It is a case of one challenge down and another one to come for harness racing’s “Superwoman” Kate Gath during the Queensland Inter Dominion.

Gath, 42, the most successful female Group 1 driver in Australian history, is a passionate distance runner and smashed her personal best win last Sunday’s Gold Coast Marathon.

Just hours after a handful of drives on night one of the Inter Dominion at Albion Park, Gath headed to the Gold Coast, swapped her driving silks for running her and blasted around the 42.2km course in 3.03.27 – that’s a sizzling 4min20sec p/km pace.

It was only Gath’s fourth marathon, which includes New York in 2022, and she smashed her previous best by four minutes.

“I hit a flat patch around the 30km mark, but worked my way through it and finished strongly,” Gath said.

“It was a bit warmer than I expected, but I was pleased with the time. I love my running, it’s like meditation for me … the only ‘me’ time I get.”

It’s a regular thing for Gath to go out and run 20kms or more just hours before hopping in the sulky and driving in feature races at Melton.

“When you’re training for a marathon you have to stick to a plan, so I remember one time I ran 28kms and then had all the Breeders Crown finals at Melton that night,” she said.

Gath was back into harness mode soon after finishing the Gold Coast circuit last Sunday, out tending to and feeding the three Inter Dominion runners – Catch A Wave, Tango Tara and Hector – she and husband, Andy Gath, have in this series.

Two of them, Catch A Wave and Tango Tara, ran well enough on night one to keep their hopes alive of a berth in Saturday week’s $1 million Ladbrokes Inter Dominion pacing final at Albion Park.

Gath’s next challenge is to cement those spots, especially with stable star and eight-time Group 1 winner Catch A Wave, through Saturday night’s second and final round of qualifying heats.

Unlike Gath, consistency is a strong point for the gifted but enigmatic Catch A Wave.

“He drives Andy and I insane at times, but we’ve come to terms with that just being ‘Tex’ and we have to take the good with the bad,” she said.

“He’s given us some of our greatest moments in the game, but he’s also the most frustrating horse we’ve trained with quirks and unpredictability.

“We sort of hoped he’d mature and grow out of things over time, but Tex is still just Tex.

“You’ll think you’ve got him spot on at home and then he’ll go to the races and disappoint you.”

Case in point being Catch A Wave’s lacklustre first-up fifth at Melton on June 28, which almost saw his Inter Dominion plans aborted.

“Then he comes out a week later in the first round heats (last Saturday) and runs a fantastic race when we really didn’t know what to expect. That’s just him,” Gath said.

Catch A Wave, who boasts 22 wins and over $2.2 million, will need to be at the top of his game to snare a top four or five finish in the strongest heat of the series on Saturday night to secure a final spot.

“Not only have we drawn the same heat as Leap To Fame and Don Hugo, but they have better draws than us,” Gath said.

If Catch A Wave shows the tenacity of his driver, making the final won’t be an issue.

·       Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp.