No one was more surprised to see Bettermatch nominated for the New Zealand Cup than owner Robbie Wakeman.
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The comeback pacer was among the 30 for New Zealand’s biggest race released on Thursday.
However neither Wakeman nor trainer Col Thomas paid the nomination fee.
Wakeman confirmed there has been interest in purchasing the entire, but no deal has been struck yet.
He jogged the horse on Friday morning and was surprised when the nominations were released.
“I didn’t name him for the New Zealand Cup, why would I want to take him to New Zealand for?,” Wakeman said.
“I have enough troubles getting to Wagga without going to New Zealand.
“They might be thinking about it, but they haven’t come back to me and it would be like the Melbourne Cup – you can nominate 500 horses.”
The former star juvenile returned from over three years off the track in May and has won four of his five races since.
Two have been Menangle Country Series finals including a win last Saturday.
It brought his record to 10 wins and a placing from 12 starts.
A breathing problem threatened to derail his promising career as a two-year-old but hasn’t been an issue this time around.
“Time has cured everything and he’s good in himself,” Wakeman said.
“He went good the other night and only does what he has to.
“... they get to him but they don’t get past him.”