Racing: Unbelievable victory sums up courage

They are the diamonds of racing - those races that even after you have watched them a dozen times you don't believe what you saw.

Bonecrusher produced one, beating At Talaq in the Australian Cup when he was destined to lose for every other centimetre of the race.

Rough Habit produced a couple of them in Queensland, while Pride Of Petite unearthed her diamond in the Adelaide Interdominion Trotting Final when she flung herself at the winning post in the dying stages.

Then there is Just An Excuse's stunner in the 2004 New Zealand Trotting Cup at Addington.

It is still unbelievable on several levels.

Just An Excuse had had only one real lead-up race and faced a 10m handicap.

Before the field had gone 800m the champion pacer Elsu was cruising in front, 10 lengths ahead of him.

At that stage any bookmaker worth his bag would have given you $20 that Just An Excuse could win.

He did.

He accomplished the most unbelievable of harness racing feats by pacing his last mile in close to 1:54, unheard of in any major staying race anywhere.

And he did it easily, the only pacer to come from behind Elsu to beat him during his record-smashing season.

On that day, on that track, no other pacer in the world could have done what Just An Excuse did.

That is one thought that comforted trainer Robert Mitchell yesterday as he confirmed the end of the millionaire's career.

Intensive examinations at Massey University showed damage to Just An Excuse's coffin bone, almost certainly caused by his club foot.

To think Just An Excuse may have been racing on the degenerative injury for months is further proof of his courage.

Not that his courage was ever questioned.

From the time he started racing, with his loping gait and hanging tendencies, Just An Excuse had to be lengths better than his rivals to win. He usually was.

His Superstars victory in 2003, when he paced his last 2400m in 2:56, was the first hint of what was to come.

He went on to win two New Zealand Cups, the first defeating Derby heroes Elsu and Jack Cade.

The second was that career-defining performance over Elsu, with Howard Bromac a humbled third.

Consider what Howard Bromac is doing in open class now and you get another example of just how special Just An Excuse was.

His career changed Mitchell's life. At a time when the under-rated horseman was going to retire to Raglan he was thrust into the spotlight.

Man and beast were inseparable and - Elsu aside - almost unbeatable.

Which may explain why Mitchell shed a tear yesterday.

Maybe it was because he will miss his great mate. Maybe they were tears of relief after three years walking a training tightrope. Or maybe they were tears for a horse who was brave enough to still beat the best even when his body had given up on him.