Tubbs and Sugars on their Great Southern Star Just Believe

To have a Maori’s Idol, a Lyell Creek or Sundons Gift is a prospect few ‘trots lifers’ could dare to dream, but it’s a realisation dawning on harness racing trainer Jess Tubbs and reinsman Greg Sugars.

The Larajay Farms pair have had an extraordinary 18 months with Just Believe (Orlando Vici) and, on the cusp of his defence of a Yabby Dam Farms Great Southern Star, they’re getting comfortable with the fact the Inter Dominion winner and European trailblazer is one for the history books.

“He’s taken us on a phenomenal ride,” says Tubbs, “and I think one of the most special things we’ve reflected on lately is people starting to speak about him as one of the all-time greats.”

It’s a prospect Sugars also battles to comprehend.

“I don’t know if you every really think one day I’ll have one of them, you hope, but it seems like we’ve got one now,” he said. “Who knows, if he just continues on the way he’s been going, has a similar season or two like he has over the last 12 months that’ll do us.”

Tubbs and Sugars spoke with Kima Frenning ahead of Saturday night’s huge double-header, featuring the heats-into-final Great Southern Star and the SENTrack A G Hunter Cup.

Here’s there chat in a special presentation for the coverage, which airs from 6.10pm on free-to-air channels 68, 78, 7plus and TrotsVision.