KEY POINTS:
Mikki Street the supermarket horse came to town and beat the guns at their own game in yesterday's $200,000 Zabeel Classic at Ellerslie.
And no longer will he have the title of one of New Zealand's best racehorses without a glamour tag.
Mikki Street missed his one chance
before yesterday for everlasting glory - rider Bruce Herd is adamant only a lack of racing room cost him New Zealand's richest race, the $1 million Kelt Capital Stakes in October.
Herd, 35, claimed yesterday's win was equal to the best thrill he's had in racing. "It's right up there with winning the Oaks on Wharite Princess."
Both are trained by his partner Lisa Latta.
"When you buy them and bring them right through it gives you a great thrill."
More than a dozen of Latta's team are owned by Auckland supermarket giant John Street, who has won three derbies in the harness sport, but claimed yesterday was his biggest buzz from the racing industry.
"Look at all these people here - it's magnificent to win a race like this on such a big day."
No one could deny Street his success - he has 24 pacers and trotters trained privately by Ray Green and Robert Mitchell as well as a galloping team he estimated yesterday at around 16.
He races Mikki Street with wife Lynne, Graeme and Erin Blackburn and Kevin and Glenis Street.
Not long after Lisa Latta paid $60,000 for Mikki Street on behalf of her major owner John Street visited Kevin and Glenis Street.
"They had this little foxie named Mikki who was a classic - he could almost talk.
"He'd died this day I was at their place and they were all down in the dumps. I said I'd just bought a horse and I'd name it after the dog and give them a quarter share."
Mikki Street has remarkable versatility. He won the Winter Cup at Riccarton in August in fetlock-deep mud and took yesterday's race on a perfect racing surface.
"I believe the reason he can do that is his ability to race on the bit without going too keenly," said Herd.
"Very few horses can do that.
"He's remarkable, he sits at the back of a field off a slow pace and still sprints home and it's because he goes kindly."
Herd wasn't sure of his tally of group one victories.
"Seven or eight, I think."
It was Latta's second after Wharite Princess.
Herd attributed Mikki Street's steady rise to fame to Latta's care of the horse.
"He was a very timid horse to start with and Lisa has really looked after him.
"The fact that he's racing so well now is because of that care.
"He doesn't need long spells, but if you freshen him then give him short campaigns he holds his form."
Latta and Herd were confident yesterday, despite the quality of the field and inflated odds.
"His record at 2000m is remarkable - he was very unlucky in the Canterbury Gold Cup, very unlucky in the Kelt and last week he was narrowly beaten at Manawatu.
"With any luck he might be four from four at the distance."
Mikki Street worried Herd when he sprinted too quickly early in the home straight yesterday.
"I was following Hurrah most of the way and I was waiting for him to drag me into the race.
"I was aware of not getting to the front too soon, but when I let him go he sprinted quickly and I found myself in front.
"It meant they got the last run at me rather than the other way around, but he held well."
Mikki Street ruined the party for trainer John Sargent producing a quinella result with Sharvasti and Fiscal Madness, who finished second and third.
Sharvasti looked unlucky. Noel Harris found himself back along the inside rail and unlike in the mare's Avondale Cup victory the gaps did not appear when Harris looked for them.
Harris was extremely unhappy with his lack of luck. He had to pull Sharvasti wide around the entire midfield bunch which left him too much ground to make up.
Sharvasti finished strongly but was still three-quarters of a length away at the finish.
"What do you do?" said Harris. "Oh well, I was unbeaten on her before today - at least that's taken the pressure off me."
The race sponsor Sir Patrick Hogan was tipping Mikki Street and backed his own judgment with $100 each way.
He claims it wasn't just because Mikki Street was the only runner by a sire that stood at his Cambridge Stud. Mikki Street's sire Cape Cross, owned by some Arabs, was not shuttled back to New Zealand after a daughter Ouija Board burst to champion Northern Hemisphere galloper two years running.
