By David Di Somma
A gun Australian pacer with his sights on next month's New Zealand Cup will make his South Island debut this weekend.
Sushi Sushi will line up in the Methven Cup and it'll be his first start for New Zealand's top trainer as well.
The horse is a million-dollar earner, winning 25 of his 38 starts, but has only raced twice in New Zealand before.
He won both those races, on each occasion defeating Terror to Love, who went on to win the New Zealand Cup.
“There's been a couple of years gone by since then. Terror To Love has stepped up and hopefully he also steps up to it,” says trainer Mark Purdon.
The Methven Cup will be a good warm up for Sushi but the big assignment is Addington Raceway on November 13.
“Cup time is a huge experience as I found out for the first time last year, and to have a drive and a genuine chance is amazing,” says driver Natalie Rasmussen.
Purdon himself will drive stable star Auckland Reactor.
And to illustrate how strong his team is, he could have as many as four runners in the big race.
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