Slow start but awesome finish for Gus in Renwick Farms Dominion Trot

By Michael Guerin

Two helpings of relief and one of disbelief proved the recipe for Gus to defend his $400,000 Renwick Farms Dominion title at Addington on Tuesday.

The Queenslander smashed his Kiwi opponents perhaps even easier than he did winning our greatest trot last year for trainer Chantal Turpin and husband/driver Pete McMullen.

The first helping of relief came early when the red hot favourite rolled into a gallop from the outside of the front line when the tapes were released.

On a cool and wet, messy afternoon the old Gus, full of energy but short on experience, would have kept galloping and his defence would have lay in tatters.

But once his opponents had got out of his way and the competitive juices cooled for a few seconds McMullen was able to calm his wonderful trotter and he was soon back in the race.

“He is used to starting off a 50m backmark by himself at home, not being on a front line with all those other horses,” said McMullen.

But he came down pretty quickly and I was still confident I had the fastest and best horse in the race.”

Gus and McMullen then went about proving that, coming three wide down the back straight and a lap and a half to go and then charging to the lead at the bell before gapping his rivals.

That gap closed in the last 50m as McMullen produced one of the all-time most flamboyant whip flourishes as Higher Power dashed at him on the inside.

Gus was never in danger of defeat but at least the second horse proved he is now a serious big race player.

“I feel a bit of relief because you don’t often have hot favourites in races this big and that comes with some pressure,” said McMullen after the Group 1 defense.

“But at the top of the straight when he was that far clear there was a sense of disbelief, to have a horse doing this is such a big race.”

Turpin was as surprised as her husband that Gus galloped at the start because the former rogue’s manners have been so good.

While she will take him back to Addington for the NZ Free-For-All on Friday you get the feels Gus could be spending plenty more time in New Zealand if the next two years go well.

“We think he is a better horse than when we brought him here last year and as long as he keeps going like this we will keep bringing him back,” she said.

Each of those trips is a homecoming because while Gus is now the poster boy for Queensland trotting he was developed and started his career in Southland for trainer Nathan Williamson before being sold to his new connections.

He clearly has a length of two, maybe even more, on this New Zealand trotting crop but at least four-year-olds Higher Power, Habibti Pat (third) and Meant To Be (fifth) suggests the new crop of emerging Kiwi trotters are heading in the right direction.