Brisbane Lions premiership player Darcy Gardiner knows all about Grand Finals.
Now he’s chasing a flag win of a different type with his brilliant trotting mare Jilliby Ballerini.
But just as the Lions were the underdogs against Geelong in last year’s AFL Grand Final, Jilliby Ballerini will be an outsider against her own awesome stablemate, Keayang Zahara, in Saturday week’s $250,000 Group 1 Great Southern Star at Melton.
“We’re up against it. As good as our mare is, all things being equal, that other mare just looks a bit better,” he said.
“But, whether it’s footy or racing, you’ve got to turn up, have a crack and just hope the other side, or in this case Keayang Zahara, has a bit of an off night.
“In saying that, they’re stablemates and I’m really close with Jason (Lee), Paddy (Lee) and the family and I’d be thrilled for them if the other mare won.”
While Keayang Zahara has sparked comparisons with some of the all-time great trotters, Jilliby Ballerini’s remarkable past nine months have flown under the radar somewhat.
The five-year-old has won 13 of her past 18 starts.
She has only met Keayang Zahara once in that time and ran a very credible second in the Group 1 Bill Collins Sprint, beaten just 2.2m. There was 25m away to the rest of the field, including reigning Inter Dominion champion Arcee Phoenix.
“For sheer speed over 200m or so, ‘Ballerini’ might have ‘Zahara’, but Zahara can just hold that speed for so long, which is what separates her,” driver Glen Craven said.
Before she goes into battle with Keayang Zahara again, Jilliby Ballerini will chase the biggest win of her career in Saturday night’s $75,000 Group 2 Kilmore Trotters’ Cup.
She has been crunched from $2.25 to $1.50 since drawing ideally to lead from gate one.
“It’s nice to have a big race where we don’t have to race Zahara,” Gardiner said. “They (the Lee clan) have done a remarkable job keeping them apart as much as they have, but we know that’s coming to an end when they’re both in the biggest races.
“Hopefully she can win this week and then we’ll switch focus to taking on Zahara again.”
With the start of the AFL season just weeks away, Gardiner will have to watch from afar over the next couple of weeks.
“Between practice games and training, it’s pretty chaotic at the moment. We train on Saturdays, which makes it too hard to get down,” he said.
“Hopefully, if Ballerini keeps up this sort of form, I’ll get to see her racing up here (Brisbane) in the Inter Dominion at Albion Park (in July).”
Jilliby Ballerini is the latest in a series of harness horses Gardiner has raced after becoming friends with the Lee clan through his close mate and former AFL Rising Star, Lewis Taylor.
“It was through Lewy I got to know Jase and Paddy and old Code Bailey, who did a fantastic job for us despite his injury problems, was one of the first I was involved with,” he said.
Gardiner, 30, who made his debut for Brisbane in 2014 and has played 183 games, was one of the most important players in last year’s premiership.
“We’ve got a good team and the list looks at least as strong as last year, so hopefully we’ve got another exciting season ahead,” he said.
