The All Stars Heavenly Season

There has never been a season to quite  match it. And more than likely there never will.

That would be the All Stars Stable of 2018-2019 arguably the greatest season for any harness stable any time. And only arguable because of the same stable’s similar  achievement  three years before.

Between August 2018 and the following July Mark and Natalie won 31 Group 1 races.That is,31.

Some  would count that an honour in a decade;many more would count it an honour in a career.

But one season. That was insane.And not just any Group Ones either.Most of the important ones on the calendar.

 

There was one which may be arguable to some eyes. The 31 total includes Princess Tiffany winning the Breeders Crown 2yo Final. It was still the previous season in Australia but the race was run in August 2018,in our 2018-19 season just  not in Australia.Even if her claim might be a little too much for some hat still leaves 30 Group Ones.

At the New Zealand Cup meeting where it all began locally, Natalie steered home ULTIMATE SNIPER (Sires Stakes Final) THEFIXER (NZ Cup) and CRUZ BROMAC  to win the Free for All.That is a very rare,if not unique feat, in itself. 

Plus All Stars won no less than EIGHT races on Cup Day a record likely  to stand for the ages.

The gravy train then moved to Auckland where TURN IT UP  won the Auckland Cup for Mark and DREAM ABOUT ME took out another Queen of Hearts with Tim Willlims in the cart. The pair added the NZ STANDARDBRED BREEDERS soon afterward. Meanwhile in Australia All Stars were about to cut loose.

There has NEVER been an Aussie feature binge  from New Zealand to match it and believe us there have been some doozies.

THEFIXER won the Ballarat Cup (the fourth on end in the race for the Ballarat) and then  the Allied Sprint (G1 then) .SPANKEM added the Canadian Club then the Miracle Mile (1:47.7) and later he would complete the Taylor Mile/Messenger double back in New Zealand. Not many bounce back from Miracle Miles that well. Thefixer completed a stable quinella in the Mile =and Chase Auckland finished fourth.

Just getting started they were. DREAM ABOUT ME added the Ladyship Mile (1:50.1) the third such win in the premier mare’s race of Australia for All Stars in five years; PRINCESS TIFFANY won the NSW Oaks.Later she would add the NZ Oaks and then the Queensland Oaks,driven with assurance by Kylie Rasmussen

It is worth noting Dream About Me’s Australian record. She swept through the two year old Breeder’s Crown Series unbeaten and returned the following season to win the NSW Oaks.She had 9 starts in Australia over three campaigns  and won 8 of them, a second in the Robin Dundee  as a leadup to the Ladyship Mile being her only defeat.Fillies to win at G1 level in so many different years starting at two are rare.

Back home the remarkable run continued.

SMOOTH DEAL took the Young Guns final -a great training feat as later events would show, to justify Jean Feiss’s faith in him as a  yearling. The all conquering Kennard syndicates (Spankem,Thefixer) had ULTIMATE SNIPER repeat his Sires Stakes triumph in  the Woodlands Derby and the New Zealand Derby while AMAZING DREAM heralded future triumphs taking out the Caduceus Stakes in Auckland and ENHANCE YOUR CALM co-owned by Danny Zavitsanos of Cruz Bromac fame, won the Northern Trotting Derby. SWEET ON ME took the Sires Stakes Filly final to match ONE CHANGE in the male equivalent- a triumph as much for Natalie’s drive  as the youngster.

Five stable members, ELLE MAC,SWEET ON ME,ONE CHANGE,TURN IT UP AND JESSE DUKE won their Harness Jewels finals.Yes,five.

Not quite finished then either A lesser star of the stable went with Princess Tiffany to Brisbane and as SELF ASSURED, won the Queensland Derby.His contribution was to grow somewhat over the years. 

Natalie drove 16 of the Group 1 winners, Tim Williams two with Dream About Me, and Mark 12 .

 

A  season to remember and to celebrate.

It will be a long winter’s  day before we see its like again.

(Cover pic: Spankem)