Australia has the Hunter Cup, the Miracle Mile, a rapidly growing Queensland Winter Carnival, the emerging Nullarbor and the Inter Dominion.
But we don’t have anything like New Zealand Cup Week at Addington.
It was love at first visit when I was trackside to see the Aussie-owned Chokin win the NZ Cup.
The crowd, the atmosphere, the sheer love for harness racing … I’d never seen anything like it.
And the “After Party” with the Pacers Australia crew (the Terry Henderson-driven business which spawned the current OTI Racing), that was epic.
If you love harness racing and haven’t been to the NZ Cup, you simply must.
After a few flat years, largely during the pandemic and when the Aussies weren’t going across, NZ Cup Week fell a bit flat.
But it’s back.
And this week will be absolutely epic.
Sure, the Trans-Tasman rivalry is real, but it’s largely a friendly one.
We need each other. Specifically, our big races need horses from both sides of the ditch.
The Kiwis have been a tad slower to understand and embrace that, but they do now.
Think back to Cambridge in April and how much it added to the Race By Grins/TAB Trot night to have Just Believe, Callmethebreeze and so many other Aussies chasing the two biggest races.
It is certainly a blow Leap To Fame’s roller coaster week has ended in heartbreak, but there will still be 10 Aussie horses competing across the two huge days at Addington, Cup Day tomorrow (Tuesday) and Show Day on Friday.
As usual, Just Believe will head the charge.
The global megastar is $1.20 from barrier two to snare his 10th Group 1 win in tomorrow’s $NZ400,000 Dominion Trot.
Three other Victorians are in the race, too. Arcee Phoenix ($41), One Over All ($51) and Kyvalley Hotspur ($126).
The Aussie build-up to the NZ Cup has been the stuff of movies.
The Leap To Fame saga has been matched only by the shock late entry of defending champion Swayzee and his extraordinary pathway to the race.
Swayzee won the Cherry City Cup at Young last Friday night and didn’t head to NZ – requiring a flight from Sydney to Auckland then another down to Christchurch – until yesterday (Sunday).
If he goes back-to-back tomorrow, it will be one of the most remarkable stories in the history of the iconic race.
And Swayzee is a $2.80 favourite to do just that.
Jess Tubbs' Better Eclipse ($14) and emerging Queenslander Aroda ($51) are the other Aussie Cup runners.
We’ve also got the enigmatic star Catch A Wave flying the Aussie flag in the Junior free-for-all (race four).
He’s won a Miracle Mile and seven other Group 1 races.
The past year or so says, for some strange reason, he is a much better horse away from home than Melton.
Catch A Wave’s best would blow his rivals away tomorrow. You can get $6.50 to see if he brings his A-game.
Fast-forward to Friday and Just Believe will be in action again, so too will Better Eclipse and Catch A Wave.
But the major Aussie, specifically Victorian, focus on Friday will be unbeaten three-year-old trotting filly Keayang Zahara.
She’s $1.70 to make it 12 wins from as many starts against NZ’s best young trotters in the inaugural $NZ500,000 The Ascent.
Aussie success at Addington has been rare and precious, but we’ve got the “cattle” to really make our presence felt this week.
And the army of Aussie fans and spectators heading across to see it should have plenty to cheer about.