Group One Trotting Derby Victory Was Meant To Be

Meant To Be (NZ) (Father Patrick) continued his meteoric rise in New Zealand’s trotting ranks when taking out the Group One Breckon Farms Northern Trotting Derby (2700m) at Alexandra Park on Friday night.

The son of Father Patrick was a standout juvenile last term, winning six starts last season, including the Group One Sires’ Stakes Series 2YO Championship (1980m) and Group One Ace Of Clubs (1980m), going on to be crowned New Zealand Two-Year-Old Trotting Colt or Gelding of the Year.

He picked up where he left off as a three-year-old, winning first-up in the Listed NZB Standardbred Harness Million 3YO Trotters Final (2200m), and was duly backed into $1.60 favouritism for the Northern Derby.

In the hands of Zachary Butcher, Meant To Be began positively from the second row and continued his early momentum to contest for the lead, and found it with two laps to go. The pair were left unchallenged upfront until the business end of the race, with stablemate Higher Power (NZ) (Father Patrick) eating into his lead, however, Meant To Be was able to hold on to score by a nose.

Butcher was justifiably a relieved man when the judges call went his way.

“Scotty (Scott Phelan, driving Higher Power) came late and I thought he was going to get me, but all credit to this guy, you could feel in that last 50m that he put his head down and dug in,” Butcher said.

“He has had to work hard from the second line, he has had to do it tough. They have come around and had a look at him and he was brave in the end. All you can do is win and that is what he has done.

“He is here, he is trotting, he is doing it right and winning the races, that’s all we can ask from him.”

With the victory, Meant To Be was able to match the Derby-winning feat of his dam Luby Lou, who won the 2018 edition of the Group One New Zealand Trotting Derby (2600m).

Bred by Breckon Farms, Meant To Be was offered through their 2023 NZB Standardbred National Yearling Sale draft at Karaka where he was purchased for $145,000 by his trainers.

Meant To Be has now won eight and placed in two of his 11 starts, and has accrued more than $345,000 in prizemoney.

His stablemate Higher Power (NZ) (Father Patrick) was also sold by Breckon Farm's to the Barry Purdon & Scott Phelan Racing Stables combination for $120,000. 

Third place getter Habibti Pat (NZ) saw a trifecta in the feature race for trotting sire Father Patrick.