Mitchell Kerr, who drove Soak It Up to win at Addington yesterday, is headed to Sydney today to drive Auditor General in the Newcastle Mile tonight.
Auditor General flew from Christchurch to Sydney on Thursday and arrived in Newcastle the same night in the care of his Ohoka trainer, Paul Kerr.
"We decided to miss the Cup and go to Australia because Auditor General is a sprinter," Keith Ovens, his Christchurch part-owner, said.
The connections were encouraged to make the trip after Auditor General finished fifth in the Ashburton Flying Stakes.
Mark Padget and Gerry Dwyer, part-owners of Pay Me Christian, are in the ownership of Auditor General. Ovens, of Christchurch, is also in the ownership of the Kerr-trained Soak It Up, winner of a $15,000 final of a graduation series yesterday. He shares ownership with Ray Fleetwood and Denis Lyon, both of Wellington and E S Jones.
It was the second win for Soak It Up in nine starts. A laid-back 3yr-old colt by Elsu, he ran the 2600m (mobile) in a smart 3.11.6.
• Storm Light, trained by Stu Campbell, of North Taieri, for Moeraki breeders Joe and Raeleen Thompson, is under consideration for a trip to Auckland next month after her impressive win yesterday.
"Auckland is a real possibility. She works well that way around," Campbell said.
Storm Light has won twice at Addington this season and she has now won six races. She has been in the care of the Robert Dunn stable.
"She would hold her own in a race like the Queen Of Hearts," Dunn said.
Storm Light rallied late yesterday after being held up and won by three-quarters of a length in a 1.56.4 mile rate for 1950m (mobile).
Thompson's father, Bob, won a race at the New Zealand Cup meeting in the mid-1960s with Stormlight, trained and driven by Felix Newfield.
