'The Reactor' To North America In December

The owners of Auckland Reactor have decided that the Southern Hemisphere champion will come to

North America in December, 2009 following an abbreviated season in New Zealand.

The decision means that the pacing sensation will miss the some of the bigger races he had originally been scheduled to contest in Australia and New Zealand.

Dr. Michael Wilson, a part-owner of Auckland Reactor, told Trot Insider that the path was chosen after much discussion.

“The decision was agreed upon by the majority of the partnership,” said Wilson. “We understand that in New Zealand and Australia, they’d love to see him race but you can’t have a horse race from October to the following October. It’s insane to think you can do it.”

In the Southern Hemisphere, the stakes season runs opposite to the stakes calendar in North America.

“He’s going to race in the New Zealand Cup, a $1 million race on November 10,” said Wilson. “The Miracle Mile on November 28 is a question mark at this point. He will miss the Auckland Cup and the major Australian races of 2010 including the Interdominion.

“It was thought that to race in Australasia until April 2010 would not give the horse time to adjust to North American conditions before the North American stakes take place and that a racing season lasting from October 2009 to October 2010 against the best horses in two continents was an unreasonable ask of the champion.”

Wilson said that in all likelihood, Auckland Reactor will arrive in late 2009, rest over the winter in the southern United States and begin training towards the summer of 2010. Following that campaign he would probably go to stud.

All indications are that Auckland Reactor will be a major force in the 2010 older pacing division in Canada and the United States. In his last mile race he paced his last quarter in 25.2 seconds.