The Harrovian gives All-Star Mile rivals a scare
Queensland bush freak The Harrovian proved his doubters wrong with a superstar run in the All-Star Mile, defying his $41 quote to finish a strong fifth among an elite field including no fewer than nine individual Group 1 winners.
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Queensland bush freak The Harrovian proved his doubters wrong with a superstar run in the All-Star Mile, defying his $41 quote to finish a strong fifth among an elite field including no fewer than nine individual Group 1 winners.
The popular cult figure built up an enormous support base during an 11-race winning streak last year, which led his fans to vote him into the top 10 All-Star Mile contenders and guarantee him a start in the world’s richest mile race.
But while just about the entire state of Queensland had thrown their support behind “Big H”, he still had his naysayers, including the bookies, who all but dismissed his hopes at long odds.
They said he was outclassed, they said he wasn’t good enough and they said he was there just to make up the numbers.
After The Harrovian ran a fighting fifth on Saturday, co-owner Tom Hedley said he did a lot more than just that.
“Yeah, well there you are; we got some good numbers — 150 grand — that’s not to be sneezed at,” he said.
“We’re over the moon, really just over the moon. It’s a fantastic result and an incredible journey this horse has taken us on.
“The atmosphere down here was just great, there were a lot of racegoers from up home down here to just sort of enjoy the day.”
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Ridden by Brad Stewart, The Harrovian ran the race of his life and looked a chance of causing a massive boilover heading into the straight.
“We were all pretty excited when he come around the turn,” Hedley said.
“The other bugger in front just tired a little early. It’s a pity he didn’t hang on until we got into the straight for our bit of a burst, but we had to sort of pull out to get around that tiring horse and probably just went that little bit early.
“A fair bit of rain two races before probably didn’t make his chances any better either, but it was a great ride and a great run. The horses that beat him are obviously Group 1 winners, and here we are, just a Listed winner, so it was very good.”
With his career earnings now up to $898,830, The Harrovian is working his way up towards the total prizemoney of another Hedley-owned champion thoroughbred, Tyzone, which has won $1,295,000. Hedley said he was confident The Harrovian could best the 2020 Stradbroke winner’s winnings.
“With that now, I’d say for sure he can,” he said.
The Harrovian will fly back to southeast Queensland this week.
“It was a good build-up and a good result, but it’s behind us now,” Hedley said.
“We’ll give him a bit of a rest for a little bit and have a bit of a chat where we might go. He’s getting a bit hard to place now as his rating’s jumped pretty high.”
Originally published as The Harrovian gives All-Star Mile rivals a scare
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