By Michael Guerin
The patience of one man and passion of another put Arcee Phoenix in the position to win the $600,000 TAB Trot at Cambridge on Friday night.
The Victorian trotter led home an Australian-trained trifecta for the second year running in the slot race after working his way to the front in a bizarre opening 200m.
Arcee Phoenix has never been a fast beginner but trainer-driver Chris Svanosio declared his hand pre-race saying he had to go forward on him and try to lead the 2200m mobile event, seeing that as his best chance of beating favourite The Locomotive.
He, nor anybody else, could have predicted the obstacles that nearly derailed that plan.
Another of the Australian reps Not As Promised galloped at the mobile sped away to start the race, hardly ideal as he was directly to the outside of Arcee Phoenix, who didn’t need any distractions as he was trying to trot fast but keep his cool.
Then seconds later the second favourite Oscar Bonavena went into a wild gallop just metres to Arcee Phoenix’s left, Svanosio having to carefully avoid him as Oscar Bonavena was eased wide and effectively out of the race.
Somehow Arcee Phoenix ignored them both as best he could and rolled to the front, from where his only danger was the trailing Queen Elida, who threatened in the home straight but never looked the winner, with The Locomotive a brave third after sitting parked.
For all the drama the final result was almost effortless for Arcee Phoenix, who has previously contested this race and two other Group 1s at Cup week in Christchurch and finished fourth every time.
Those trips and the experience gained were part of Svanosio teaching Arcee Phoenix to be a racehorse.
He has learned his lessons well.
He had a good teacher.
“This is amazing,” said the Victorian of his national record run.
“To grow up watching these big trotting races in New Zealand and even be a part of them is very special.
“But to win it with this horse and to see him overcome those early distractions means the world to me.
“He was having a good look at them at the start, especially Oscar when he galloped, but he held together.
“I have always thought he was a good front runner but I haven’t been able to get him there as often as I would like because of teaching him to race early on.
“He is an awesome horse, he was just jogging in front but in the home straight I just wanted the line to come up.”
As popular as the victory will be for Svanosio and his stable star it was also the ultimate triumph for one of trotting’s most deserving ambassadors in slot owner Duncan McPherson.
McPherson owns Aldebaran Farms in Victoria and 15 years when the very existence of trotting as a gait in Australia was under threat, with the gait even being dropped as part of the Inter Dominions, McPherson never lost faith.
He loves trotters and has travelled the world and spent a fortune trying to build ties between Australia, New Zealand, North America and the trotting stronghold of Sweden.
For him, a man who fought for trotting when others wanted it shrunk or gone all together, to dance and hug in the Waikato rain on this Friday night was as sweet as payback comes.
“I love trotting and to do this with this horse and a great mate in Ash Haynes, who owns him, it doesn’t get any better,” he said.
Or any more deserved.