The Keayang Zahara journey is only just beginning, but it’s already proving a pivotal period in Jason Lee’s harness racing career.

The 29-year-old reinsman has been associated with a string of top horses from the family’s Ecklin South stable, with Group 1 triumphs behind names such as Jilliby Kung Fu, Jilliby Nitro and Jilliby Jitterbug, Lumineer for Ange McDowall and Yabby Dam Farms stars Im Ready Jet and Always Ready.

But Keayang Zahara is already different. She’s taking the sport’s wider fan base along for the ride and bringing grown men and women to tears. Not sad tears, but happy ones. And that’s an incredible feeling for the straight-shooting, footy-mad trots lover from Victoria’s south-west.

“I’m 29 and I don’t think I’ve ever seen my four uncles, especially John but also Des, Peter and Harry, so emotional about something. They had a tear in their eye,” Lee said after last week’s dominant victory in The Ascent at Addington.

“I know Lance Holberton really well and I’ve driven horses for him from South Australia. He came up and shook my hand after the race and was really emotional. It started to hit me then how much it meant to other people.

“Nana said that she also got quite emotional and was crying, so for it to be bringing people to tears, it probably just shows you how much it meant to so many people.”

Lee has partnered the three-year-old trotting filly in all 12 of her career starts, including Group 1 victories in the NSW Oaks and Derby, a Vicbred Super Series final and Victoria Trotters Oaks and Derby before last week’s slot race success.

While he’s happy to soak in the joy and excitement that Keayang Zahara has generated in recent months, Lee’s cautious about the hype around his wonder filly, knowing how quickly things can change in racing and the fact she’s never tackled any horses outside her own age group.

Does he think she will continue to progress and become an open-class star? Yes, there’s certainly a sense she might be different to many that have come before her, but you can’t help but get the feeling Lee would like to temper people’s expectations – even just a little - as she heads towards a well-deserved break.

Before that spell is likely to come a shot at the New Zealand Trotting Oaks at Addington on November 29 and possibly a start in the New Zealand Trotting Derby a week later at the same track.

Would a tilt at Victoria’s biggest trotting feature - the Great Southern Star - be on the table as a four-year-old in 2025? Probably not says Lee, who believes the early February feature will come up too quickly for the daughter of Volstead.

“We’ve always been pretty big on giving horses good spells to get better and develop,” he said.

“There’s nothing set in concrete, but I’d be leaning towards a good spell.”

And while it’s hard not to dream about opportunities in Europe such as Elitloppet, the immediate focus is more on some of the bigger features right here in Australia.

“We’d look at anything on the table, but as good as it would be – it’d be unreal – I’d love to dominate our own country,” Lee said. “And not even dominate, I’d just love to win a Great Southern Star or an Inter Dominion…

“We’ve had eight or nine really nice trotters who have won really good races and competed in the good races, but we haven’t won a Grand Circuit trot race or anything.

“Just Believe was pretty airborne before he went (to Sweden), dominating at open-class level. You’d want to be going pretty well and probably race at least another 12 months here.”

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.