Last stop Ashburton on Marketplace’s Cup trail
Garrick Knight - Raceform • October 22nd, 2026 3:15 PM • 5 min read
New Zealand’s great white hope for the New Zealand Trotting Cup will have his final lead-up in the Ashburton Flying Stakes on Monday.
Everything has gone smoothly for Marketplace through the spring, and his driver Craig Ferguson is eagerly awaiting what lies ahead.
“It’s the first time I’ve found myself in this position, and I’m certainly looking forward to it,” he told RaceForm.
Marketplace is a clear second favourite for the Cup behind Aussie champion Leap To Fame, and that horse’s likely presence just takes the nervous edge off for Ferguson and trainer Regan Todd.
“It’s actually probably a more preferable position, being the horse that’s trying to beat Leap to Fame, rather than being the horse that everyone is trying to beat.”
Marketplace was an excellent second in the Canterbury Classic last Friday night, nailed on the line by Bettors Anvil after sitting parked for the first half of the race.
“We were thrilled with the run,” said Ferguson. “He’s still on his way up, and it was only his second run back. Regan is really targeting the Cup, so he was probably only 90 percent fit last week.
“And although he’s had some tough runs in the past, he’s never had to just sit parked, so to do that and then see him dash up at the top of the lane was really satisfying. He went to sleep and just relaxed perfectly, which is exactly what we wanted to see.”
A small but select field tackles the Gr.2 NZB Airfreight Ashburton Flying Stakes, and Ferguson makes a strong case for half of them.
“The Lazarus Effect, It’s Tough and Bettors Anvil are all going to be tough to beat, especially if we happened to do a little bit of work early.
“But he’s certainly come on since that last run, and we just want to see him make another clean beginning from the stand and relax well.”
Ferguson is staying in Christchurch with Todd and a few of his own horses in the run up to Cup Week.
One of those is Imperious Girl, who returned to form with a stunning Addington win a fortnight ago. She shapes as one of the leading contenders in Monday’s Gr.3 Hambletonian Classic for three-year-old trottters.
“It was great to finally see her get around Addington in one piece; it was just the inexperience that had cost her in those two prior runs when she galloped.
“Putting the pole on her seems to have made a big difference too.”
Ferguson is also expecting his maiden pacer Beast Mode to go close to winning at Addington on Friday night.
“I didn’t quite have him organised enough for Addington racing, and the one draw tripped him last time. I’m really happy with him and confident he can go close to winning this week.”
Don’t miss out on the best in harness racing - watch Friday Night Lights every Friday on Trackside 1 and trackside.co.nz from 4.30pm - with racing this week from Addington and Alexandra Park. Tune into Trackside 1 or trackside.co.nz from 4:30pm.
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