Horse Racing: Accolades give show away in pocket rocket `scam'

By Michael Guerin

MELBOURNE - Racing's greatest scam was exposed on Saturday night when it was revealed wonder colt Courage Under Fire is not real.

While harness racing officials will not officially comment, New Zealand Herald investigations reveal Courage Under Fire's career has been stage-managed as a giant publicity stunt.

While I don't have any concrete proof, the signs are that Courage Under Fire's life is a replica of the movie The Truman Show.

You know, the movie that came out last year where Jim Carrey played some guy whose life was idyllic because he was surrounded by actors paid to pretend they were part of his life and the whole thing was shown live on nationwide television.

Well that is what is happening with Courage Under Fire. Everybody is in on the ruse except the little champion pacer.

All the other horses, trainers and drivers are part of a giant cast who have to make Courage Under Fire look like the greatest New Zealand pacer ever in an effort to boost interest in harness racing.

Obviously a brilliant scam dreamed up by some slick Armani-clad consultant employed by Harness Racing New Zealand.

The basic plot is extremely intelligent.

Courage Under Fire tours Australasia winning every race by something like a hundred miles and his rivals pretend they really can't keep up.

The crowd get really excited and cheer like they really care and Courage Under Fire struts around like he is really some sort of hero.

Attendances go up, there are plenty of fast horsy pictures on the telly and everybody is a winner.

But at Moonee Valley on Saturday night cracks began appearing in the production.
Like so many good television shows it became a little unrealistic.

This week's big scene was Courage Under Fire winning the $A100,000 Victoria Derby and equalling Noodlum's 25-year-old record for most consecutive wins by a New Zealand pacer.

It was all going fine, with the little horse bolting home in near-record time (again) without getting out of second gear.

Then it started to get silly.

Firstly Australians in the grandstand who didn't really look like real racing fans (bad casting by the producers there) gave a Kiwi horse a standing ovation.

Then another group of actors hammed it up by lining the fence of the winners' enclosure to get Courage Under Fire T-shirts autographed by trainer Bruce Negus and driver Colin De Filippi. Like that would ever happen at a real race meeting.

But then came the producer's biggest mistake.

If you are going to pretend to hold a race meeting you have to at least create the right atmosphere. And the one thing you get at any race meeting are cynics.

But not on Saturday night. The cynics had the night off.

Every horseman spoken to agreed that Courage Under Fire was the best young pacer they have ever seen.

That would never happen on a real racetrack. Never.

So now the Courage Under Fire show returns to New Zealand for the next telecast from Addington when the star will take the Triple Crown by winning the New Zealand Derby.

Ahead lie further great shows - Derbys, Cups, Miracle Miles and next year's Interdominion Grand Final. That one should be a real ratings winner.

But don't be fooled. It is not real. This is the Courage Under Fire show and everybody is in on the scam - the trainers, drivers, time keepers, the other horses.

In fact, maybe even you are in on this. I can't trust anybody in this matter these days.