By MICHAEL GUERIN
STOCKHOLM - A New Zealand trotter can one day be world champion.
That is the opinion of the world's leading trotting administrator, Klaus Koch, even though Lyell Creek could not make the $1 million Elitlopp final in Sweden on Monday.
Koch, who runs Stockholm's Solvalla racetrack, was the man behind Lyell Creek's trip to contest the great race.
Like the connections of the Kiwi champion, he was disappointed that bad luck robbed the horse of his chance to contest the Elitlopp, which would have given New Zealand trotting fans an accurate gauge of where our trotters rank in the international pecking order.
But despite Lyell Creek's failure to make the final, Koch will still come Down Under every season to try and lure the best Kiwi squaregaiters to Scandinavia.
"Even an idiot could see that it wasn't Lyell Creek's fault he didn't make the final," said Koch.
"I think the way the final was run he couldn't have won it, but I have no doubts he is still up with the best four or five trotters here.
"Add to that a couple of the best trotters in the United States, and Lyell Creek is definitely in the top 10 in the world.
"With time to acclimatise and some more mile racing under his belt he will win a big race and I can see him being back here for the Elitlopp next year."
New Zealand horsemen Tim and Anthony Butt were in awe of Elitlopp winner Varenne, who trotted two separate miles in under 1:54 in the space of three hours.
"Knowing how much better Lyell is than the other trotters in New Zealand you wonder how we are ever going to win a race like the Elitlopp," said Tim Butt.
But Koch said that day may come, and sooner than New Zealanders think.
"The Italians were saying the same thing 10 years ago and now they have run first and second in the final," he said.
"Obviously it is going to be hard for a New Zealand horse because it is a long way from home but it can happen.
"It will just take the right sort of horse, one with gate speed, which is probably what the New Zealand horses lack the most.
"But they are tough enough and that will stand by your horses when they start racing on the circuit over here."
Lyell Creek will do just that in the $330,000 Copenhagen Cup in 10 days' time, a race he will be one of the favourites for because Varenne and Victory Tilly are likely to miss the event.
The New Zealand contingent head for Copenhagen on Monday.
And Butt was given some food for thought by Koch as they met for a debriefing of the campaign.
Among the statistics banded around was that European nations breed more than 70,000 trotters a year, compared with the 612 bred in New Zealand last year.
"That sort of hit home to me just how tough it is to take these horses on at the own game," said Butt.
"If we breed just 600 trotters a year and they breed that many, we can feel at least a little bit of pride in getting one into their biggest race series.
"But I still say it is going to take one hell of a horse to come from New Zealand and beat these guys."
While he didn't earn any money on Sunday, Lyell Creek obviously earned his share of fans. One leading trotting trainer offered $US500,000 ($1.18 million) for him.
Racing: Kiwis leave with heads high
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