Amazing US blitz reminds of fun beyond our borders

Watching Amazing Dream beat some of the world’s best mares in New York last week got me thinking: The harness racing world, especially now the pandemic is behind us, really is a small one.

While we all love to get out to Melton and see the stars race in our own backyard, we are also blessed to have so many horses we know and love to race all around Australia, across the ditch in NZ and even much further abroad.

What a buzz it was last Tuesday morning our time watching two horses we loved and adored in Victoria – or Australasia for that matter – in Amazing Dream and Lochinvar Art chase Group 1 glory and some serious prize money at Yonkers.

They were the first two “serious” open-class races of the year in the US.

Amazing Dream (pictured courtesy of Mike Lizzi Photos) led and driver Yannick Gingras made the most of a cosy run in front to win comfortably in the Matchmaker. What a mare she’s been – a superstar in three countries and the potential to build on it even more through the rest of 2023 in the US’s best mares’ races.

It wasn’t to be for Lochinvar Art from an awful draw and seemingly with a less than ideal build-up after a “hiccup” midway through the Borgata series. There was still much to like about the way he finished-off the race from a mile back.

We’ve still got plenty of time for him to show the Yanks exactly how good he is.

Just a few days later, and for the third successive Friday night, many of us tuned into the New Zealand features to watch the likes of Better Eclipse and Aldebaran Zeus chase feature race glory.

Better Eclipse was winless in three NZ runs this campaign, but went extremely well each time.

Although he’s already a dual Group 1 winner, there’s every chance that stint in NZ (which ended last Friday when third in the Group 1 Messenger) could help take him to another level.

He wouldn’t be the first Aussie to come back a much better horse for a Kiwi raid … think Im Themightyquinn as a shining example.

Closer to home, even though we didn’t have any Victorians in the inaugural Nullarbor at Gloucester Park a few weeks back, we had a fascinating race to watch at almost midnight on a Friday night.

And two horses we (Victorians) know well and have seen plenty of – Betterzippit and Spirit Of St Louis – fought the race out.

Even last Saturday night, there was so much strong Victorian flavour across those APG Gold Bullions finals at Menangle.

Now looms the most exciting of the lot … Just Believe’s trip to Sweden.

The Inter Dominion and Great Southern Star hero warmed-up for his trip to the other side of the world with a sharp trial at Melton last Wednesday.

We’ll get to see his one and only lead-up run in our backyard in the Vulcan Trotters’ Free-For-All at Melton on Saturday night.

Then, all going to plan, he starts the 60-hour trip to Stockholm when he boards a plane leaving Melbourne on May 16 bound for Amsterdam, via Singapore.

You may need a power nap during the day if you’re going to stay up and watch him tackle his Elitlopp heat on Sunday May 28. It’ll be about 11.30pm our time.

If he makes the final – and let’s keep everything crossed – that’ll be on about two hours later.

But Just Believe will be only the third Aussie-trained trotter to contest the Elitlopp and that’s worth burning the midnight oil.

Not long after the Elitlopp, the Queensland Constellations – or winter carnival as many of us still know it – will start to fire up.

And this shapes as one of the best Queensland carnivals of all time.

The Victoria flavour will be huge.

Powerhouse training duo Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin – buoyed by winning last year’s Rising Sun with Ladies In Red – are planning to take a huge team north.

The likes of Honolua Bay, The Lost Storm, Tough Tilly and Major Delight are just some big names who will fly the stable flag through the Queensland features.

Andy Gath is talking about “taking a couple north” and so many other Victorians have previously and/or will target the Albion Park riches through July.

The Blacks A Fake is the richest and traditionally biggest race of the Constellations, but the Rising Sun is really challenging for the tag.

That takes me back to what I said at the start, given it was Amazing Dream who won the inaugural Rising Sun just two years ago. And look what she’s done since.

by Adam Hamilton, for Harness Racing Victoria