By MICHAEL GUERIN
Sunline struck a double blow for girl power when the Queen of the Turf met the King of Trotting.
New Zealand's two champions Sunline and Lyell Creek met for the first - and possibly only - time at Takanini on Saturday.
While Lyell Creek is the only Australasian trotter to win more than $1million, his record stakes haul simply equates to a good day at the office for Sunline, who is approaching the $10million mark as Australasia's richest thoroughbred.
While Sunline stands usually head and shoulders above her galloping rivals, she literally stands head and shoulders above Lyell Creek too.
"I couldn't believe how tall she is," said Lyell Creek's trainer Tim Butt.
"Lyell Creek is not small for a trotter but she dwarfs him."
Butt admitted with nearly $10million in stakes and a potentially record-breaking broodmare career in front of Sunline he was tempted to try a crafty swap during the meeting.
"But I think the McKees might have noticed. And anyway, I would sort of miss Lyell. I've got pretty attached to him."
The two champions of New Zealand racing have little left to prove on the home front - Sunline has only been beaten once this season and Lyell Creek has only been beaten once in the last 25 months.
So now they are off to conquer the world.
Lyell Creek races at Alexandra Park on March 23 and 30 before heading to Sweden to take on the world's best trotters in late May.
And Sunline has landed safely in Dubai in preparation for the Dubai Duty Free at Nad Al Sheba in 10 days.
Sunline was understandably tucked up after the trip.
"We haven't had her weighed since she got up there but you could expect a horse to lose up to 20 kilos on a trip like that," said co-trainer Stephen McKee yesterday.
The trip did go smoothly though, taking 21 hours from McKee's stables to Sunline's temporary home in Dubai, with a two and a half hour stopover in Singapore.
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