Just Believe heads Australia’s raid on New Zealand Cup week harness riches

Champion Victoria trotter Just Believe will be chasing his 10th Group 1 win when he spearheads an unprecedented Aussie raid on the iconic New Zealand Cup Week in Christchurch.

Just Believe wins the 2023 Inter Dominion.

Champion Victoria trotter Just Believe will be chasing his 10th Group 1 win when he spearheads an unprecedented Aussie raid on the iconic New Zealand Cup Week in Christchurch.

Just Believe is one of 10 Aussie horses – eight of them Victorians – hunting the biggest races across Tuesday’s NZ Cup meeting and Friday’s stellar Show Day card.

The NSW-trained defending champion Swayzee will be joined by classy Victorian Better Eclipse and emerging Queenslander Aroda as our three runners in Tuesday’s $NZ1m NZ Cup.

But it is Just Believe’s appearance in the $NZ400,000 Group 1 Dominion Trot on the same day which will draw most Victorian interest.

Trained by Jess Tubbs at Myrniong, not far from Ballarat, Just Believe has earned comparisons with the greatest Australasian trotters of the modern era with his dominance over the past two years.

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Since returning from a daring and daunting Swedish raid in the middle of 2023, Just Believe has been almost unbeatable with 20 starts netting 18 wins and two seconds.

Four of those wins came from as many starts during an NZ campaign earlier this year where he won twice at Group 1 level as well as the inaugural $NZ600,000 TAB Trot in Cambridge.

Despite being a rising nine-year-old, co-trainer and driver Greg Sugars said Just Believe was “at least as good as ever.”

“It defies logic, but we’ve felt all this campaign that we’ve never had him better,” he said.

‘He’s been over here (NZ) more than a week now and settled in really well. He’s certainly a seasoned traveller now.”

Already a standout in the race, Just Believe firmed into $1.20 favourite when landed barrier two in the Dominion.

Just Believe with Greg Sugars and Jess Tubbs.

The other three Aussies in the Dominion are: One Over All (barrier four), Arcee Phoenix (six) and Kyvalley Hotspur (eight).

The disappointing scratching of champion Aussie Leap To Fame has boosted Better Eclipse’s Cup prospects, but Swayzee and local stars Merlin and Dont Stop Dreaming are the favourites.

“He’s probably just below those very best ones, but he’s shown he can be competitive and not having Leap To Fame to contend with certainly makes it easier,” he said.

Better Eclipse is $14 with Swayzee $2.80 favourite ahead of Merlin ($3.20) and Dont Stop Dreaming ($4.50). Aroda is $51.

Former Miracle Mile winner Catch A Wave, an eight-time Group 1 winner, adds to the Victorian class on Tuesday. He contests the Junior Free-For-All (race four) and will back-up Friday in the Group 1 NZ free-for-all. He is a $6.50 chance.

Also on Friday, unbeaten Victorian trotting filly Keayang Zahara is $1.60 favourite to post her 12th win in the $NZ500,000 The Velocity, one of two new slot races on the day.

In the other, The Ascent, Tubbs and Sugars will have their Victoria Derby finalist Hes From Heaven.

• Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp.

Originally published as Just Believe heads Australia’s raid on New Zealand Cup week harness riches