KEY POINTS:
Changeover is no longer racing his own age group - he is now locked in a battle with history.
When New Zealand's prince of pacing demolished his opponents again in the A$168,000 ($192,000) Australasian Breeders Crown at Ballarat last night he completed a staggering domination of his 3-year-old rivals.
The win itself was nothing more than we have come to expect from the exceptional colt this season, leading effortlessly before powering over the last 800m in 56.4 seconds to win untouched.
While he was helped by arch-rival Lombo Pocket Watch never getting clear, the race was over soon after the start, thankfully for the over 60 syndicate member and friends who made the trip from New Zealand to cheer him on.
Quite simply, while Lombo Pocket Watch and Gott Go Cullen are wonderful horses, they are not up to Changeover at present.
So destructive has he been though that Changeover deserves comparison with his own kind. Champions.
So how does Changeover's remarkable - albeit controversial - season rate against the greatest 3-year-olds pacers ever produced in New Zealand?
While previous decades produced many champion classic crops, earlier heroes like Tactile and Noodlum ruled an era when 3-year-old racing was nowhere as competitive as now and their times didn't often compare favourably with those paced by the open class horses of their day.
While undoubtedly champions, they did not face the depth of opposition or huge seasons today's best 3-year-olds do.
There have been more modern 3-year-old freaks like Master Musician, Chokin, Il Vicolo, Christian Cullen, Holmes D G and Elsu.
Holmes D G and Christian Cullen cancel each other out as they shared their season's honours while Chokin missed half his 3-year-old season through injury. Elsu suffered too many defeats, admittedly mostly in lead-up, to be rated the best ever.
Master Musician and Il Vicolo were both amazing 3-year-olds, particularly Il Vicolo who raced in a stronger crop. But one names stands even above them.
The modern day measuring stick for 3-year-old greatness is Courage Under Fire, who was unbeaten in 16 starts at that age and won six Derbys.
He and Changeover may be completely different physically but they share some key similarities, both being kickarse colts by In The Pocket.
Courage Under Fire was the perfect 3-year-old, so compact he placed little strain on his body and was tailor-made for Australia, where he won seven times at three.
He had ballistic sheer speed yet the stamina to break track records in Derbys. The only fault one can find in his 3-year-old season is not him but his opponents.
He beat little of any note in New Zealand, his arch-rival being Cigar, although he did have to pacify subsequent Interdominion champion Shakamaker later in the season.
Changeover may not have started the season looking as formidable as Courage Under Fire but he is a rare 3-year-old in that he continued to develop while racing.
He has won from Invercargill to Ballarat, over a mile in the Jewels and the 2700m of the Woodlands Northern Derby and while he has suffered two defeats he was clearly underdone for one of those races while his other loss, to Montecito, remains the great mystery of the season.
He finishes his amazing term with 15 wins from 17 starts and $765,780 for the season. Those earnings will eventually change when Changeover loses his Sires' Stakes victory because of his caffeine irregularity.
It is impossible to say who would have won a match race between Courage Under Fire and Changeover at three.
My best guess is early in the season the perfect pony would have been too sharp but as the season wore on and the distances got longer Changeover might have closed the gap over the longer trips.
The greatest difference may be how history will remember them. Because Courage Under Fire didn't get much better as a four and 5-year-old.
The scariest thing about Changeover is you get the feeling he is only starting out.
