SYDNEY - Courage Under Fire has broken two major records during his Australian campaign but trainer Bruce Negus believes a third could be beyond his champion pacer.
A fortnight ago, the colt set a new milestone of 20 for the most successive wins by a New Zealand racehorse - galloping or harness.
He extended that to 22 on Saturday when he marched to an unprecedented sixth Derby triumph in the Australian Derby at Moonee Valley.
That success leaves him seven short of former West Australian pacer San Simeon's record of 29 wins in a row.
Negus believes Courage Under Fire could eclipse that mark, but only if he continued to race in his own age group.
"I don't think there's a three or four-year-old who can beat him," he said.
"But because between now and that 29th race he will be against the likes of Christian Cullen and Holmes D G, some tough old free-for-allers, it's very unlikely that he will retain his winning sequence."
Whatever happened, Negus believed Courage Under Fire's record more than stacked up against San Simeon's.
San Simeon's wins were all in Australia and Negus said not against the same quality fields that Courage Under Fire has encountered.
Nine of Courage Under Fire's wins have been at the elite level of group one and another four have been group two races.
Courage Under Fire is due to return to New Zealand on Thursday for a six to eight-week spell at Cambridge before he begins his preparation for the new season and the main target of the Interdominions in Melbourne, which carries a $A1 million final on February 12.
* The New Zealand harness racing trainers' premiership still looks an open race.
Southern trainer John Lischner looked to have jumped to a clear lead 10 days ago with three winners at Addington but his closest rival, Mark Purdon, has fought back.
Purdon produced three winners at Alexandra Park last Friday night and has closed to gap to four wins - Lischner having trained 79 to Purdon's 75.
Both trainers have three more meetings in their chase for the premiership, with Purdon to have the last say at Alexandra Park on July 30.
Purdon's representatives also need to win another $21,576 to help his stable past the $1million mark for stakes earned in New Zealand this term.
But the drivers' premiership is as good as over, with champion reinsman Tony Herlihy having jumped out to a 10 win lead over arch-rival Maurice McKendry.
Herlihy has driven 112 winners to McKendry's 102. But an interesting battle is developing for the South Island's leading driver, with Ken Barron just ahead of Ricky May.
Barron has driven 85 winners, two ahead of May, the new driver for champion Christian Cullen.
Mark Jones has made a one-horse race of the junior drivers' premiership, having reined 56 winners, just four off the record for a junior driver.
Racing: Seven wins off Australian record
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.