Auckland Reactor Nears Debut

Auckland Reactor, New Zealand’s Horse of the Year in 2009 and winner of nearly $1 million in 25 victories, is nearing the debut of his U.S. racing career

. Trainer Kelvin Harrison, a New Zealand native who has trained in the U.S. for decades, is prepping the son of Mach Three for a 2010 campaign in North America at Magical Acres in central New Jersey.

His first action in a qualifier could be less than a month away.

Having arrived in the U.S. on February 3, Auckland Reactor had a rude awakening to Northern Hemisphere weather. Auckland Reactor’s native country, in the southern hemisphere, has seasons opposite of North America, so he arrived with a summer coat, which called for an assortment of blankets for his body, neck and shoulders to ward off the cold.

Now, the warmer weather being enjoyed in the New Jersey area has brought pollen to Auckland Reactor’s life.

“The allergies were staying after him a little bit, but he’s acting very well,” Harrison said. “It’s the typical allergies with the pollen this time of year. But he’s getting through them fine. With the weather, we’ve lightened up on the blankets but we keep him covered.

“I trained him a half (mile) in a minute the other day and took a look at his throat after I trained him; he was very good,” Harrison noted. “Basically, we should be ready to go at the end of the month. We’ll drop in a qualifier sometime around the first of May.”

No driver has yet been determined.

“That’s up to them (the ownership headed by Peter Heffering); they haven’t given me the word yet,” Harrison said. The pacer is owned predominantly by a group of Canadians, including Heffering, Tom Kyron, Bill Loyens, Doug Millard, Irv Storfer, Fred Brayford and Dr. Michael Wilson.

Harrison anticipates the first qualifier will be at the Meadowlands, the horse’s first trip to a U.S. racetrack.

“If I have any reservations, I may take him up and school him, but I don’t think that will be necessary,” Harrison said.

Auckland Reactor started races both from behind a conventional starting gate and from a standing start in New Zealand, so he won’t need an introduction to a traditional starting gate. New Zealand uses a system that handicaps outstanding horses by assigning them a starting spot well behind the rest of the field.

“All his wins have all been from the (starting gate),” Harrison said. “He raced behind a gate I’d say 90 percent of the time.”

This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.