Photo: Angelique Bridson
Cambridge is preparing for one of the strongest Australian harness racing invasions New Zealand has seen in decades.
And the man who invented the $1 million The Race by Grins is hoping they bring plenty of fans with them.
Better Eclipse is the first Australian-trained pacer officially signed for a slot for The Race by Grins on April 12, having secured the Entain/NZ TAB slot yesterday.
He joins Merlin as the first two horses signed but is almost certain to be joined by Australia’s best pacer Leap To Fame, who is believed to have up to five slot holders chasing him.
There is also slot holder interest in New Zealand Cup winner Swayzee, Rock N Roll Doo and last season’s Miracle Mile winner Catch A Wave, among others.
Merlin’s rival Don’t Stop Dreaming is all but guaranteed a slot, as part of his ownership group have a slot, while other leading contenders for a place in New Zealand’s only $1m harness race include former winner Self Assured and last year’s runner-up Old Town Road.
Better Eclipse is an ideal fit for the Entain/TAB slot, as he straddles both countries, being trained in Victoria but having raced so well here last autumn.
“His record speaks for itself, with wins at Group 1 through to Group 3 level, and he never gives up,” says Entain’s New Zealand managing director Cameron Rodger.
“He’s a familiar name to Australian and New Zealand punters, which is really important as we look to increase engagement in our New Zealand features across the Tasman.”
Better Eclipse’s signing could hardly work better for trainers Jess Tubbs and Greg Sugars, as they are already bringing champion trotter Just Believe for the new $575,000 TAB Trot the same night, which is expected to feature three leading Australian trotters.
The Australian participation and the new trotters’ slot race will take Race by Grins night to a new level and Cambridge boss David Branch says this is the culmination of the club’s vision in inventing the night three years ago.
“We wanted this to be a big Australasian event and one of the great nights of harness racing,” says Branch.
“The standard of horses we are looking at having here for both races now could make it the strongest night of the season on either side of the Tasman based on the sheer number of elite horses, which is tremendously exciting.”
But Branch says the red-hot racing isn’t just what the meeting they have branded the Night of Champions is about.
“When you get horses like Leap To Fame [likely], Just Believe, maybe Swayzee and now Better Eclipse coming to take on Merlin, Don’t Stop Dreaming, Oscar Bonavena and Muscle Mountain, you hope they will bring Australian fans with them, too.
“There aren’t too many racing towns like Cambridge in the world, and people who come for this race can have a real racing experience of both codes while they’re here. So we hope they take advantage of that.”
Continuing that theme, Branch says he wants the night to be “the Karaka Millions of harness racing” in regards to crowd pull and after-party.
“We can’t be as big as the Karaka Millions, which was pretty special, because we will cap our night at 5000 people when tickets go on sale on Friday,” he said. - Michael Guerin, NZ Herald
