“Then on Saturday I watched it again and tried to watch it just as a harness racing fan. It was awesome, like I used to feel watching Christian Cullen or one of the other great horses of a few years ago.

“It is a buzz for me to think I now have a horse like that in my stable.”

Last Friday’s win was a crushing display of power pacing, as Elsu led and simply went so fast his rivals could not pressure him.

But his Auckland Cup win was even scarier.

Because what it showed is the son of Falcon Seelster is now able to follow a hot speed, almost any speed, and explode over top of his rivals.

That night he paced 4.00.5, but had Just An Excuse put the pressure on earlier then Elsu would have simply cruised along on his back for bit longer and still outsprinted him.

Once again, had Elsu needed to he would have broken the national record.

So here we have a pacer who could, under the right circumstances, own the national record for both a mile and 3200m.

At the start of the season Jack Cade and Just An Excuse were the most likely heirs to the throne of New Zealand’s best horse that Young Rufus struggled to defend.

Jack Cade’s season is now over and Just An Excuse has done nothing wrong, but he has had the misfortune that Elsu has been able to dodge.

Just An Excuse’s Miracle Mile trip was a disaster and he went into the Auckland Cup short of his best. That he was able to fight so bravely for second demonstrates his greatness, but his problem is going to be using his massive heart to try and outstay a pacer like Elsu who can follow any speed.

At the moment the younger pacer, with the uninterrupted preparation and perfect health, has the upper hand.

“He has matured physically in the last three months but also mentally,” says Small.

“I think the hard racing in open class has made him as a horse.

“He knows what it is all about now, like a young footballer who gets knocked around in his first big game but comes back better.”

Not that it really matters for the rest of the season, as Elsu is unlikely to race against the open class horses again.
He goes next to the Chariots Of Fire in Sydney and will come home for the Taylor Mile and Messenger Pace.

“After that we may look at the free-for-all on the final night of that carnival, but we are already thinking about next year.
“That is, hopefully, going to be the big one for him.”

It is a scary thought that Elsu may get even stronger and his main aim will be the Inter-Dominions on his home track, with the New Zealand Cup and Miracle Mile along the way.

Of course it is never that easy and Elsu will one day soon run into the problems that affect any great horse - the weariness, the soreness, the bad luck that racing off handicaps brings.

He can’t, and won’t, win every big race he is aimed at. But after the last two weeks, you would be a brave punter to bet against Elsu in any of them.