Such was the magnitude of Saturday night’s calendar-closing program at Melton a certain brand of creativity is required to recognise each of this term’s 12 Vicbred Super Series success stories. 

As a result, this column will act as something of a written awards night. 

And our first accolade, the trophy for best performance by a leading standardbred – male, goes to none other than The Lost Storm. 

A budding star before New Year’s Eve, The Lost Storm is now, arguably, Victoria’s most exciting young pacer. 

Prior to his end-of-year heroics, Emma Stewart’s beastly juvenile had already his talent when breaking the lead time record at Vic harness headquarters, but this was something else again. 

Racing off-pegs in transit, The Lost Storm smashed the previous record for any juvenile pacer over 2240 at Melton and went within 1.1-secs of stablemate Captain Ravishing’s course benchmark rating 1min52.2secs. 

Honourable mentions in that category went to Anton Golino-trained trotters Revelstoke and Cravache Dor, who were dominant wining their finals for two and three-year-old trotting males respectively. 

Next, is the award for finest performance by a leading standardbred female – clearly won by Amore Vita.

Her success, in Saturday night’s Super Series climax for three-year-old pacing fillies also doubled as the evening’s most magnificent training effort by Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin. 

Before last week’s semi-final triumph, Amore Vita had been a shadow of her former self since a failed winter carnival sojourn to Queensland when mentored by Nathan Purdon. 

On New Year’s Eve, she was back to her best, however, parking outside megastar stablemate Encipher and simply outsprinting that Oaks winner through the closing stages. 

Honourable mentions in that category go to Rockinwithattitude, who also claimed most deserving success with her victory over the freshman trotting fillies in race one, and Dougs Babe, who also thoroughly deserved her success over Tough Tilly in the Vicbred Super Series decider for four-year-old pacing mares. 

The accolade for best story went to Locksley Lover, or more fittingly the team behind Saturday night’s VSS final for for-year-old trotting males. 

Staggeringly, Locksley Lover delivered Rebecca Bartley with her maiden Group 1 triumph and also franked part-time pilot John Nissen’s decision to break with tradition and take on a trotter for the very first time. 

An honourable mention in that category went to Catch A Wave, whose long-time owner Richard Matthews passed away just months ago. 

His success in the VSS decider for four-year-old pacing males would have brought cheer to the Matthews family in a way that nothing else could. 

Most improved was Joyful, most consistent The Locomotive and most unexpected went to Captain Bellasario while Visionary’s victory in race number 12 provided the greatest story of redemption after Greg Sugars and Jess Tubbs seemed certain to leave Melton without a coveted Super Series Crown.

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.