Racing: Roll of horror for Hunter Cup

How is this for a roll of honour? Christian Cullen, Chokin, Shakamaker, Just An Excuse, Young Rufus, Holmes D G, Iraklis, Master Musician and Desperate Comment.

Champions, millionaires, the winners of every important race in Australasian harness racing, they would make for an incredible list of previous Hunter Cup winners.

But it is not a roll of honour, it is a punters' roll of horror.

Because these are the great pacers who tried to overcome handicaps to win the Hunter Cup in the past 10 years. And failed.

In the process they cost punters millions of dollars. Tonight Elsu will have to be a freak not to join them.

New Zealand's best pacer faces the toughest task in Australasian harness racing - overcoming a 20m backmark in the Hunter Cup.

Elsu won the Auckland Cup off 10m and could possibly win this year's New Zealand Cup off the maximum handicap of 15m at Addington.

But winning your way to the Moonee Valley winner circle via the 20m mark has its own problems.

Standing starts in Australia can be a disaster, adding to the possibility of traffic problems.

And Australian drivers tend to adopt a catch-me-if-you-can attitude to any race, even the gutbusting 3050m of the Hunter Cup.

That means any horse improving from the back of the field can often be trapped three wide, as Young Rufus was two years ago.

All it would take is a repeat of that for the last mile of the race and Elsu could be three wide, near last and giving the leaders 15 lengths.

As the leaders can pace the last mile in 1:56, winning under such circumstances might be impossible.

So this is hardly going to be a walk in the park for Elsu.

Of course it may not be that bad. Elsu could make a flyer from the outside of the 20m mark, maybe even settle in midfield.

Trainer Geoff Small knows what could lie ahead for pacing's pin-up boy in tonight's A$450,000 classic.

"It will be a very hard race to win but he can't win it sitting at home," said Small. "This is a great race with a great stake and it works in well as a lead-up to the Interdominions.

"We know we will need some luck but I think he is back to his best and he deserves a crack at this."

The Hunter Cup horror roll has finally sunken in for punters, with Elsu getting as long as $5 with bookies this week, even though he has not started longer than $2.80 in any other group-one race this season.

He is likely to start shorter tonight but local star The Warp Drive should still start favourite.

He has been almost unbeatable this season and beat many of his rivals tonight in the Geelong Cup three weeks ago.

While that win was not totally convincing his earlier victories were, and, if he can step quickly and lead, he will be the hardest to beat.

But inexperience is not his only burden - he will be trying to become the first favourite since Vics Vance in 1996 to win the race.

A better bet may be Te Kanarama, who has been every bit as impressive as The Warp Drive without the luck.

Tonight's race is the biggest test of his career and he is not foolproof from a stand but he can win providing the occasion and standing-start process don't get to him.

The hype around Elsu, The Warp Drive and Te Kanarama is going to mean some extraordinary dividends for outstanding horses, especially the other five Kiwis in the race.

Defending champion Mister D G may be the best of them even from a tricky draw on the 10m mark but he will still be close to his 16-1 odds from last year. Young Rufus, a $21 chance in early markets, will need to step safely and race handy to be a chance while the frontmarkers, Howard Bromac, Harnetts Creek and Oscar Wild, are all good enough to place.

The best of them should be Howard Bromac but he is probably more of a place bet than a true winning chance.

He has had no luck after getting back in the field in his last three starts but has drawn to lead or trail tonight, and, under those circumstances, he was persistent enough to third in both the New Zealand and Auckland Cups this season.

* The hardest thing to believe about tonight's Australasian Trotting Champs is that Sumthingaboutmaori might actually pay $2 to win.

That is what bookmakers are quoting after her recovery from injury to win her heat last week.

While $2 for an often-troubled mare starting off a 30m handicap would usually not be considered value in a group-one race, tonight it will be. Because this could be the weakest Australasian Trotting Championships in history.

Usually the series brings together the best from both countries and if it wasn't Interdominion year in Auckland, four or five leading Kiwi trotters may be there.

But with the Alexandra Park series just three weeks away, our best trotters have stayed home and Sumthingaboutmaori should reap the benefits.

Australia's two other genuine group-one trotters, Gold N Gold and Sammy Do Good will miss the race.

Gold N Gold has had a setback while Sammy Do Good ran a shocker last week and failed to qualify.

He will instead race in a supporting race against Kiwi mare Lanson, who galloped in her heat.

In the other major support race Canterbury three-year-old Tribute looks for revenge over the pair who beat him in the Victoria Derby, Emmas Only and Sir Galvinator.

3070 - the metres Elsu will have to pace tonight.

450,000 - the winning stake in Australian dollars.

1996 - the last year a favourite won the Hunter Cup.