Carter Dalgety has landed the sought-after drive behind Krug as he looks to boost his New Zealand Cup prospects at Addington on Friday night.
A new driver is needed for the Cran and Chrissie Dalgety trained pacer after his regular pilot Blair Orange was booked to reunite with Copy That to defend their 2021 New Zealand Cup title next month.
The Dalgety camp plan to use their stable junior driver to fill the vacant seat behind Krug before a reinsman is confirmed for the horse’s own New Zealand Cup tilt.
While it may look like Carter was given the inside running to land the available drive, that wasn’t quite how things played out according to Cran Dalgety.
“Blair has an outstanding association with Krug but the owners of Copy That have booked him for the cup again this year.”
“We weren’t holding Blair back, they won the big one together last year and naturally they want to make it two in a row.”
“I guess you could say the seat behind Krug is vacant at the moment.”
“I spoke to all of our owners and we threw a few names around but the consensus from them was to let Carter fill in before we decide on who takes the reins in the cup.”
“Naturally I wasn’t going to stand in their way and I will be quite happy to pass him the reins on Friday night.”
Dalgety said Krug’s start at Addington on Friday night will be vital to the New Zealand Cup campaign following a disappointing first up effort in the Hannon Memorial.
“We have made no secret of the fact that his Hannon run was below par.”
“He didn’t race anywhere near his ability and we are glad we found good reason for it.”
“He wasn’t himself for quite a few days so we pushed the reset button and he is feeling happy and bright again.”
“It is going to be very important that we get a good genuine run into him on Friday night because of the down time he has had.”
“He is certainly well in himself but the only ingredient missing is a bit of solid racing.”
“Horses like B D Joe and Kango have had three runs under their belt, so they have a fitness edge on us this week.”
“But in saying that I think Krug will acquit himself well and take a lot of benefit from the run.”
Following Friday night’s handicap the Dalgety camp will assess where to head next with Krug.
A New Zealand Cup driver will be confirmed for the Group One winner in the coming weeks.
