Who deserves the 2024 Horse of the Year crown?

There can only be one winner.

But in a “normal” harness racing season, any of Just Believe (Orlando Vici), Keayang Zahara (Volstead) or Leap To Fame (Bettor’s Delight) would be absolute locks for Australian Horse of the Year honours.

Never has there been three such stunningly credentialled contenders fighting it out.

Think about this. Between them, the trio raced 48 times in 2024 for 44 wins and three seconds.

It’s almost perfection and in the case of Keayang Zahara with her unbeaten 14 starts, it was.

Leap To Fame raced at the very top level of pacing and tasted defeat just once in his 16 starts.

While Just Believe did the same in open class trotting, including six runs in NZ, for just three defeats (all fantastic seconds) in 18 starts.

Opinions will vary, but there are so many considerations – which vary according to the individual judge – when it comes to who should get the crown.

Let’s start with the baby of them, Keayang Zahara.

We have never seen a young trotter like, ever. Not only was she unbeaten, but she had an average winning margin of 14.7 metres and some of the times (both overall and sectionally) she ran were mind blowing.

Let’s not forget she only started racing on April 3 and had campaigns in Sydney and, even more dauntingly, Christchurch where she won two races and three races respectively.

She took everything in her stride and is THE single most exciting horse in this part of the world.

You can’t do better than perfection, especially in the stunning way she did it.

As much as I love her, and it’s quickly becoming an obsession, I just can’t give her the crown over open class all-time greats in Just Believe and Leap To Fame.

Just Believe’s year is even bigger when you consider he only got back from a daunting and surely draining Swedish campaign late last year.

But the eight-year-old somehow went to a new level.

So often the great old warrior had to do it the hard way, parking outside his classy rivals and crushing them.

THE trotting race of the year was the TAB Trot at Cambridge and, yes, he sat parked and beat the best in it.

Even by his lofty standards, 2024 was something else.

Then there is Leap To Fame.

It’s easy to get a bit hazy on his staggering 2024 because of the health setbacks which ruled him out of the Victoria Cup, NZ Cup and Inter Dominion in recent months.

But he still won a Hunter Cup, created history from a wide draw in the Miracle Mile and produced one of the all-time great staying performances to thrash his rivals, including dual NZ Cup winner Swayzee, in the Blacks A Fake.

Just like Just Believe, he is firmly in the top two or three of his gait we have ever seen Down Under.

Have an opinion you say, in a photo-finish and feeling as though I’m betraying Leap To Fame, I’m giving the nod to Just Believe.

Why? Because he had those two trips to NZ where he won what I rate as his three biggest races of the year.

Going to NZ carries extra weight to me and it’s why he gets the verdict, by a whisker over Leap To Fame, with Keayang Zahara a half-neck away third.

AUSTRALIAN HORSE OF THE YEAR – THE CONTENDERS

JUST BELIEVE

8yo trotter

THIS SEASON

Record: 18-15-3 (5 x Gp1 wins)

Prize money: $914,153

Three biggest 2024 wins:

• TAB Trot
• Dominion Trot
• Rowe Cup

CAREER

Record: 83-38-14-9

Prizemoney: $1,929,253

KEAYANG ZAHARA

3yo trotter

THIS SEASON & CAREER

Record: 14 starts; 14 wins (7 x Gp1 wins)

Prizemoney: $629,542

Three biggest 2024 wins:

• The Ascent
• NZ Trotting Derby
• Victoria Trotting Derby

LEAP TO FAME

5yo pacer

THIS SEASON

Record: 16-15-1 (4 x Gp1 wins)

Prize money: $1,451,428

Three biggest 2024 wins:

• Miracle Mile
• Hunter Cup
• Blacks A Fake

CAREER

Record: 55-44-7-2

Prizemoney: $3,248,810

by Adam Hamilton, for Harness Racing Victoria