Racing: Fairytale ending too much to ask?

How can an 11-year-old who hasn't won a race for six months have any chance of overcoming a 15m handicap in a Rowe Cup?

Because he is Lyell Creek, that's why.

Any other trotter in New Zealand history would be given no chance of pulling off the fairytale farewell Lyell is attempting in tonight's Rowe Cup, and rightly so.

The odds against the champ in his last race are far greater than the 6-1 you might get on the tote, and even his biggest fan, driver Anthony Butt, admits this time Lyell may need a miracle.

Yet Butt knows the champ too well to say he can't win.

"On paper it doesn't look very good but we all know what he did in this race last season," says Butt.

"It might not be as good now but he feels well in work and there is nothing wrong with him so he has to be a chance.

"He will need a bit more luck than he did in the old days, but you can't write him off."

Aiding Lyell Creek will be the fact that since returning from North America two years ago he has saved his best performances for when he has been fresh, and he also faces few truly in-form rivals tonight.

And then there is his remarkable record in staying races - Lyell Creek has never been beaten in 10 starts over 3200m.

His biggest problem may be traffic - a full field in front of him means he will probably need a few rivals to gallop otherwise he could end up 30m from the leaders after 400m.

But if he can make a flyer, sneak past the unruly horses and then get the right cart into the race, maybe Lyell will become the first horse to win four Rowe Cups.

And he has proved he can win group one races, which not many of his rivals here can boast.

Maybe he is worth just a few dollars for old times' sake.