Racing: Elsu set to become our greatest

Elsu storms home to win last night. Picture / Martin Sykes

Elsu ruined a year of hard work last night. Not his. His Interdominion campaign couldn't be going better. But he sure has made life difficult for plenty of others.

For the last 12 months, officials at the Auckland Trotting Club have slaved with next Friday in mind, trying to ensure the richest night in New Zealand harness racing history goes smoothly.

They had everything worked out for a glowing finale to the annual transtasman grudge match which is the Interdominions, an occasion which visits Auckland only every eight years.

Then Elsu came along and moved the goalposts.

The champion pacer earned a date with the history book by crushing, among others, arch-rival Just An Excuse in his final heat of the series last night.

After stalking his opponents like a tiger, he pounced at the top of the home straight before gliding the last 250m lonely, much to the delight of a huge crowd.

It was the performance of the series in the race of the series, and afterwards rival horsemen wore looks of disbelief, verging on fear.

"He actually won that easier than his other two heats," said driver David Butcher.

Elsu's South Auckland trainer, Geoff Small, gulped as he awaited the champion's return, realising the scale of the mountain Elsu has all but climbed.

"It makes you nervous, training a horse like this," said Small.

He can rest assured Elsu is making other trainers a damned sight more nervous.

He goes into next Friday's 2700m event with his sights set on more than just a horse race. Victory in the $750,000 pacing final would make him the richest New Zealand pacer and the most valuable harness horse ever bred here.

And he would also become the first pacer since Village Kid in 1986 to clean sweep an Interdominion series, winning all three heats and the final.

The public, who don't mind seeing a Kiwi athlete embarrassing the Aussies, have noticed. Already the series has been a staggering success for the Auckland Trotting Club, with larger than expected crowds on all three nights of heats, and on-course turnover nearly 50 per cent above budget.

Elsu isn't the only reason, but he is the biggest one.

"A lot of things have gone right for us at this carnival," said ATC racing boss Robert Death, revelling in the success of the series. "But nothing draws people to the track like a champion and we have got one now."

So much so that ATC officials have had to order more of just about everything for next Friday night.

"We thought 10,000 would be a good crowd but we expect at least 12,000 now, maybe more. We have had to order more betting terminals, food, staff, basically everything.

"And we know a lot of those people will be coming here to see Elsu."

Judging by what he has done in the last week, bad luck - and the dreaded history book - look his greatest foes.

He paced the fastest times in the first two rounds of heats, and last night came from the worst draw, the outside of the second line, to beat New Zealand's two best other pacers, Just An Excuse and Mister D G. And he did without being asked for his best.

Being allotted a bad starting position at tonight's barrier draw function is all that can stop him starting the hottest Interdominion pacing favourite in New Zealand history.

He should be used to the attention that winning his last six races has brought because Elsu has been a hype horse since winning three Derbys as a three-year-old, and having captured two Auckland Cups.

But he took the step from being a champion to being the champion in Melbourne last month with a once-a-decade performance in the A$450,000 Hunter Cup.

A black stallion with a splash of white, he has the look of a mean equine racing machine. The perfect poster boy for a racing code in resurgence. Now all he has to do is win next Friday.