By Michael Guerin
Special Force may have set an unusual world record on Saturday night.
The Pukekohe trotter continued his march toward the top of the Australasian trotting ranks by out sprinting the best Australia have to offer in the $A50,000 Dullard Cup at Moonee Valley.
It was a near-perfect start to the summer carnival for the Kiwis, with Buster Hanover a close third, the pair separated by Knight Pistol.
But the two South Auckland trotters were lucky to be in the race at all after a harrowing wait for their transtasman flight.
They were supposed to be part of a New Zealand contingent making the flight early on Saturday morning but that flight was rescheduled to Saturday afternoon.
Further delays meant their plane was not heading down the Auckland Airport runway until nearly 5 pm, just seven hours before race start time.
Special Force was not loaded off the plane until 7 pm Australian time yet was scoring up behind the mobile three hours later.
Now it is hardly going to make the Guinness Book of Records, but it is hard to imagine a horse has ever won a group one race after flying into a country just three hours beforehand.
"It really was a great way to end a horror day," said Special Force's trainer Dave McGowan.
"All day Saturday I thought there was no way we were going to make it in time for the race so I just adopted the attitude of put him on the plane, forget this race and get him ready for his race over there next week.
"But when they rang to tell us that the flight was on and we still looked likely to make the race I started to get pretty excited."
McGowan must have been incredibly excited - he managed to sleep through the race.
With stable foreman Todd MacFarlane accompanying Special Force on the trip because he is the 5-year-old's regular driver, McGowan stayed home.
And even though he set his alarm to get up and listen to the race on the phone, trying to steal an extra 30 seconds sleep saw him miss the biggest win of his training career.
"I would have loved to have heard it but we are still getting a real buzz out of it," said McGowan.
While McGowan's sleeping meant he missed the race, Special Force's sleeping may have been instrumental in his victory.
"Todd said he [Special Force] fell asleep almost as soon as he got on the plane so he wouldn't have even realised what was going on. He probably thought it was no different than going to Cambridge."
Ironically, Special Force and MacFarlane used the same tactics they used in their recent Cambridge win to capture Australia's second biggest trot.
The pair speared out of the mobile to lead before slowing up in the middle stages and then had too much kick for Knight Pistol, who went a huge race after breaking early then sitting parked.
Buster Hanover was a fighting third after sitting in the one-one but would want to improve on the run if he is to defend his Australasian Trotters Championship title.
The other Kiwi who was supposed to be in the race, Sundowner Bay, was scratched after the travelling hassles.
Special Force is now one of the favourites for the Trotters Championships as well as the Interdominions at Alexandra Park in March, where the all mobile conditions will suit his recently developed high gate speed.
"But the beauty of him is I know he should be a better horse next season," said McGowan.
"I mean he is still immature and five is very young for an open class trotter."
Horse racing: Kiwis draw first blood of carnival
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