By MICHAEL GUERIN
All sports have their legends - those rare characters whose exploits have been so grand their stories are what inspire others when things get tough.
In Australia, "Tara" Tom Hogan is a harness-racing legend. Everybody knows him, even though he has never driven a horse. Just his name can make his rivals start to sweat, even though he is rarely mentioned in official dispatches.
Hogan is a legend, but not on the track. He is a legend in the betting ring.
The smooth talker is Australia's biggest and best-known harness-racing punter. He is good at his job.
From a lifetime of punting he has won a luxurious lifestyle on the Gold Coast, which fits in quite nicely with his house in Melbourne, where he can live when he wants to get seriously involved in Victorian betting.
And Hogan gets very seriously involved.
The bookies' ring at this Interdominion series in Brisbane has been one of the strongest-ever on a harness-racing track. It has been boosted by the addition of several leading gallops bookmakers and the betting has gone through the roof. It is punting paradise.
Huge players such as Sydney's Carlo La Rose and Queensland's Dean "Dot Com" Shannon, who sponsors this series, have been betting up a storm. But the big winner so far at this carnival has been Hogan.
"It has been a great bookies' ring to get involved in. The prices are holding up well and you can have a serious bet," says Hogan.
But during this series Hogan has worn two hats - as well as terrorising bookmakers, he is also the part-owner of Grand Final runner Persistency.
So what does this man, who has made millions by knowing what will happen on the track, think will unfold on Saturday night?
"Persistency will win," says Hogan, with only a hint of bias.
"I think Pocket Me will lead early but he is a better trailer and our horse has a lot of gate speed which people don't know about."
To New Zealand punters, Persistency is one of the best-kept secrets in Australian harness racing.
He was a star three-year-old, but has raced only spasmodically since because of a constant battle with soreness in his legs.
Trainer-driver Gavin Lang could give him only one lead-up race to this series and came to Brisbane thinking he could make the final but couldn't win it.
Now he has changed his mind. Persistency has improved with every run during the series, always running on. But his big problem has been pacing roughly on the bends where he has always been wide.
That doesn't worry Hogan.
"After drawing barrier three we will get the lead and once he is up against the markers he will corner like a greyhound.
"Forget about him being wide on the bends. That will be a problem the others have to worry about."
While Hogan knows better than anybody that racing is a business, he admits some sentiment is behind his desire to see Persistency win.
"I would love to see Gavin finally win a really big race," said Hogan. "He deserves that."
Lang is the best driver in Australia but his record in the biggest races is poor.
But Lang has breeding on his side. His father Graeme, who has helped train Persistency this week, trained and drove Scotch Notch to win two Interdominion Trotting Grand Finals.
With that sort of package behind him, Persistency already has the bookies quaking again.
Hogan backed Persistency at 50-1 three months ago. Last night he was a 6-1 chance and some serious players are expected to back him into an even tighter price by the time the mobile starts to roll for the $A500,000 Grand Final.
Then we will see just how much "Tara" Tom Hogan has learned from a lifetime on the punt.
The latest Interdominion market: $3, Shakamaker; $5, Atitagain; $6, Courage Under Fire; $7, Persistency; $9, Yulestar; $15, Pocket Me; $17, Holmes D G; $26, Ouch; $34, Breeny's Fella; $51, Cee New York, Lombo Rapida; $101, Wally Walton.
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Morrinsville TC's Saturday night meeting has been cancelled due to lack of entries.
Racing: Terror of bookies sure of a Hogan's hero in grand final
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