There is something special about a Brisbane Inter Dominion.
There’s a strong layer of sentiment for me as the 1993 Brisbane series, won by the great Jack Morris, was the first I covered “on the road” as a young journalist at the Herald Sun newspaper.
And what a dramatic series it was.
The stars turned up in force, but many fell by the wayside or were past their best.
Kiwi greats Master Musician and Chokin had mid-series setbacks and didn’t make the final, while a look through those who chased home Jack Morris in the final makes for a tantalising list of stars. They included three other Inter Dominion winners: Christopher Vance ran fourth, Westburn Grant sixth and Weona Warrior seventh.
Champion Kiwi mare Blossom Lady finished third in that final, while Miracle Mile winner and Inter Dominion runner-up Franco Tiger was back in 11th spot.
But Jack Morris was in the zone that series and what a headline act he made with his late and very colorful trainer, Sean Harney.
Eight years later the Inter Dominion returned to Brisbane in 2001 and delivered Kiwi dominance across the pacing and trotting finals.
Yulestar made the very likable Lorraine Nolan the first female to train and Inter Dominion winner when he escaped a nasty pocket and stormed home to nab heavily backed favourite Atitagain, trained and driven by the late Dennis Wilson, in the shadows of the post.
It was another final loaded with big names. Courage Under Fire ran fourth, the brilliant Breenys Fella was fifth, Shakamaker sixth, dual Miracle Mile Holmes DG back in 10th and gun mare Lombo Rapida ran 11th.
The Kiwis were even more dominant in the trotting series with Take A Moment winning the first of his two Grand Finals and leading home a NZ-trained trifecta with Mountain Gold second and Special Force third.
Take A Moment returned to win his second final on home soil in the 2003 series at Addington.
Just weeks before the 2009 Albion Park series, the venue changed because of structural issues with The Creek’s grandstand.
So, in what proved a blessing in disguise, the now defunct Parklands track, just outside the Gold Coast, became home to the Inter Dominion pacing series.
It was built as the series where the hometown hero, Blacks A Fake, could become the horse to win four Inter Dominion finals.
With respect to the winner, Mr Feelgood (and what a drive it was by Anthony Butt), there’s no doubt Blacks A Fake should have won that final.
After the race, the late Gavin Lang apologized to Blacks A Fake’s trainer-driver Natalie Rasmussen because he was unable to restrain and uncontrollably headstrong Auckland Reactor from “hammering” Blacks A Fake through the middle stages, leaving him a sitting shot.
The vibe of that series and social side of it around the streets of Broadbeach was something else.
What a shame the Gold Coast track was taken from the industry by the Queensland Government and never replaced (as was promised at the time).
Queensland had to wait another 14 years for its next Inter Dominion, but it was a champion-fest.
It was dubbed the “Harry and Larry show” and the marquee acts didn’t disappoint, with Larry (Leap To Fame) winning his first Inter Dominion pacing final and Harry (Just Believe) making it back-to-back trotting final victories.
To see Leap To Fame’s owner Kevin Seymour – one of the sport’s greatest contributors – in tears and hailing it his greatest moment in over 50 years in the game was spine-tingling.
And the events of recent months drive home how special it was for Greg Sugars and Jess Tubbs to go back-to-back with Just Believe – their version of Leap To Fame. It’s something we all treasure forever.
This Inter Dominion, which kicks-off on Saturday night, is poised for its own historic moment with Leap To Fame odds-on to overtake Blacks A Fake as the all-time richest harness horse in this part of the world.
It only seems fitting it plays out in the state where both superstars were trained and in an event with so much rich history behind it.
Image: Jack Morris and driver Rod Chambers