Brilliant Irish playwright, political activist and general genius George Bernard Shaw once declared that defeatism is the wretchedest of policies.
And, while opinions will differ, as they do, it’s tough to argue against this pithy proverb from the man who penned Pygamlion and also formulated the phonetic dialect.
Sadly, without judging any particular participant or any specific zealot, harness racing can struggle at times with a certain brand of cynicism which horribly hampers the sport.
Think of it this way.
If you were invited to a party, and other invitees, perhaps even the hosts, were talking said soiree down, what would the ramifications of these bleak and gloomy reports be?
It’s possible you’ll still attend, but probably not.
Even should you patronise this party, your expectations will be compromised and your excitement nullified, despite the fact it may well be the greatest gathering ever.
On Saturday night, Australian harness racing, contrary to the curses of those "negative nellies" who damage the game with their miserable mindsets, created what the kids now call a "core memory".
The cause for enthusiasm was a little contest called the TAB Eureka.
This wasn’t the first slot race in Australasian pacing.
That honour goes to The Race by Grins at Cambridge, which has now enjoyed two fantastic editions.
Then came Western Australia’s inaugural running of The Nullarbor, staged in conjunction with thoroughbred and greyhound slots contests respectively titled The Quokka and The Sandgroper.
Trailblazing as those events have been, and elitist as it sounds, no race of this nature possessed a pragmatic chance of permeating public consciousness unless staged in Melbourne or Sydney.
Make no mistake however, this event, this TAB Eureka, ferociously fulfilled every objective and every outcome outlined in its brief.
Critically, the crowd at Menangle was massive.
Not massive in that miserly, manipulative manner where numbers are multiplied, and the atmosphere accentuated.
Genuinely gigantic, at least in harness terms circa 2023.
That part, though, remains within Harness Racing New South Wales and Club Menangle’s control. And they should be lauded for achieving what they did.
What nobody assumed ownership of was the race itself.
And the staggering, sellable, succulent nature of those narratives which organically bloomed from what materialised on Western Sydney’s unique, 1400m circuit.
Only one mare contested The Eureka.
Her name was Encipher and she defied tradition by beating the boys.
Her owner/breeder was Tyson Linke, a hobbyist trainer from South Australia that bred his newly-crowned champ in a town of 5000 people.
The horse herself, Encipher, in case you’ve forgotten, was not among the original slot holders and only called up late, while her slot holders, Summit Bloodstock (along with Aaron Bain Racing), only came to existence during a global pandemic when three young blokes chanced their arm with little, or nothing, to lose.
Defeatism is wretched.
Dreams are real.
And ambition, individual or collective, is everything.
Pictures: Club Menangle
The opinions expressed in The Forum are those of the author and may not be attributed to or represent policies of Harness Racing Victoria, which is the state authority and owner of thetrots.com.au.