Emerging star Kingman capped a memorable dual-code double day of delight for owner Mick Harvey with victory in last night’s $250,000 Group 1 Victoria Cup at Melton.
Earlier, Harvey’s emerging mare Vivy Air won a key race at Randwick’s massive TAB Everest meeting.
“What a day. That’s one to bottle,” Harvey said. “As big a thrill as Vivy Air’s win was, Kingman’s win means the world.
“I’ve been lucky to be involved in some great horses, but Kingman is the most special. He’s the first horse I’ve bred.
“The Victoria Cup is such a great race and to win it with the horse I call my first born, it is so special.”
Kingman overcame a huge early scare when he jumped a shadow and galloped briefly while challenging for the lead.
“It was heart in your mouth stuff, but lucky he got back down quickly and didn’t lose much ground,” trainer-driver Luke McCarthy said.
“It’s still a big effort to overcome that and win as well as he did.”
Kingman took a trail on Queensland champion Leap To Fame in the middle stages, when he moved around to sit outside the leader, Hi Manameisjeff.
“When I pulled him out, he just went whoosh,” McCarthy said.
Kingman won by 1.8m from a gallant Hi Manameisjeff with Leap To Fame tiring late into third, another 6.7m away.
It was the first time in two year’s Leap To Fame has been beaten in consecutive starts as continued his Victoria Cup hoodoo as the only major eastern states feature to elude him.
Earlier, brilliant young trotting mare Keayang Zahara made it 17 wins from just 18 starts with sparkling win in the Group 1 Bill Collins Trotters’ Sprint.
The four-year-old worked to the lead from exciting stablemate Jilliby Ballerini with a blazing 54.8sec last half, the fastest closing split ever run by a trotter at Melton.
“Just for a stride I thought ‘Ballerini’ was going to run her down, but she lifted and did it well. It shows much Ballerini has improved and how well Zahara has come back,” co-trainer Paddy Lee said.
The glamour pair beat the rest of their rivals by a staggering 26.6m.
The Group 1 Victoria Derby was won in dominant style by Fox Dan, who ran a fantastic second in last month’s $2.1mil TAB Eureka.
- Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp.
