Many aspects of harness racing’s nature and narrative separate it, particularly in comparison to thoroughbred racing, it’s obvious next of kin.
One such feature is harness racing’s capacity to showcase both burgeoning and established stars at times well outside what might be called its ‘peak period’.
Saturday night at Melton Park provided a wonderful exemplification of this very fact.
Let’s be honest here; getting folks trackside for this metro meeting was no easy sell.
For starters, the programme lasted almost five-and-a-half hours, which should be a war crime, and it rained without cessation for at least five of those hours.
Also, this was off-season racing; the fields were good - they’re always good at Melton - but this wasn’t one of the highlight cards at Vic harness headquarters for the season.
Nevertheless, those that stuck fat and trusted in harness racing’s reputation for delivering when least expected, fans were treated to multiple breathtaking performances.
And, in all honesty, that term breathtaking doesn’t do them justice.
The first was delivered by one of Victoria’s most spruiked and untapped young phenoms, District Attorney.
Despite the monstrous boom around Cruz Bromac’s little half-brother, and the many prognostications of his destiny as a future star, District Attorney had his work cut out on Saturday night.
At least that’s how it seemed.
As it turned out, the ultimate result was never in doubt.
Taken back from gate seven by one of Australia’s most underrated reinsman, Mick Bellman, District Attorney was last at the quarter pole and it’s fair to label the mid-race tempo tepid.
Still, when Bellman veered the four-year-old son of Courage Under Fire widest of all on straightening, he simply swamped those rivals who’d enjoyed better runs and far greater fortune.
It was, quite simply, the type of triumph you witness at Melton very, very rarely.
Which sounds silly given what transpired 63 minutes later.
Five runners fronted up for the Melton Trotters Free For All, though most had designated it a basic race in two between Group 1-winning squaregaiters Queen Elida and Ultimate Stride.
At the 800m mark, things looked interesting.
Ultimate Stride was leading and Queen Elida last as the five-horse field assumed a single-file pattern, with just under 20m separating the pair.
Then Queen Elida took off.
No Australian trotter in recent memory has looked quite so effortless as Brent Lilley’s megastar mare when she hits top gear.
Withing seconds, Queen Elida was withing striking distance.
When they straightened, it was game over.
In the end, one of the most exciting mares of the modern era turned her 20m half-mile deficit into a 12m triumph and given the race splits suggest they finished off 56.8secs, what she ran herself simply boggles the mind.
Will we see similar performances at this weekend’s Mildura Cup meeting? Who knows.
Can you afford to miss it? Absolutely not.
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.