Trans-Tasman rivalry may be shifting towards the Kiwis

After several years of Aussie domination, up-and-coming New Zealand hopefuls look to turn the tide.

by Adam Hamilton

New Zealand is such a proud nation.

Despite having about 20 per cent of the population of its neighbor, Australia, the Kiwis have always punched well above their weight in most sports, but especially harness racing.

Through the 1980s, ’90s, and early 2000s, it was almost a given New Zealand’s best pacers and trotters would cross the ditch and pillage Australian riches in Victoria, New South Wales, and to a lesser extent Queensland.

They had an illustrious line of pacing greats like Christian Cullen, Chokin, Blossom Lady, Master Musician, Desperate Comment, Christopher Vance, Holmes DG, Yulestar, Il Vicolo, Monkey King, and the list goes on.

The trotting stars were just as plentiful headed by their greatest of all Lyell Creek, along with Pride Of Petite, Buster Hanover, Take A Moment, Tussle, I Can Doosit, Call Me Now, Diamond Field, and Special Force, just to name a few.

And that’s just open-class stars, not to mention the likes of the all-time great youngster Courage Under Fire and so many other superstar 2- and 3-year-old pacers and trotters.

Australia was accustomed to celebrating a rare major win on its own soil.

The thought of an Aussie going to New Zealand, doing the reverse, and beating “them” was almost unthinkable.

In fact, we went 28 years from My Lightning Blue’s in 1987 until Arden Rooney in 2015 between wins by an Aussie-trained pacer in the iconic New Zealand Cup.

In a similar but slightly shorter period (1993-2016) period, NZ-trained raiders won a remarkable 14 of 24 Hunter Cups, the closest equivalent to a New Zealand Cup that Australia has.

That dominance is all the Kiwi horsemen of the time knew, great names like the Purdon clan (Roy, Mark, and Barry), Tony Herlihy, Tim and Anthony Butt, Geoff Small, Maurice McKendry, Ricky May, Cran Dalgety, and Robert Cameron.

Now you can sense why the past few years have stung and really cut-deep with the Kiwi horsemen.

Now it is the Aussies who have been dominating, on both sides of the ditch.

It really started with the mighty stayer Swayzee and his epic 2023 NZ Cup win. He humbled the Kiwi buzz pacer and favorite of the time, Akuta, in what proved a defining changing of the guard.

It sounded a warning bell to the Kiwis, but also inspired the Aussies to think the tide was turning.

And it did.

By the time Swayzee returned to successfully defend his crown in 2024, things looked very different.

A batch of Aussie trotters, headed by champion Just Believe, had gone to Cambridge seven months early (April 2024) and dished it to the Kiwis by filling the top four placings in the country’s richest trotting race, the $600,000 TAB Trot.

Just Believe returned to win New Zealand’s most iconic trotting feature, the Group 1 Dominion, on the same day Swayzee won his second New Zealand Cup.

Three days later, the Kiwis got their first glimpse of Australia’s new trotting “queen” Keayang Zahara, when she romped home by half the straight in a rich trotting slot race.

Leap To Fame has won the past two $1 million slot races at Cambridge in April, 2025 and again last month.

Arcee Phoenix (2025) and Keayang Zahara (last month) have since followed Just Believe to win the TAB Trot.

Last November, Kingman beat Leap To Fame for an Aussie quinella in the New Zealand Cup, Leap To Fame returned to win the Group 1 New Zealand free-for-all three days later and Tracy The Jet gave Australia another win, in the rich 3-year-old trotting slot race (The Ascent), which Keayang Zahara won the year before.

There was a feeling the tide had turned for good and this was a new normal, but the quietly seething Kiwis had other plans.

Brewing in the background was a brigade of young stars ready to restore some pride.

The Lazarus Effect zoomed through the grade and is now a serious open class star, as shown by his win in the recent Group 1 Taylor Mile.

Everything we saw through an epic 3-year-old rivalry last season between Got The Chocolates and Marketplace said they were a bit special.

They have confirmed that in just a few runs this season, especially Got The Chocolates’ past two stunning Group 1 wins over The Lazarus Effect and Swayzee at Auckland’s Alexandra Park.

Marketplace oozes speed, class and excitement and he’s looked slick winning both runs this campaign.

And then there is 3-year-old Jumal, who made it 10 wins from just 12 starts when he cruised to victory in last Friday’s (May 1) Group 1 Northern Derby in Auckland.

He is untapped.

The question is how long before these Kiwi stars start to really take on Australia’s best.

“We’ve seen a glimpse already with The Lazarus Effect and then Got The Chocolates beating Swayzee the past three runs in Auckland … it’s a changing of the guard really,” top Kiwi horseman Mark Jones said.

“I think there’s been a few reasons for it [the Aussie dominance]. They’ve had some freaks, Leap To Fame is as good as we’ve seen, and there’s been Just Believe and now Keayang Zahara, too.

“But, more generally, I think the Aussie racing is harder and it conditions the horses better. The racing is Menangle and even more so Albion Park, is so competitive.

“That’s why the great rivalry between Marketplace and Got The Chocolates last season was so good and important for them both. They both thrived on it and are much better for it.”

Got The Chocolates trainer/driver John Dunn, who is the brother of Dexter Dunn, and son of Robert Dunn who trained and drove the great Master Musician in the Kiwi golden era, agrees with Jones’ take.

“It tough second half of the [last] year, but he’s bounced out of it a better horse and it looks like Marketplace has, too,” he said.

John is aware of the expectation on this new batch of Kiwi stars.

“Far out, we’re not used to this,” he said. “The Aussie dominance has been incredible for the past two or three years with horses like Leap To Fame, who is the best I’ve ever seen, Just Believe, Swayzee, and now Keayang Zahara.

“It used to be us Kiwis going over there and winning all their big races, but this is a lovely crop of [NZ] horses and ‘Larry’ [Leap To Fame] is getting a bit older.”

But John is still happy to wait before he takes on Leap To Fame or tries an Aussie raid for the first time.

“We won’t be going to Queensland,” he said. “The plan has always been to have this easy start to his 4-year-old season, have another break and target the New Zealand Cup [in November].

“If we meet Larry then, he’ll be almost 8, we’ll have had another six months seasoning and it’ll be on our home patch [Addington]. Then we’ll be willing to travel with him next year.”

Jones thinks Got The Chocolates is the pick of this exciting Kiwi crop.

“There’s just so many things to love about him, the way he carries himself, his gait, the fact he’s now showing the speed to match his strength,” he said.

“I’m in awe of how well he’s come back. He’s starting to do things only very special horses can.

“Marketplace has the brilliance and could maybe beat him for high speed and Jumal… well he might be the fastest of the lot for sheer speed.

“The rivalry between the Aussies and the Kiwis has been such a big part of my career and it’s shaping like we’re in for another great few years.”

We might get an early taste of it in Queensland in July.

Marketplace is increasingly likely to tackle the $350,000 Group 1 Rising Sun at Albion Park on July 4.

Jumal has a chance to go, too. If he went, he would also chase the Group 1 Queensland Derby two weeks later.

For so many, the greatest moments of Down Under harness racing have been built around the Tran-Tasman (Australia/New Zealand) rivalry.

Everything says the next couple of years will add another memorable chapter.