Lowe believes: Owner enjoying ride with Aussie trotter

Australian owner Mark Lowe is having the time of his life with harness racing standout Just Believe (Orlando Vici), who is set to race in the famed Elitloppet at Sovalla Racetrack in Sweden on May 28.

Mark, a longtime owner who resides in Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia, transitioned from being a high school teacher to becoming a racing and sport journalist more than five decades ago, and is now a proud member of the partnership that owns Elitloppet bound, Down Under trotting wonder Just Believe, a winner of $680,962 (Australian).

“As a teenager would go to local trots with my father, who was a fan,” Mark offered.” I joined the local club when I turned 18 and while at University at Armidale, I joined their Club and Committee, and was involved in various race day duties, eventually delving into ownership and training duties.”

Since then, Mark has been involved with the Tamworth Harness Racing Club for fifty-plus years—as a Director, Secretary Manager, mobile starter, and official, as well as performing on-track interviews and presentations. Over the years he’s bred a number of pacers and the occasional trotter, and for 25 years worked as a tour guide for Harness Racing Travelworld for annual trips such as the Inter Dominion, New Zealand Cup weeks, Hambletonians, Little Brown Jugs, and a few World Driving Championships.

“I am now retired and just want to enjoy the sport as an owner and enthusiast,” he said.

In 2018, Mark attended the Inter Dominion at Melbourne with a couple of friends and visited the stable of trainer Mick Hughes.

“They were putting together another syndicate to least two unraced 3-year-old trotters from Yabby Dam Farm,” Mark explained. “I asked a few friends on our trip if they would be interested and seven of us went into them.

“Five of the seven are from Tamworth, one is from Inverell, and one is from Port Pirie in South Australia. The two horses were Just Believe and Petite Love,” Mark added. “We eventually replaced the latter with Visionary. Our little syndicate of seven was later absorbed into a larger group, the Iona Trotter Syndicate with 27 members. When Mick Hughes left the sport Just Believe and Visionary were transferred to the stable of Jess Tubbs and Greg Sugars, and a couple of the other horses which the syndicate owns went to other trainers.”

Plans call for Just Believe to start in a Melton trial on Wednesday, April 26, followed by another lead-up in a Vulcan Free For All at Melton on May 6, with the horse scheduled to fly out of Australian on May 16. Mark said he is not concerned about Just Believe’s ability to handle the long—60 hour—trip, when he will eventually land in Sweden.

“Just Believe is generally calm, usually a faultless trotter under race conditions,” he said. “He tries hard, is adaptable, stays well, and is a good traveler. I think about 15 of the 27 are heading to Sweden, including five of our original seven. I am looking forward to revisiting the Elitloppet as I was there in 2019 and attended the World Driving Championship in Sweden the follow week, supporting friend Todd McCarthy who was representing Australia that year.”

Mark says members of the syndicate do not live close to Just Believe’s home base but make it a point to see him race whenever possible. As well, syndicate is given daily updates on Just Believe’s training regimen and daily routines, via point person Malcom Wells.

“Malcom—our syndicate organizer—disseminates the information via e-mail and Facebook,” Mark noted. “We live some 1,170 kilometers (710 miles) from Melbourne (Victoria), and we don’t get to see him race live too often, but we’ve traveled down to see him tackle the major races and been to a couple in our own state of New South Wales. Most of the other 20 partners live in Melbourne.”

Mark said he thinks Just Believe’s best effort came in the Great Southern Star Trot in February.

“His heat win in the Great Southern Star was likely his best race,” Mark opined. “He drew bad and came from last with 400 meters to go to be second and qualify for the final later that night, in which he drew the rail, and won.”
Now, after garnering a spot in Scandinavian racing’s greatest event, the Elitloppet, it has been rumored that the trotter might hang around to take on more European events.

“He could stay on for some major races depending upon what happens in the Elitloppet,” Mark confirmed.

by Kimberly Rinker, for Harnesslink