Back New Zealands best pacer Lazarus at your own peril in his $50,000 comeback race at Addington tonight.

Trainer-driver Mark Purdon is adamant stablemate Heaven Rocks is a better chance in the 2600m stand and his clear best hope in a race where he has four of the five starters.

Lazarus would usually deserve to be favourite in any race he lines up in. After all, he won the New Zealand Cup by 10 lengths last season and easily beat Heaven Rocks the only time they met on race night in March.

But champion trainer Purdon warns punters Lazarus is only in tonights race because otherwise it would not have got off the ground.

Initially, I only nominated Heaven Rocks and Have Faith In Me and I was going to trial Lazarus and Dream About Me again, explains Purdon.

But when the race only got three entries I had to put the other two in otherwise it would have been scrapped.

Laz being Laz he will go great and the race wont hurt him but being a five-year-old stallion he has taken a little longer to come up, whereas Heaven Rocks is right in the zone.

Heaven Rockss manners seem good too and while you can never be sure, we are going into the race expecting him to be too fit for Lazarus at this stage.

Anything can happen in racing but I think it is important punters know this race wasnt initially going to be on Lazs programme and he might need a run or two before he is back to his best.

Heaven Rocks opened the favourite for tonights next step on the path to the New Zealand Cup because he easily accounted for Lazarus in a Rangiora trial last week and looks far more advanced, being an athletic gelding.

Michael Guerin