By MICHAEL GUERIN
MELBOURNE - She is the smallest driver in harness racing, with the voice of a mouse and the giggle of a schoolgirl.
He is the ultimate champion, practically invincible and hailed as one of the best in the world.
And now they are on a collision course.
Because the only thing that appears to be standing in the way of Lyell Creek becoming New Zealand's first millionaire trotter this Saturday is tiny Victorian reinswoman Kerryn Gath.
Gath is the driver of the great hope of Australian trotting Djerriwarrh, who easily won the first heat of the Australasian Trotting Championships at Moonee Valley on Saturday night.
The win continued the 4-year-old's seemingly unstoppable march to the head of the Australian trotting ranks, a place Gath has been before.
While still only a youngster at 27 by driving standards, Gath exploded on to the scene four years ago as the driver of Knight Pistol, a former professional loser who went on to beat some of the world's best trotters in Europe.
His success, which included beating Kiwi champion Pride Of Petite in the 1997 Australasian Trotting Championships, catapulted Gath to the head of the Victorian driving ranks and with the powerful stable of her father Peter manning behind her she is now the No 1 driver at Moonee Valley.
While she hardly looks a racing tough nut Gath's waif-like frame hides a volcano of competitive aggression on the track.
Which is why she refuses to yield to Lyell Creek.
Djerriwarrh will get a 50m start from Lyell Creek in the $A100,000 on Saturday night and everybody in harness racing knows Lyell Creek will make his traditional mid-race move, almost certainly hoping to find the pacemaking role which would guarantee him victory.
If Djerriwarrh is leading at the time, which is Gath's plan of attack, the logical move would be for Gath to hand the lead to Lyell Creek, securing the perfect trail and the economical trip which could earn them the $A20,000 second prize.
But Gath doesn't see it that way. She won't concede, even to the greatest New Zealand trotter.
"I won't be handing the front to Lyell Creek if he comes around looking for it," said Gath after Saturday night's heat win.
"I go out there to win and while I know he is a champion if he gets in front of me I can't beat him.
"But while he is behind me he is the one who has to try and get past me. I know my horse isn't as good as him but I am not going to make his life easy.
"Somebody has to stand up to him." Gath says Djerriwarrh reminds her a lot of Knight Pistol, "but he has more speed."
That indicates he should go on to be a huge force in Australian's trotting, if Lyell Creek doesn't break his heart next week.
While Gath was talking tough, champion driver Tony Herlihy wasn't being so cocky after the second heat of the championships.
Herlihy drove Last Sunset to a gutsy second behind Lyell Creek in the second heat and doesn't hold any great hopes of reversing that decision next week.
"I thought home the home turn I was going to give him a run for his money but by the time I pulled off his back Lyell Creek has just taken off again.
"Last Sunset has done a good job over here but the way Lyell Creek was going at the line I think we are going to be hard pressed beating him."
As for the man behind the champ, Anthony Butt, what does he think of the differing views of Gath and Herlihy?
"I doesn't worry me. The way he is trotting unless he has bad luck it won't really matter what they do."
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