Racing: Just Believe claims Dominion for Tasman domination

Just Believe winning the Dominion at Addington. Photo / Supplied

If you love a great horse, the news out of the $400,000 Dominion at Addington on Tuesday is good.

If you have anything to do with New Zealand’s best trotters, not so much.

Australian champion Just Believe came to Addington on Tuesday and did what he does, cruised to victory in another Group 1 for driver Greg Sugars.

The hottest favourite of New Zealand Cup day was never in danger of defeat, having too easy a run but, more importantly, too large a motor for the locals. Just Believe had already danced his near unbeatable dance in the TAB Trot at Cambridge, the Rowe Cup at Alexandra Park and in two Inter Dominion finals in different states of Australian and most punters and bookies expect him to return to Australia to chase a third Interdom in Sydney next month.

They are likely to be wrong.

Sugars confirmed after the Dominion domination Just Believe will not only contest the New Zealand Trotting Free-For-All back at Addington on Friday, but then head north to Auckland to start at least twice at Alexandra Park next month.

“As much as we would like to win three Interdoms with him, the stake money isn’t huge and he is already here [New Zealand],” he suggests.

“So at this stage I’d say he is more likely to stay in New Zealand and miss the Inter Dominion.”

While that will sink the hearts of those who own and train the other open class trotters targeting our Auckland summer trotting features, but will put a smile on the face of the connections of the Australian trotters set to tackle the Inter Dominions.

And – if Sugars is right – cause a huge change in markets for the Sydney series.

Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s racing editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.