by Michael Guerin
There is a State of Origin type feel about Thursday’s Horse of the Year awards for harness racing — or maybe that should be stable of origin.
Call it what you want, but some of the key categories for the awards dinner have a mate against stablemate feel to them.
The big prize for the night will undoubtedly go to Lazarus, which is what happens when you win New Zealand’s biggest race by 10 lengths.
The fact the four-year-old won almost every other race he contested, and his idea of failure was a close third in the Miracle Mile, means the top prize was always going to be his.
Several other categories have obvious standouts — stars like Dream About Me (four-year-old pacing mare), Spanish Armada (three-year-old pacing filly), Enghien (three-year-old trotter) and The Orange Agent (aged pacing mare).
Smolda is certain to win the Aged Pacer of the Year and as the Inter-Dominon, South Australia and Ballarat Cup winner, as well as just being nosed out in the Miracle Mile, in many other seasons he would have carried off the Horse of the Year title. Alas, he will lose out to stablemate Lazarus.
But there are a few other awards though, that could have had voters scribbling out their first selection and changing their minds. And two of those also involve high profile stablemates.
The battle between stablemates Vincent (two Derbys and all-aged 2700m national record) and Ultimate Machete (Sires’ Stakes, Sales Series) in the glamorous three-year-old male pacing division, could be tight and may even come down to how much Australian Harness Racing the voters watch.
Ultimate Machete was so crushing before the New Year, pacing a national record in his Sires’ Stakes stunner, and again in the Sales Series, it would have been impossible to think then, he could lose the title.
Then Vincent beat him fair and square in both the NSW and NZ Derbys, also winning the NSW Breeders Challenge and may actually be the better horse.
But wins closer to home, especially on the high profile New Zealand Cup and Jewels Day, always seem to count for more because almost all voters are watching, while late-night Australian races can often be missed or overlooked.
That could also be a factor in the Trotting Mare of the Year award, which because of the added value to future broodmare careers, is actually one of the most important of the night.
Early in the season Quite A Moment was the stamina queen, second in the Dominion and winning the National Trot before Habibti Ivy matched her by winning the Anzac Cup and was second in the Rowe Cup.
But Sunny Ruby was also brilliant at times in New Zealand and even more so in Australia, although that form again could be lost in the two hour time difference.
The stablemate versus stablemate theme will ring true for Trotter of the Year with Monbet clearly our best, and trotting two national records winning Group Ones, but his entire season was just three races long.
His younger stablemate Enghien completely dominated the three-year-old trotting division, winning all the serious prizes and was dominant for much longer, so while trainer Greg and Nina Hope will train the Trotter of the Year, which son of Love You is crowned won’t be confirmed until tomorrow.
Whether Dizzy Miss Lizzy’s Jewels win gets her home late, over Elle Mac in the juvenile pacing filly division is another of the more contentious awards.
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