Brilliant young trotting mare Keayang Zahara reminds me of Courage Under Fire.
It’s a little scary to think it’s 26 years since Courage Under Fire – aka “Mighty Mouse” – stamped himself as by far the greatest juvenile pacer this part of the world has seen.
At two he was stunning, but at three he not only remained unbeaten but thrashed star rivals, often by huge spaces and in dazzling times, in all the major Derbys.
We had never seen such dominance and may never again.
At four, Courage Under Fire stretched his unbeaten streak to 25 wins and most felt he would seamlessly make the transition from superstar youngster to Grand Circuit hero.
The launching pad was supposed to be the huge 2000 Melbourne Inter Dominion series at Moonee Valley, which boasted the first $1 million pacing final.
But then came defeat.
The night race caller Dan Mielicki uttered those now infamous words … “the world must be ending.”
The Richard Hancock-trained handy performer Kyema Kid stormed past Courage Under Fire in a qualifying heat of that series to inflict his first defeat at start number 26.
Courage Under Fire lost his aura that night. He lost his power of intimidation.
The pint-sized pacer went from seemingly unbeatable to “gettable” in the eyes of rivals. There would be no more conceding to him, instead rivals would make life hard with the belief he couldn’t bludgeon his rivals like he had at two and three.
Courage Under Fire was a damn good open-class horse, but he didn’t translate his champion status from three to open-class and the Grand Circuit.
Instead, he was just part of the pack.
Maybe he was judged more harshly than others, but that’s how most saw the second half of his career … good but not great.
As Keayang Zahara nears a racetrack return, probably late this month, she’s at that same precipice.
Rivals and fans will be quick to judge.
Like Courage Under Fire, Keayang Zahara is the best three-year-old trotter we’ve seen. No question.
Some of her wins, including a couple of those in NZ late last year, were mesmerizing.
Most felt it was just a formality she would transition from the best young trotter in this part of the world to simply, the best trotter … full stop.
All the while “Team Lee/Craven” were more guarded.
While they love her and have been awestruck like most of us, Jason and Paddy Lee continually urged the media and fans to wait and see if she takes that next step, not just assume she will.
Then came her Courage Under Fire moment, that first defeat, when the brilliant older mare Susan Is Her Name stalked Keayang Zahara and ran her down late in a scorching Macarthur Mile at Menangle on May 10.
Yes, she was found to be sick after the races, but Jason Lee doesn’t want that to be an excuse for the defeat.
“It’s hard to argue she could have gone much faster or better that night, Susan Is Her Name just went better,” he said.
“Maybe she wasn’t quite at her top, but we can’t say that for sure.”
Keayang Zahara’s amazing deeds as a youngster means she has nowhere to hide, no easy transitional racing, when she returns to the track.
It’s almost certain she’ll be straight up against recently crowned Inter Dominion champion Arcee Phoenix.
But Lee loves that.
“What she needs is hard, strong racing and experience against these top horses to give her the chance to take the next step,” he said.
“She’s won most of her races by pure talent and just being too fast and good.
“You need ring craft and experience against the big boys.
“I’m sure she’ll be up to them, but only time will tell if she’s the best of them.”
The time is coming.
Keayang Zahara will tackle the best Aussie trotters around at the moment in the Group 1 Bill Collins Trotters’ Mile at Melton on October 18.
It’s the first of many such challenges over the next six to 12 months.
Seeing how she handles that and where she sits in the pecking order by this time next year will be fascinating.
Bring it on!
