Pride Of Petite USA
GLOBE Derby has such a rich history.
So many wonderful and vivid memories of visits gone by will be stirred when I return to the home of South Australian harness racing for the first time in about a decade for the big Southern Cross finals meeting on Saturday night.
More than 35 years in the game and a race at Globe Derby is still the most amazing and memorable I’ve seen in person … that 1997 Inter Dominion Trotters’ Final won (somehow) by the mighty mare Pride Of Petite.
There’s no race replay I’ve watched more, even those I’ve had shares in, and I still don’t know how Pride Of Petite gets up to win from where she was at the bell, still at the 400m or even on the home bend.
Throw this into the mix … she was a nine-year-old, was the lone backmarker from 40m behind and ran down absolute stars like Wagon Apollo and Knight Pistol. Other Kiwi superstars like Diamond Field and Inda Bank were in the beaten brigade, as was gifted North American import Holdonmyheart.
It was a vintage field and she dished it to them.
I recall going into the series, trainer Mark Purdon took himself off the mare and booked friend and Kiwi champ Tony Herlihy to take the reins.
In short, Purdon didn’t agree with the 40m handicap Pride Of Petite was given and was so close to the mare he didn’t think he could drive her in the clinical style needed to give the series a shake. It showed a real human side.
Herlihy, the gun for hire, did just that, but with plenty of compassion as shown by his extraordinary patience in that final.
Pride Of Petite, seemingly so wide she was out with the crowd, dived on the line to win by a nose.
It defied belief.
It was her second successive Inter Dominion final win, having scored off a 30m handicap at Moonee Valley the previous year.
Globe Derby’s Inter Dominion history is intertwined with Grand Final winning streaks.
On that same night Pride Of Petite did her thing, Our Sir Vancelot won the pacing final. It was the first of his then record three successive Grand Final wins.
Fast-forward a decade to the most recent Inter Dominion hosted by Globe Derby and Blacks A Fake won the pacing final.
It was the second of his record four Grand Final wins. He won at Hobart the year before, and followed with a third successive win at Moonee Valley in 2008.
Blacks A Fake was monstrous in defeat when mauled in front by Auckland Reactor at the Gold Coast in 2009 and then became the first and only four-time winner at Menangle in 2010.
So, those Inter Dominion wins of Blacks A Fake and Our Sir Vancelot were essentially launching pads for the two greatest performers the pacing series has ever seen.
While Inter Dominions are a thing of the past for SA, there’s certainly a vibrancy back in the proud and passionate harness racing state.
To quote the "trendies", there are some promising “green shoots” with participation, turnover and prize money.
Rebuilding the foundations has been vital, but pausing to celebrate and enjoy bigger nights has a key role, too.
I’m looking forward to being trackside for feature racing again at Globe Derby on Saturday night and hoping to feel some of the energy and passion I remember from yesteryear.
Who knows, we might see the “birth” of another champion.
History says it is very possible.
