It was early October, 2022.
I rang Greg Sugars to chat for a preview story a few days ahead of the Group 1 Bill Collins Trot.
A regular preview yarn turned into so much more when Sugars started waxing lyrically about the potential a relatively new stable addition, Just Believe, had.
The trotter was having just his third start for Sugars and Jess Tubbs, having been transferred to them following the retirement of his original trainer, Mick Hughes.
Remembering Sugars had won the previous Inter Dominion final on Maori Law, I asked how Just Believe stacked-up. The always respectful Sugars said: “Nothing between them.”
Just Believe won the Bill Collins Trot, which turned out to be the first of 10 Group 1 races he would win for Tubbs and Sugars.
Just a few weeks after that chat, Just Believe made a clean sweep of the 2022 Inter Dominion, culminating with that stunning win from an awful draw in the Grand Final at Melton.
Sugars was right and greatness was unfolding.
Now the journey is over with Tubbs and Sugars announcing Just Believe’s retirement over the weekend.
It is an ideal time to revisit a piece I wrote about the champion back in September.
It is a bit scary to think it’s closing in on 25 years since the great Lyell Creek started stamping his dominance.
Time certainly flies.
It’s probably the most enjoyable chapter I’ve had in 35 years covering harness racing.
“The Freak” as he was affectionately known took us all on a heck of a ride and me around the world to see him take on the very best.
I’ll never forget that 2001 Elitlopp in Sweden where he was so unlucky not to qualify for the final, or seeing him race the stars at the famed Meadowlands track at the highest level in 2002.
And that’s not counting the countless trips across the ditch to watch Lyell Creek do his thing on both islands in NZ’s biggest races like the Rowe Cup and Dominion Trot.
Following him so closely, almost feeling part of the ride at times with trainer Tim Butt and driver Anthony Butt, is why he does and always will hold such a special place for me.
I never thought I’d see another Down Under trotter like him.
He’s the best I’ve seen.
Yes, before you scream “what about Maori’s Idol?”, I have to stress he was just before my time.
I did see him in the flesh once – at the opening of the Geelong’s Beckley Park track as a kid – but I’m too young to have lived the Maori’s Idol experience.
When Lyell Creek retired, a decade passed and some wonderful trotters followed.
Another decade and more fantastic trotters.
But The Freak still stood alone on that pedestal.
Until now. Until Just Believe.
As I sat and watched Just Believe cruise to yet another feature win at Ballarat last Thursday night, it dawned on me I had to show him more respect.
As great as Lyell Creek was, the sentimental connection I had with him was as much the reason I’d refused to rate one as good since.
Just Believe deserves that status.
If my life had been where it was in the Lyell Creek days, I’d have been there at Solvalla when Just Believe tackled the Elitlopp last year. I’d probably have stayed for his next couple of races, too.
We are blessed to have him.
And what he’s done over the past couple of years is nothing short of amazing.
He has missed a place just once and that was when he struck trouble and broke in his heat of the Elitlopp. He showed how unlucky that was with two outstanding placings in his two other Swedish runs.
It’s no secret Tubbs and Sugars thought the Swedish trip was a must, but could also take its toll.
They felt the champ may not be quite as good when he returned home.
Instead, he went to another level and was clearly a better horse after it.
For me now, it’s not about comparing Just Believe and Lyell Creek, it’s just about opening my mind to the idea that it's okay to enjoy a trotter as much as I did The Freak.
And Just Believe deserves that.