2006 Trotters Series
Moonee Valley, Melbourne, Vic

2006 Inter Dominion Trotting Championship Final  $200,000 Heats:  28 January, 4 February 2006 Final:  12 February 2006
When leading New Zealand horseman Tony Herlihy sent the 17-hands tall Delft NZ to Waiuku horsewoman Michelle Wallis last year, he asked her to train the big gelding on the beach in a straight line. The move paid dividends at Moonee Valley on Sunday when the horse won the Grand Final of the Inter Dominion Trotters Championship.  The now 7-year-old always had ability. But the big fellow had a problem handling turns, usually cornering like a crab with its ungainly action, even breaking under pressure when racing well away from the inside fence.  It was fitting that Herlihy drove the trotter for Wallis on its trip to Australia where it raced well in its heats, then began fast in the Grand Final from its handicap of 10m to lead and then hold off the emerging Aussie star A Touch Of Flair, with a long gap to Whatsundermykilt NZ back third.  Wallis, who became the first woman to train the winner of this long established event, trains about an hour’s drive south of Auckland.  Training on a straight is nothing new in international trotting. A number of successful Swedish trotting trainers have been doing it for years. When two of their colleagues moved to establish stables in North America in the earlier 1990s, they introduced training straights of longer than a mile. These became known there as ‘straight-aways’. It is thought this type of training lessens the pressure on the legs of a horse. Moving this idea to beach work seems to be a natural progression.   Herlihy has now won four trotting Inter Dominion Grand Finals, along with collecting a total of 33 heats, finals and consolations, which makes him the most successful driver in Inter Dominion history.    Discretionary handicapping is a great thing in such major events, though it will never keep all trainers happy. When the Melbourne panel sat down to handicap this Inter Dominion series, A Touch Of Flair was one that bowled them up a curly one.

This Russell Thompson trained 5-year-old was only classified a metro 4 trotter, compared to Delft NZ a metro 10, and Sammy Do Good a metro 12. Yet, had A Touch Of Flair been off the front, it probably would have started an extremely short-priced favourite as it usually does everything right. 

Coming off 10 metres, A Touch Of Flair went after Delft NZ with courage and determination, and for a brief moment in the home straight seemed like catching the Kiwi giant. It will be much improved by this series. 

Sammy Do Good, rated Australia’s best next to A Touch Of Flair, was in a cranky mood on Sunday. It lost some skin during the float trip to Melbourne from Great Western giving connections a few concerns before the race, then it made a mistake early in the event, and again broke coming to the final home turn. 

Another to be in a piggish mood on the day was the Kiwi gelding Genius NZ. It held the start up, and when the tapes were released, it simply stood there determined not to go. This talented but problem trotter has done such things before in New Zealand and is out of the draw in all standing start events. 

All honours of the race were with the winner. After an ordinary 5^th to Romper Stomper NZ off the same mark at their last starts before coming to Australia, Delft NZ has begun brilliantly in all three Aussie appearances in this series, able to round up the early leaders to take up the running.   

Inter Heats

The two opening heats were held at Ballarat on the 28^th of January over 2710m.

Delft NZ set the pattern that night by its fast beginning off its handicap before moving across to the fence. After being headed in the final lap, the giant Kiwi horse found plenty to beat Calder Sensation and All Action Son NZ in a rate of 2:04.4. 

Prince Sundon NZ won the other heat at Ballarat beating Whatsundermykilt NZ and A Touch Of Flair with a mile rate of 2:05.6. The third horse was one of two brought here by trainer Kevin Fairburn. The other also to qualify for the Final was Glenbogle NZ. 

The Kiwi contingent, which so often dominates this major trotting event, were looking on target to do it again when the second and final round of heats were then held at Moonee Valley on 4^th February over the grand final distance of 3050m. 

The real Sammy Do Good stepped up that night in beating Prince Sundon NZ and Kiwi Demand NZ in 2:05.4. 

Play On NZ, the defending champion from Auckland last year, had looked good in a pipe-opening second at Moonee Valley the week prior to the heats, but then in heats this sit-and-sprint specialist seemed to be struggling off 10 metres, as was the smart and erratic Genius NZ.  

It was obvious after the heats had been run and won that Australia’s main players would need to do everything right in the Grand Final against the strong New Zealanders. When Delft NZ finally took out the title on the Sunday, it made it 16 out of the past 17 Inter Dominions to have been claimed by the Kiwis. 

The one performer to have carried the Aussie flag high had been Sumthingaboutmaori at Moonee Valley two years before. In subsequent campaigns this bonny mare lost its best form and actually was retired after racing well below her best during the recent heats. The Bryan Healey trained trotter led the Grand Final field out on Sunday with her usual reinsman, Gavin Lang.  A nice touch by HRV.