The Lazarus Effect nominated for Brisbane Interdoms

By Adam Hamilton 

The next two weeks could decide a Brisbane Inter Dominion campaign for emerging star The Lazarus Effect.

Trainer-driver Bob Butt nominated the winner of last week’s Group 1 Taylor Mile for the Brisbane series starting on July 4.

The Lazarus Effect and the Regan Todd-trained Mo’unga are the only New Zealand-trained nominations across the pacing and trotting series.

“It’s more unlikely than likely he’ll go, but I’ll see how he comes through these next couple of runs,” Butt said.

“I thought I should chuck in a nomination in case something happened to Larry (Leap To Fame).”

The first of those runs is tonight’s Group 1 Roy Purdon Memorial where The Lazarus Effect is $3.90 third favourite from gate four behind Got The Chocolates (gate one, $2.10) and champion Aussie stayer Swayzee (seven, $2.30).

Trainer Jason Grimson this week confirmed Swayzee would push on for his second crack at an Inter Dominion series.

He ran third to Leap To Fame in the 2023 Brisbane final.

Leap To Fame, Swayzee, The Janitor, Don Hugo and WA star Minstrel headline the pacing nominations.

The other Kiwi interest is with Pinseeker, who is being set for the series by new trainer-driver Luke McCarthy. He continues his build-up in a free-for-all at Menangle tomorrow (Saturday) night.

The biggest news from the trotting series was the absence of champion mare Keayang Zahara from the nominations.

As touted after her recent TAB Trot win, the five-year-old is out for a long spell with a view to another NZ raid later in the year.

Her stablemate Jilliby Ballerini, star local Gus, defending champion Arcee Phoenix and comeback mare Susan Is Her Name are the biggest nominations for the trotting series.

Jilliby Ballerini, runner-up in the TAB Trot, is favourite to land her second Group 1 win in seven days in tomorrow night’s $100,000 Macarthur Mile at Menangle.