by Adam Hamilton
Champion trotter Just Believe has been retired.
It turns out his typically brave second to Oscar Bonavena in the Group 1 NZ Trotting free-for-all on November 15 was his farewell.
Co-trainers Jess Tubbs and Greg Sugars today confirmed the global superstar had run his last after niggling issues emerged during that hugely successful NZ campaign late last year.
“It’s with a tinge of sadness, but an overwhelming sense of pride we announce the retirement of our champion, Just Believe,” Tubbs and Sugars posted on social media. “We could list the races he won, or the money he earned, but it was the hearts he captured around the world that really set ‘Harry’ (Just Believe’s stable name) apart.
“His incredible strength and determination to win were second to none and we couldn’t be more grateful for the journey he has taken us on.
A huge thank you to all of Harry’s owners for the opportunity they gave us with this incredible horse.,
“In the end, it was Harry’s refusal to give up that brought about his retirement, with us no longer able to trust him to tell us when things were getting sore.
“He has nothing left to prove and his welfare is paramount. Happy retirement, Harry. We’re sure going to miss you.”
Just Believe raced 83 times for 38 wins, 23 placings and banked $A1,929,253 in prize money, which is second-only to the mighty Lyell Creek ($A2,256,724) as the all-time richest Australasian trotter.
It was a switch from former trainer Michael Hughes, who retired, to the Tubbs and Sugars stable in mid-2022 which sparked Just Believe’s stunning emergence.
In 42 starts for the stable, he won 30 times, ran nine seconds and a third.
Just Believe’s only unplaced run came when he struck trouble, galloped and finished tailed-out in a heat of the world’s biggest trotting race, the Elitlopp, in Sweden in May, 2023.
The gelding won 10 Group 1 races, including two Inter Dominion finals, a Great Southern Star, Dominion Trot and Rowe Cup.
Just Believe raced six times in NZ for five wins, a second and earned $NZ690,000. Three of wins were at Group 1 level (Dominion Trot, Rowe Cup and National Trot) along with the arguably the greatest win of his career in the inaugural TAB Trot.
Remarkably, what was expected to be a daunting and draining trip to Sweden in mid-2023, actually took Just Believe to another level.
“There’s no doubt he came back a better horse. He was different around home and better at the races,” Sugars said.
After Sweden, Just Believe raced 23 times for 20 wins and three seconds.
Race caller Dan Mielicki, the voice of Australian harness racing, said Just Believe was one of the greatest horses of either code he called.
“It’s been an absolute pleasure to call him. He’s one of very horses I’ve seen who looked as comfortable outside the leader as he was in front,” he said.
“He is the closest in talent to Lyell Creek that I’ve seen and not far behind him at all. He did what a great trotter does and totally dominated his generation.”