 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 1997
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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| The Weekly cover celebrates Irakis's win |
It was supposed to be a cakewalk. In the end, it was little more than a fine line between the hotshot and the roughie.
The infamous Relief of Mafeking during the Boer wars was nothing compared to the relief that followed when Iraklis was declared the winner of the DB Draught NZ Cup at Addington. Small fortunes were bet on Iraklis winning the race, including a $10,000 wager by part-owner Kypros Kotzikas on fixed odds at three to one, and a bit less bet on the day.
The money looked as safe as the Sunday collection when Iraklis put a break on the field turning in. Iraklis was about to preach to the converted. But lurking behind pacemaker Anne Franco and inside Iraklis was a tough old beach-trained gelding whose body had taken more socks than Evander Holyfield. Two hundred metres from the finish, the script was being followed beautifully. Iraklis was running the race of his life, still clear, when the old pug lurched off the ropes. This became a serious challenge. More than that, Smooth Dominion actually gave meaning to the prospect of a technical knockout when he put his head past Iraklis about 20 metres from the finish.
Driver Robert Anderson, presumed to be one of the race 'extras,' was in danger of upstaging the star. This was not part of the play. The six inches that Smooth Dominion took, tottered briefly and fell the other way as Iraklis rallied short of the finish to save the day.
"I thought he'd lost it on the post," said Kotzikas, an expansive fishing mogul who owns more than 80 horses with trainer Robert Cameron. "I didn't know he'd won it until Reon Murtha called out number seven, but then, from where I was sitting, I knew the angle was in our favour," he said.
Iraklis won the race the hard way. He was under incredibile pressure, having won his last nine New Zealand starts. The first of them, a win on the grass at Motukarara, was the launching pad in 1996 for the Cup in 1997. He went through the next year gaining experience, getting the ringcraft, as Cameron and May charted the course to the Cup. On the day, he was as fit and ready as any horse in the race, and those who challenged this and that were never convincing.
There was a hic-cup at the start when he paced away, and then scrambled. Further down on the track, his stablemate Anvil's Star did the same. Up front, where Iraklis was nowhere near, Brabham, then Smooth Dominion, and finally Anne Franco were leaders. Sharp And Telford, not the horse he was at Kaikoura, worked round early to sit parked, and that was the early activity. Driver Ricky May made his move with Iraklis at the 1400 metres. With a lap to go, Iraklis was second. May had declared his intentions. Those who reckoned that Iraklis had to be saved for one giant uppercut now had to watch and see if he could do the 15 rounds. "I never doubted his ability to stay," said May. "He was jogging on the corner. The only reason he lost the lead was because he shied at the crowd. He'd never seen people that close on the inside before," he said. So the favorite prevailed and so many went away happy. He took 4:00.9, a fast run on a windy day.
Smooth Dominion almost made a goose of the pundits after a perfect drive by Anderson. Aussie rep Sovereign Hill made solid headway from five places deep on the inside to run third, and was stiff, being held up twice over the last 500 metres. The 'Mike Tyson' who did not deliver was Sharp And Telford, who ran 12th and last of those who finished, with apparent leg problems.
Cameron, 59, who watched the race on television in the driver's room because there was no room in the stand, played down the achievement with his usual laconic modesty, saying winning any race is a thrill. "I didn't think the other horse would run him that close, but a horse can come out of the trail and do that. It's great for Kyp. We have been partners for 10 years and even when I've made mistakes there has never been a cross word between us. For me, you could say this is another era over," he said.
Kotzikas got into the racing game in 1976 with a galloper, named Cypriot's Pride. He admits to spending millions on buying and racing well-bred horses, Iraklis one of the dearest at $85,000. He is superstitious, and his two best horses - Iraklis and the outstanding Australian galloper Lavross - both have seven letters, which must have something to do with good fortune. Perhaps he thought of this before choosing his partner in harness racing. Or is it coincidental that "Cameron" just happens to have seven letters!
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HR Weekly