14 from 14: Zahara signs off remarkable season in style

If you are a fan of Australasian harness racing, you would have heard of a trotting filly by the name of Keayang Zahara (Volstead) by now.

There was plenty of talk about the daughter of Volstead who was smashing the clock and anything in her wake throughout New South Wales and Victoria.

There was also a bit of talk in New Zealand about whether she was in fact the real deal.

It’s the usual stuff in any Trans Tasman rivalry, and definitely goes both ways.

Talk is cheap, where as seeing is believing.

By the time she heads home after her demolition in the G1 $200,000 New Zealand Trotting Derby, she does so with a reputation as arguably the greatest trotting filly bred in the Southern Hemsiphere.

Undefeated in 14 starts with seven Group Ones, the Marg Lee trained superstar is truly something else and has possibly done enough to warrant Horse Of The Year honours in her homeland.

Sure she has only been beating her age group, but the manner in which she has gone about her business is bordering absurd.

“She’s a rocket and she had plenty in reserve,” said reinsman, Jason Lee.

“I’m lucky to sit behind her.”

“We always knew she was good, just not this good,” he said.

Lee handled the unbeaten champ patiently through the early running allowing Father Time (Father Patrick) and Tim Williams to get an uncontested lead through the first 1200m of the race. Keayang Zahara hooked from a one out-three back trailing position to trot to the front and despite copping a little bit of heat from Coutnless Questions for a little over half a lap, once Lee let her slide at the 600m, he had them all off the bit.

With her nine length victory in tonights 82nd NZ Trotting Derby, Keayang Zahara has won her three New Zealand appearances by a combined 19 and a half lengths.

In Australia, her eleven wins to open her career beginning in April of this year have yielded a combined winning margin of 144.6 metres. The closest any horse has come to her backside at the pointy end of a race is 3.8 meters in the G1 NSW Trotting Derby at start number four.

Since that night, even opposition drivers have had a chance to admire her as she prances up the straight with an average winning margin of 13+ metres.

KEAYANG ZAHARA REPLAY

The connections of Keayang Zahara wouldn’t have came to New Zealand with a three-year-old trotting filly if they didn’t genuinely believe they had something special. With that said, they also had the nouse and humility to let their home bred star do the talking and that she did.

Ironically on a night when the sport immortalises a champion like Christian Cullen with his own Group One, we legitimately saw another champion and one who will no doubt when it’s all said and done have a G1 named in her honour.

For now, it’s time to sit back and admire a season like no other. Her near $700,000 in stakes is the most of any three-year old in Australasia. Pacers included.

For her sire Volstead, producing the quinella in a G1 trotting event with his debut crop is becoming something of a habit. It’s also something that shouldn’t be taken for granted and he’s solidified his position as a superstar stallion and producing one of the likes that has never been seen before isnt a bad way to announce yourself.

The new year cant come soon enough, for with the new tidings it brings, fans of the sport will wait with baited breath for the next campaign as KZ dips her toe in the deep end of an Open Class group that includes another generational talent in Just believe.

The future of Australasian trotting is looking awfully bright.

For complete Addington Derby night results, click here.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink