Just Believe & Greg Sugars
STAR driver Greg Sugars will be hoping to cap the best week of his career with more Group race success at Melton on Saturday. STAR driver Greg Sugars will be hoping to cap the best week of his career with more Group race success at Melton on Saturday night.
Sugars teamed with their wife, Jess Tubbs, and their champion trotter, Just Believe, for a dominant win in yesterday's $NZ400,000 Group 1 Dominion Trot at the huge New Zealand Cup Day at Addington.
He will take the reins again when Just Believe chases the 11th Group 1 win of his stellar career as a $1.20 favourite in Friday's $NZ100,000 NZ Trotting free-for-all at Addington.
Then Sugars is back on an early morning flight to Melbourne on Saturday morning to drive.
Sugars and Tubbs have Rakero Rebel in the $75,000 Group 2 Caduceus Classic, Shes Ruby Roo in the $50,000 Group 2 Australian Trotting Grand Prix, No Money Honey in the $50,000 Group 2 Breeders Crown final for two-year-old trotting fillies.
Tubbs also has heat winner Enchauffour drawn gate two in the $50,000 Group 2 Crown final for two-year-old trotting colts and geldings. James Herbertson will take the reins.
Sugars also have pick-up drives for champion trainer Emma Stewart on Viney in the $100,000 Group Crown final for two-year-old pacing colts and geldings and Sir Jimmy in the three-year-old final.
"It's already been a heck of a week and hopefully there's more to come," Sugars said.
"That win (on Tuesday) is top of the tree for me, the best win.
"When we went across and won the TAB Trot at Cambridge back in April, it meant a lot to me, but winning the Dominion on Cup Day at Addington in front of that crowd, that's as good as it gets."
"And to do with Harry (Just Believe's stable name) is even better. He's just done so much for Jess and me that you run out of superlatives."
Sugars said Just Believe should be at least as good on Friday.
"His resilience and recovery might be his greatest strength," he said.
"He's come through that win (Tuesday) so well. The runs don't seem to take anything out of him."
"And he loves backing up quickly, he thrives on it. He's just an amazing horse."
Just Believe has drawn ideally in gate four on Friday with the main dangers on his outside – Muscle Mountain (five) and Oscar Bonavena (eight).
Tubbs and Sugars also have the underrated One Over All in the race after he ran a huge and luckless fifth to Just Believe on Tuesday.
The other Aussie runner is Chris Svanosio's Arcee Phoenix, who ran fourth on Tuesday but will need luck from a back-row draw (gate 11) on Friday.
Tubbs and Sugars have two other runners at Addington on Friday. Their Auckland Cup winner Better Eclipse, who ran fifth in the NZ Cup, has drawn outside the front (gate nine) in the $NZ200,000 Group 1 NZ Pacing free-for-all.
Their Victoria Derby finalist, Hes From Heaven, should get his chance from barrier two in the inaugural $NZ500,000 The Velocity slot race for three-year-old pacers.
