KEY POINTS:
Tony Herlihy had one regret when he steered Pride Of Petite off the Globe Derby track after one of the greatest performances in Interdominion history in 1997.
He thought that with half of his driving career still ahead he would never drive a trotter as good again.
The
Kiwi pair had just come from last on the tight Adelaide track to run down Australian heroes Wagon Apollo and Knight Pistol in perhaps the greatest trotting finish ever in this part of the world.
No matter how many times you watch the video replay you would swear Pride Of Petite, her legs whirling like a cartoon character, had just failed to give her rivals 40m start at the 300m and beat them. She hadn't.
"I thought after that night I would never compare a trotter with Pride Of Petite because she was unbelievable," says New Zealand's greatest harness racing driver.
Now, with a smile on his face, Herlihy is making an exception.
Because he thinks freakish trotting mare One Over Kenny could be as good as Pride Of Petite.
"I would think what she is doing now, and has been doing this year, she is up there with Pride Of Petite," said Herlihy.
He was talking after her thrashing of many of New Zealand's best trotters in the Flying Mile at Cambridge on Monday, a performance that ended any debate over who is the best trotter racing in Australasia.
In a race where she was supposed to be vulnerable, One Over Kenny rushed up to sit parked outside speed machine Mountbatten and simply ran him into the ground. Herlihy's tactic was to turn to the mile into a war but by the 400m mark that war was already won.
"After that she just cruised and started to shut off in the straight," said Herlihy.
"It was a really big win because Mountbatten is a top horse and as good as anything else around in Australasia."
One Over Kenny trotted the second-fastest mile rate for a trotter ever at Cambridge, behind the incomparable Lyell Creek.
The performance was the most dominant of the mare's career, matching her coming-of-age win over A Touch Of Flair in last season's Australasian Trotting Championships. It saw her shorten from $4 to $3.50 for the March 1 Interdominion Trotting Final with some Australian bookmakers - but her real odds are much shorter.
Because if she stays sound and healthy, maintains her form and has no bad luck, she will win the Interdominion.
"She is a very different horse than Pride Of Petite because the other little mare had incredible speed.
"But this mare is strong and has real power. Not many trotters could have done what she did on Monday."
Herlihy is not one to get carried away but with budding superstar Stig out injured for the season, he knows One Over Kenny is the trotter to beat in any race she contests. And she has the added advantage of the Interdominion being a mobile, meaning no handicap.
"She has grown up a lot mentally from last season and seems right on top of her game so things are looking good."
Unless, of course, you are her opposition, who get their next crack at One Over Kenny in the $75,000 National Trot at Alexandra Park on Monday.
