Purdon-Phelan pair take on Akuta at Alexandra Park tonight

[Wandering Eyes]

By Michael Guerin

Scott Phelan knows Better Knuckle Up and Jeremiah are up to open class. 

What their co-trainer doesn’t know if whether that is good enough to win their comeback race at Alexandra Park tonight.

The two four-year-olds resume for Phelan and senior training partner Barry Purdon in a serious 1700m scamper at Alexandra Park tonight, up against Akuta, who was super costly for punters when being beaten in a similar race two weeks ago.

Akuta should be fitter for his third that night and could be ready to be driven aggressively with co-trainer Mark Purdon taking the reins tonight so opened $1.40 with the TAB.

But his defeat showed Akuta is still very much on the way back up after 20 months away from the track and Phelan would love to exploit that tonight.

“We all know how good Akuta is so he is the one to beat,” says Phelan.

“But we are really happy with both of ours. They are working well and are ready to go and while most horses improve with their first run back in this grade we think they are pretty ready.”

While Akuta has won a NZ Derby, Taylor Mile and Auckland Cup, Better Knuckle Up has actually won a race worth almost as much as those three Group 1s added together as he took out the first running of the $500,000 Velocity Slot Race at Addington last November.

That was the culmination of a gradual rise through the three-year-old grades last season and he is undoubtedly an open class pacer in the making, although most horses need a least a few races in the big time to acclimatise.

“Both our horses will be Cup horses this time next year,” says Phelan.

“But that doesn’t mean they can’t win this week if Akuta is vulnerable again.

“While Better Knuckle Up has the big race victory on the board I actually think there is very little between them and if I had to select one over the other this week it could be Jeremiah.

“He was on a bit of a learning curve last year but he seems very sharp to me now.”
 
Add in Akuta and the talented The Surfer and the field has more moving parts than the market may suggest even after the scratching of Treacherous Baby.

Phelan says their best open class pacer Merlin as well as Sooner The Bettor, Duchess Megxit and Cold Chisel will all be trialing in less than a fortnight as the first two target the Spring Cup on September 19. 

“Ideally they will stay up here for most of their NZ Cup campaigns, we’d love to give them three starts up here before heading south.”

The Purdon/Phelan barn have a strong hand in tonight as they start to roll out around 25 horses who will be ready to race over the next month.

“I think Confederate will be a good chance this week, his run last week should have really brought him on.”

The stable has the beautifully-bred No More Dreaming (R2, No. 5) making his debut in the TAB Racing Club colours in a stacked juvenile race and Phelan says while he can run he will learn a lot from tonight’s experience.

Two Jules (R4, No.5) has been a sharp improver since coming north to join the stable and Phelan says she can win again while tonight’s meeting also sees a rarity in three mobile trot races at Alexandra Park at this stage of the season.

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