There’s one comforting sign for Kiwis anxious about Leap To Fame taking the New Zealand Cup home to Australia, all going well with him in the meantime.
History.
A lot of top horses and the odd lucky ones from Australia have won the Cup.But not the superstars.Whether too late in their campaign;our standing start rules; the big Addington track or some odd driving decisions it is hard to say.Bottom line-they didn’t win. A list
1913 DENVER HUON
This slow developing liver chestnut who had once been sold for $52 was a superstar Australian in his day,holder of most of their staying records. He advanced the habit here. Sporting Sydney owner Ray Geddes shipped him over with expatriate Kiwi trainer Manny Edwards to add the NZ Cup.
The boat trip meant it was over virtually before it began.It went from Sydney to Melbourne to Hobart to Bluff and it was rough all the way.Until two days before the Cup he was going to be scratched. He had to give a long start to all but one horse in a large field and went a mighty race to finish second.
Denver Huon left his mark in two other performances here. In the New Brighton Cup a month after Addington and the only free for all open race here then, he won by 50m,the popular Geddes being on hand for the presentation. At Auckland early in 1914 after running a mighty race earlier in the day he set a new national two mile (3200m) record in a time trial.Edwards later returned to New Zealand and so did Denver Huon winning good money from long marks.Among the horses Edwards brought home,incidentally, was Adelaide Direct the 1916 Cup winner. But she was nowhere near as good as Denver Huon.
1938 LAWN DERBY: LOGAN DERBY
These two were champions but though a beautifully gated, free legged pacer Lawn Derby hated stands. From an impossible 60m handicap in 1938 (no risks with visitors there!) and a lesser one the following year he stood on the mark with virtually no part in either. But in a moving start he became the first to break two minutes outside America later in the meeting, a truly historic occasion. Logan Derby, a dual Inter Dominion winner, ran third in the Cup and won a Free for All on the 3rd day. He later sired the great Johnny Globe.
1954 RIBANDS
Ribands was a truly wonderful pacer and a pioneer open class visitor to the United States but he failed to begin in the New Zealand Cup -often a problem with him. What happened a week later was something the writer saw as a child and will never forget. Ribands had been slow away in the Free for All on Show Day storming home for second.In the NZ Pacing Championship on the last day with a secret weapon,he gave a display that both enthralled and shocked Kiwi harness fans.
The secret weapon was legendary Maurice Holmes now doing the driving and getting Ribands away from the stand. He set him alight at the 800 and with a scorching spurt of speed he went past horses like Rupee,Tactician (our first 2 minute race miler) and the mighty Johnny Globe as if they were tied to the rail.He then ran well clear in “world” record time for the one mile and five furlongs (2600m) It was a devastating performance.
His owners, the sporting Kellaways, at one stage turned down an unheard of 30,000 pounds ($2m today) for the stallion on the grounds they loved him.He went to America with much publicity and later spent some time at stud in New Zealand. Kelloways home- hosted him in retirement and at 22 he was fit enough to give a pacing exhibition driven by Johnny Tapp-and keeping him busy Johnny recalled.
In his heyday Ribands ran 1.58 and change in a time trial in Sydney on an 800m track. It was only half a second slower than the mighty Highland Fling had trialled at Addington in 1948,a world class time that stood for decades here. Ribands was the real deal. The irony ? He was by Lawn Derby who had wrecked his own Cup chances exactly the same way 13 years before.
1971 BAY FOYLE
A 28 race winner and Miracle Mile winner of many features,Bay Foyle was given the task of running leaders down late in his Kiwi campaign.So he was a fast finishing 4th a length from the winner in the Cup; won the Free for All late and from inside the second row next start in the Miracle Mile (at Addington) stormed home to run Arapaho to a head. We did not see the best of him.
1985 PREUX CHEVALIER
After Gammalite-the first to win $1m in Australasia but often in the shadow of Popular Alm-had failed three times in the Cup Preux Chevalier arrived so famous he went out a $1.70 favourite.No wonder.In the past year he had won the Miracle Mile,Inter Dominion Final,the Hunter Cup and the Winfield Cup. His cause at Addington may have been affected by trainer Barry Perkins odd approach. He had a gutbuster run in the Cup Trial four days before, then tried to win the Cup sitting parked. A great tactic on Australian tracks,little harder here.He fought well for close fourth. On Show Day he showed his worth winning the Free for All and running the 2nd fastest time in the race history.One of the best gaited horses you would ever see.
1988 OUR MAESTRO
Lightning Blue was the 1987 Cup winner and a big star here for also winning an Inter Dominion final off the ballot. But he was a lesser force at home. Our Maestro, the Inter Dominion and Miracle Mile champion of 1988 was a superstar but set a tough task when Vinny Knight set him alight at the 800m in an extraordinary move, sweeping past Luxury Liner at the turn and home for all money. Big early sprints take their toll in Cups.Luxury Liner who had run second to him in the Miracle Mile fought back late to win. Vinny Knight was nothing if not a colourful figure.Sometimes you win,sometimes you lose.
2009 SMOKEN UP
Probably the unluckiest horse to never win a New Zealand cup was the wonderful Smoken Up.He ran a third and two seconds in three attempts in the 2009 to 2011 up against the multi wins of Monkey King and Terror to Love.
In the first year he shot up sharply to lead from the 1600,was clear at the turn and was run down late. The following year, slow away, he made a big run wide to lead with the same result and as $2.50 favourite in 2011 he again dictated on an easier pace and was collared in the dying stages by Terror To Love who had been saved for one run. To some critics, sporting Lance Justice repeating tactics that had failed previously seemed odd but Smoken Up was a horse who liked to dominate. He was certainly brave.Just been nice to see him get better luck.He deserved a Cup.
2018 TIGER TARA
The former Kiwi (who raced well in the Cup here for Geoff Dunn) came over as a Hunter Cup and Inter Dominion winner and as with so many of his predecessors sought to sit on the pace He had a gallop at the 700 but Lazarus was unbeatable in 2017.The Tiger was stiff this year though.He ran the leader, super mare Dream About Me, down forcing the pace and ran the same time as the winner,Thefixer,who enjoyed the perfect run from Natalie.And that time was 3.53.9.
While it is true Swayzee has won the last two Cups and arrived with a Blacks a Fake to his credit in 2023 and then a Victoria Cup in 2024 he has lived in the shadow of Leap To Fame the next superstar who may,all going well,try for a Cup.
The only problem seems to be the better they are the harder it is.