Just Believe ID23 Final Win Photo by Dan Costello
CHAMPION trotter Just Believe can further cement his name against Australasia's all-time greats with victory in Friday night's Group 1 Rowe Cup at Auckland's Alexandra Park.
The eight-year-old's incredible past two years, including an eye-opening Swedish campaign and two Inter Dominion titles, has sparked discussions around where he sits with the greatest trotters, headed by 1970s superstar Maori's Idol.
While Maori's Idol stands alone with his 40 wins from just 46 starts and ability to beat the best pacers of his time, Just Believe has earned comparisons with every other trotter, including Kiwi freak Lyell Creek through the 2000s, and megastar Aussie mare Scotch Notch from the 1980s.
Since joining the stables of Jess Tubbs and Greg Sugars in mid-2022, Just Believe has been a revelation with 34 starts for 23 wins, eight seconds and two thirds.
The only unplaced run of his career in Sweden last year when he was checked and galloped in the heat of the world's biggest trotting race, the Elitloppet.
He atoned with two fantastic subsequent placings in feature Swedish races, including a second to Francesco Zet, who is favourite for this weekend's Elitloppet.
Many hoped and wished he would be back in Sweden now preparing for redemption in the Elitloppet – which is on this weekend at Solvalla in Stockholm but Tubbs and Sugars settled on extending his first trip to New Zealand instead.
"Financially, it was better for us all, and it was certainly easier on the horse," Sugars said.
"Although we don't regret the decision we made, we'll certainly be watching the Elitloppet with great interest as we had the experience of a lifetime last year just being part of it."
Just Believe's NZ trip has been faultless and dominant so far. He opened with victory in the new $NZ600,000 TAB Trot at Cambridge on April 12 and has since added the Group 2 Lyell Creek and Group 1 National Trot at Alexandra Park.
In the most recent run, Just Believe sat outside NZ's best trotter, Muscle Mountain, and toyed with him. Muscle Mountain has since come out and easily won the Anzac Cup.
"He never seems to get it easy in the big races and often has to do the work outside the leader, but I guess that's what makes him so good," Sugars said.
As far as comparisons with the all-time greats, Sugars, who has great respect for the history of the sport, answered quite humbly.
"It is an absolute honour to have a horse that is even considered as being in the same league as Lyell Creek," he said.
For all of Just Believe's attributes and deeds, Sugars continually marvels at what he's been able to do after such a daunting, draining and challenging trip to Sweden this time last year.
"To think he's not only come back and picked up where he left off but actually got quite a bit better is incredible. We really thought he would go the other way, but that Sweden was still worth a crack," he said.
"He's just a more complete racehorse now, and he knows it, too."
Just Believe has raced 15 times since returning from Sweden late last year. He's won 13 of them and run two mighty seconds, adding a second Inter Dominion title and now his NZ dominance.
Despite turning nine at the end of the year, Just Believe has never raced better and is so dominant that he looks to at least another six months, maybe even a year or more, to add to his record.
An unprecedented third Inter Dominion trotting title awaits in Sydney in December, and before that, connections will be tempted to return to NZ for the country's biggest trotting race, the Group 1 Dominion in Christchurch in November.
But for now, it's about finishing a perfect NZ raid the way he started, by beating the best in a major race on Friday night.
· Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp.
