I pose a simple question … which race would you most like to win?
Let’s just imagine you own one of harness racing’s big guns and you can choose which race he/she goes on and wins. Fanciful, I know, but it’s fun to dream every once in a while.
Every horse I buy into is the next superstar of the sport until he’s not! So why not dream big!?
Here are your options:
Menangle’s Miracle Mile, the West Aussie double Fremantle and WA Pacing Cups (that’s actually two races, I know), an Inter Dominion Final, Victoria’s A. G. Hunter Cup or a New Zealand Trotting Cup.
Personal preference is everything, but there is a sizeable and tangible factor to also consider when selecting the race you’d want most – CASH!
The MIRACLE MILE Mile atop the pacing world with a $1 million purse, with its most recent winner, King Of Swing, netting a cool $550,000 for owning his rivals in the 2021 staging.
The WA double is a handsome payday, with close to $200k jumping in for winning the Freo Cup and another $288k earned for winning the WA Pacing Cup.
The NZ Cup prize has fluctuated in recent times with COVID impacting the purse, but we’d expect to see the race worth around $700,000 AUD soon.
Victoria’s jewel in the crown is the A G Hunter Cup. Formerly a standing start event, it’s now a mobile run over 2760m worth half a million.
Finally, the race many say has the most traction with mainstream sporting fans, the Inter Dominion, is worth $500,000 these days after surpassing a million when the race was staged at Gloucester Park.
Another factor is the prestige and the title your horse can claim after winning their race.
Do you want to be the fastest horse in the Southern Hemisphere after zinging around Menangle in a scarily quick mile or be the toughest and most powerful stayer that no one can touch over the long journey of a NZ Cup, WA Cup, Hunter Cup or ID Final?
My Field Marshal is nowhere close to the best horse of his era but he was Johnny on the spot in the 2018 Miracle Mile when Soho Tribeca and My Alpha Rock set a stunning tempo before My Field Marshal climbed over the top to set a record mile of 1:46.9 – a mark that is yet to be broken.
Being able to label him as the fastest horse in the Southern Hemisphere is an awesome title to have, especially for a regally bred stallion prospect like he is, but imagine being able to tell your mates at the pub that you own the fastest horse in this part of the world!
I’ve snuck across the ditch and attended a NZ Cup and no harness race day comes close to what Addington Raceway produces. For those who are yet to experience a NZ Cup, you’re better off comparing the day to a Cox Plate, such is the enormity of the day in Christchurch. The city actually takes a public holiday for it!
The WA Cups double is an improvised option and winning one of the Freo or WA Cups would be an amazing experience but on their own, I doubt any can compete with the other races up for grabs.
So, how does rolling into Perth with your jet plane of a horse and winning a Fremantle Cup one week then a WA Pacing Cup the next sound? You are made to earn everything you get in WA harness racing, so going across there and claiming their riches would be quite a feat.
Our Hunter Cup, held 50 minutes down the road at Tabcorp Park Melton, has been won by some of the sport’s absolute elite. In my time following the sport, Smolda, Lazarus, Tiger Tara, King of Swing and Lochinvar Art have claimed famous Hunter Cup victories.
It’s another race with great history, tradition and a magnificent honour roll – which is something many owners want to be a part of.
Lastly, we have the race which is our most popular and well-known. The Inter Dominion series. A series which tests the horse, its trainer and driver with three heat runs within a week then a gruelling staying final one week later. Great horses win ID Finals, no doubt. A horse like Ultimate Sniper stamped himself when winning all three heats and the ID Final in Auckland at the most recent ID carnival.
For mine, the prestige associated with an ID is immense but the gruelling nature of the event is not rewarded well enough with the winner’s cheque. I suspect some of our good horses may skip an ID to avoid four tough runs within a fortnight and race for the same – or more – money across a Hunter Cup and Miracle Mile.
Everyone will have a different view.
My view? I’m taking the NZ Cup, just above the Miracle Mile.
My NZ bias comes to the fore again, but having been to the event, there’d be nothing better than flying over to Christchurch and claiming an Aussie victory. We may even stick around and try pinch the Free For All at Group 1 level a few days later!
I want to see my next great champion, Rocknroll Gronky (an unraced, unnamed yearling from last year’s sales, so we’re talking about five years down the road), sail down the outside to blow the Kiwis away and claim a famous New Zealand Trotting Cup win.
Which race do you want to win?
