Now she gets her chance on race night with Treacherous Baby, who’s rated a $2.30 second favourite in what is just a five-horse field.

“I think she’s got a good chance. She hasn’t had much luck lately and her form isn’t too hot, but I don’t think she’s run a bad race at all,” she said, “I think we’ll just drive her a bit cold on Friday and save her for one run.”

Mantra Blue looks to be her main danger, having her second start back this campaign after running a game fifth in the North Island Breeders Stakes last week.
 
“I think people probably underestimate how quick she (Treacherous Baby) is and being a small field, I think she’ll be right in it.”

Herlihy with three well-favoured runners at Alex Park tonight 

By Michael Guerin

The harness racing season may be getting close to a winter wind down but our greatest ever driver is just getting warmed up.

After a frantic last two months many of the code’s biggest names are enjoying their winter break and racing in the north is returning to something resembling normal.

And Tony Herlihy is ready to take advantage.

Our most successful ever driver, for those keeping count he is up to 3707 domestic wins, Herlihy is also one of the north’s great all time trainers, with 1132 training wins, rarified air in the north especially as Herlihy rarely travels his horses these days.

He fancies he can add to that total over the colder months ahead.

“I have got a few who are racing well and aren’t that deep into their campaigns so I am hoping to sneak a couple over the next month,” he smiles.

There may not be too much sneaky about the likes of Youneverknow (R2, No.1), Roy Kent (R3, No.3) or Double Parked (R9, No.3) at The Park tonight as all three are in the market, two of them warm favourites.

Youneverknow really caught the eye with a huge second to Meant To Be $120,000 IRT Sires’ Stakes Championship last start and only has to race up to that form to win tonight.

“He is a lovely big horse and getting better and I think he will hold his own from barrier 1 so he has to be a good chance,” says The Iceman.

Roy Kent has been a victim of circumstances lately, chasing home the likes of Marketplace in elite three-year-old races while when he dropped back into the grades last start and was outsprinted by Words in a no-pressure race on the subsequently abandoned race night where the passing lane he could have used was a puddle.

“Roy always goes a good race and I think he will be even better next campaign but he has gate speed and is up to these horses.”

That same quote suits Double Parked who won a heat of the Metro Series two weeks ago and races in another one tonight in probably an easier field.

“He has that gate speed that helps and will be really hard to catch if he can get up against the marker pegs. He definitely has more wins in him.”

Herlihy suggests his other runners tonight in Sadhaka (R7, No.1) and Always Ask (R10, No.2) will both be better for their outings tonight.

The meeting has some small fields but some smart horses, headlined by Mantra Blue in Race 1 who looks enormously better off in a mobile in Race 1 tonight than when she resumed off a 30m handicap last Friday.

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