Sometimes it’s not the Grand Circuit races or the great predictable events that we remember as our favourite moments throughout the year, but instead it can be the unique, personal and heartwarming outcomes that stick with us for years.
Here are my top five moments of 2023, starting off with one that demonstrates my love for the trotting breed.
1 VOLSTEAD BREEDERS CROWN 2YO DOUBLE
Volstead is a trotting siring sensation who’s emerged in the last 12 months.
He’s the leading two-year-old stallion in Victoria, in front of all the great current pacing stallions including Art Major, American Ideal and Captaintreacherous.
His siring brilliance was highlighted on Breeders Crown night when two of his offspring, Nordic Reign and Val Thornes, took out their respective two-year-old Mimosa Homes fillies and Betavet colts and geldings finals. Volstead also sired Violet Stanford, the two-year-old fillies Vicbred Super Series winner.
Maoris Mac, Third Eye, Ikigai, Argyle Rocks and Pinnie are also notable two-year-old fillies who were sired by Volstead.
Pinnie is owned by my family and holds a special place in my heart, which is what sparked my love for Volstead.
She won the Qbred two-year-old final at Albion Park earlier this year and when I recently moved to Victoria we decided to sent Pinnie south as well because she is Vicbred. Pinnie is in the care of Andy Gath and is likely to appear early next year before she takes on her aforementioned star half siblings.
2 BULLETPROOF BOY: SMOKEN UP SPRINT UPSET
There’s something heart-warming about seeing older horses take on the fresh new generation and coming out on top. Bulletproof Boy winning the TAB Smoken Up Sprint on October 7 for trainer-driver Scott Ewen was just that.
Having found the front with his electric gate speed, no horse was able to run him down over the shorter distance (1720 metres) at Melton. His winning margin was 1.8 metres and his mile rate 1:52.3.
This was the second time Bulletproof boy has won the Smoken Up Sprint, the first being at Bendigo in October 2021, and allowed him to scrape through into feature races where he raced ultra competitively alongside the likes of Act Now, Leap To Fame and Better Eclipse.
3 WAIKATO FLYING MILE: ALDEBARAN ZEUS
It’s an incredibly rare feat for an Australian horse to beat the New Zealanders on their own turf, but Aldebaran Zeus and Chris Alford were able to achieve just that in the Waikato Flying Mile on April 14.
In this run, the Brent Lilley-trained gelding was able to work his way to the front and the New Zealand locals were unable to run him down as he crashed the line in a 28.3-second last quarter amid a 1:55.9 mile rate.
This grand effort from all involved has boosted the confidence of the Aussies to take on New Zealand’s best next year in their trotting slot race.
Queen Elida, who is a star stable mate of Aldebaran Zeus, has already been confirmed as a runner in this event.
4 SERG BLANCO – YARRA VALLEY PACING CUP
The first country cup meeting I attended since moving to Victoria was the United Petroleum Yarra Valley Pacing Cup, which was a fantastic experience at incredibly beautiful facilities.
In this run, Captain Ravishing was the short-priced favourite but, after finding the front early, was mown by the electric speed of Steven Duffy-trained Serg Blanco, who was sitting on his back.
It was great to witness the emotion and excitement from all the connections of Serg Blanco after this win, especially young driver Codi Rauchenberger. Serg Blanco looks set to be a huge factor in the upcoming country cups in 2024.
5 VICTORIAN TAKEOVER OF THE TROTTING INTER DOMINION
The Victorian trotters dominated the Inter Dominion trotting series headlined by the incredible winning victory from husband-and-wife duo Jess Tubbs and Greg Sugars with their superstar Just Believe.
Just Believe’s year started off with wins in Woodlands Stud Great Southern Star and TAB Australian Trotting Grand Prix before travelling halfway across the world to compete in the Elitloppet in Solvalla, Sweden.
After coming home Just Believe headed to the sunshine state to take on Australia’s best trotters in the Inter Dominion, where he breezed through the series unbeaten.
He is a tremendous ambassador for the sport and not only because of his success on the racetrack. This story highlights the beautiful relationship between Just Believe and his connections and demonstrates the love this industry shows to our horses.
Fellow Victorians Mufasa Metro, Queen Elida, Plymouth Chubb and Ollivici were also very impressive throughout the Inter Dominion series and have left a clear message across Australia of the strength and power of the Victorian trotters.
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.