Racing: Swayzee shows Hart with stamina for NZ Cup glory

Swayzee (centre, blue and yellow) on her way to winning the NZ Cup with driver Cam Hart, at Addington on Tuesday. Photo / Supplied

The biggest gamble in New Zealand Trotting Cup history paid off at Addington on Tuesday.

Just.

Australian bully boy Swayzee outmuscled the locals to defend the title he won last year, fighting off Don’t Stop Dreaming in the iconic $1 million race.

The pair surged four lengths clear of Republican Party and a slightly disappointing Merlin, who after tracking the first two found this particular 3200m just a little outside his comfort zone.

That Swayzee was in the race at all was a surprise and a stroke of genius, trainer Jason Grimson only deciding to pay the $28,000 late entry last Monday, hours before the deadline.

“He worked so well last Monday, I rang his owner [Mick Boots] and said I wanted to take him and I wanted him to back my judgment,” said Grimson.

“He had that feel about him – I didn’t want to miss this opportunity.”

An opportunity that came with a cost. The $28,000 fee plus the trip across the Tasman and then straight back, as Swayzee isn’t staying for Friday’s NZ Free-For-All, means there would be no change out of $50,000 for a trip for one race.

Let’s not forget, when Grimson placed those chips on the table the best pacer in Australasia in Leap To Fame was still coming to the NZ Cup, only to pull out on Friday with a poor blood report.

Even more bizarrely, Swayzee then raced at Young in New South Wales on Friday to stay eligible for a A$1m bonus, spent most of Sunday travelling from Sydney to Christchurch via Auckland and had barely had a nibble of Canterbury grass before he was off to the races.

At the top of the Addington straight that great gamble looked set to come up short.

Swayzee’s driver Cam Hart had been able to work to the front inside a lap, as first Merlin then Don’t Stop Dreaming led but the respect Swayzee has garnered paid dividends when Hart needed it at the 2000m mark.

But there is no respect once horses reach the home straight, then it comes down to speed or stamina. In Swayzee’s case, the latter.

Hart had him rolling 800m from home to try and blunt the sprint of his rivals but when Blair Orange moved Don’t Stop Dreaming into the passing lane at the 200m he went straight past Swayzee. For about 100m.

No sooner had that dream become reality than it turned into a nightmare as Swayzee kicked back. Don’t Stop Dreaming peaked and the Cup was defended.

“He [Don’t Stop Dreaming] definitely got past us but I know how hard this horse tries,” said Hart.

“To think I have just won two New Zealand Cups is amazing. He is an amazing horse.”

For the beaten brigade there were reasons but no excuses and while in the glow of victory, the Swayzee camp was planning their celebrations rather than their next race, they now have a shot at joining the most elite club in New Zealand racing.

The first New Zealand Cup was run in 1904, and Swayzee is now one of the special horses to have won two of them.

But only three horses in that 120 years have managed to win three New Zealand Cups: Indianapolis, False Step and Terror To Love.

Swayzee is big and strong and built for races like the Cup. Hart knows what he wants.

“When you hear only three horses have won three of these, to even think we could have a chance of doing that next year makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up,” says Hart, shaking his head.

So expect Swayzee to be among the first entries for next year’s Cup. For a shot at history and to save $28,000.

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.