LENNY’s still the King but Hector’s coming for his throne.
That was the post-mortem from young trainer/driver Josh Aiken after the superstars prepared by his father David fought out a stirring Len Smith Mile at Tabcorp Park Menangle.
From the moment Hectorjayjay landed at Aiken’s Avenel headquarters the queries about whether he could follow in Lennythshark’s footsteps, or even exceed them, have come thick and fast.
At first they were whispered, then Hector swept the Mildura Cup series and they got a little louder, then he sat parked to claim the 4&5YO Championship and they got louder again.
Now he’s come from behind and beaten his Inter Dominion and Victoria Cup-winning stablemate in a Group 1 feature and the whispers have grown into a roar.
But before Aiken is willing to concede a coup has taken place, he reminds us just how brave the King was in defeat on Sunday.
“Well that has blown me away; we knew under the right circumstances in the right race this could happen one day but we thought next season was way more likely than now,” the young horseman said.
“I’m still a long way from thinking he (Hectorjayjay) is a better horse than Lenny though.
“Lenny still has the score on the board and I don’t think there’s another horse in Australia that could burn out in 25.7-seconds like he did and still almost win.
“Hector just has that awesome pace and when he gets the trip to use it, almost nothing could hold him out.”
The only man more excited by Sunday’s upset result than David Aiken himself will be Gloucester Park Chief Executive, Michael Radley.
While Hectorjayjay will now continue on his planned path to Queensland for the Sunshine Sprint and the Blacks A Fake, Lennytheshark will tick away quietly at his new Menangle base.
That means it’s unlikely they’ll meet again, or at least meet at their best, until Perth’s Inter Dominion carnival in November/December.
If the Inter Dominion has fallen from its perch as the sport’s Holy Grail, what better way to revive it than have the eastern seaboard’s two best pacers tackling local stars like My Hard Copy and Beaudiene Boaz.
Throw in the potential for Christen Me to tackle the series and it would be the equal of any Inter Dominion in the past five years.
Throw in Have Faith In me and it’s something else again.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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