Racing: Smolda beats Australia's best in Inter Dominion

Mark Purdon and Smolda winning the 2016 TABtouch Inter Dominion Grand Final at Gloucester Park. Photo credit / Jodie Hallows

The domination by New Zealand's greatest ever racing stable is now complete.

Champion harness trainers Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen capped a mind-boggling year when their veteran pacer Smolda outstayed Australia's best in the A$1.1million Inter Dominion Final at Gloucester Park last night.

The Canterbury-trained gelding was too brave for hot favourite Hectorjayjay after the pair cleared out from their opponents in Australia's richest harness race.

They sat back off a frenetic early speed before swooping into the race at the 1000m mark and setting up a two-horse war, a war that Hectorjayjay looked to be winning on the home bend.

But Smolda fought back to claim a rare New Zealand victory in a major Perth race, taking his career earnings past $2.1million and becoming the 11th richest pacer in Australasian history.

His track record victory completes a year of domination unmatched in either racing code for Purdon and Rasmussen.

The couple has now trained the winners of the Inter Dominion, New Zealand Cup, Miracle Mile, Auckland Cup, Hunter Cup, Chariots of Fire and New Zealand Free-For-All in the last 12 months.

The only serious open class pacing race they have been beaten in during that freakish run was this year's Victoria Cup, in which Smolda finished a head second.

Add to that the stable, appropriately known as the All Stars, have also won the four main Australasian Pacing Derbys and four strongest Australasian Pacing Oaks races and their trophy cabinet in the the last year defies belief.

While no Australasian stable in either thoroughbred or harness racing can boast that kind of trophy haul, it hard to imagine any stable worldwide has completely and utterly monoplised its sector of the racing industry in such a way.

After the race Purdon, who also drove Smolda, admitted he was stunned when looking back over the year.

"When you think of what we have achieved it is pretty humbling," said Purdon.

"We don't tend to think about it like that because we focus on one race at a time but it has been a pretty special time.

"Especially to come here and win. Perth has always been a hard place to travel to and win for New Zealand horses.

"So to win like that, with him showing such great heart, is one of the most satisfying victoies of my career." Remarkably Smolda is not even the best horse in his stable, with Purdon and Rasmussen training champion four-year-old Lazarus to win the New Zealand Cup last month by 10 lengths, a race Smolda finished fourth in.

While he won his heat of the Inter Dominion last week, Smolda looked tired and below his best, prompting Purdon to make a radical change to his training regime.

"I only fast worked him once this week, the rest of the time I just jogged him, freshened him up and let him recovery from the heats.

"That is not something I would usually do but I knew he was fit enough and his heart did the rest. He is a very brave horse."Smolda will now be set for a defence of the A$500,000 Hunter Cup he won in Melbourne last season coming up in February.

But even with Smolda and Lazarus not in the Auckland Cup at Alexandra Park on December 31, the All Stars have the two favourites for that race in Dream About Me and Titan Banner, both of who bolted in at Alexandra Park on Friday night.

The domination shows no signs of ending.