Lazarus - beaten a head but the greatest run of all time?
http://www.harness.org.au/racing/fie...18#GPM12011815
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Lazarus - beaten a head but the greatest run of all time?
http://www.harness.org.au/racing/fie...18#GPM12011815
Totally agree no other horse would have finished doing the work he did G Hall bad drive if I was the owner would be very disappointed with it should have taken 1x1 IMO
The work Laz did, they could hitch a road train full of cattle to him and haul across the Nullarbor for the Hunter Cup.
Was Hall Snr the only one who breathed a sigh of relief when "Rasmussen actually punched threw.." ? Sulky contact, lucky there wasn't a puncture.
Can I ask, what happened to Breno's post?
:) Bad drive or not that is the way the Hall stable strategized the race, as Hall Snr said, he didn't want a repeat of the ID final. The All Stars have been great over here in the West although A Piccadilly Princess has struggled against the better horses. Ultimate Machette outstanding against the lesser horses but found it a harder task against that field last night. As brilliant as Lazarus is he has been beaten three times in the West but I do not believe any of these horses will suffer defeat on the East coast unless they face off against Vincent.
An exciting call of the Fremantle Cup last night by Richard Bell but he does need to be a little more accurate in calling the unplaced horses.
He was all over the place after Ultimate Machette, he actually called Soho Tribeca 10th instead of a clear 5th.
It would seem the owners were in on the plan Greg
"Chicago Bull will go forward and if Bettors Fire (barrier one) doesn’t hand up, we will keep the breeze and keep Lazarus three wide when he comes", he said.
“Everyone has got Lazarus past the post and If we just let him go to the breeze, the race will develop into a walk with a sprint home and Chicago Bull can’t win then. We can’t make it easy for Lazarus. My owners don’t want to make it easy for him. I think Chicago Bull can win, but he will need a lot of luck."
http://www.harnesslink.com/Australia...Lazarus-beaten
Perfect planning by G.Hall Snr, have seen it many times at GP over the years. Purdon knew what was happening but couldnt do anything about it. Lazarus has had 2 good draws of late which suited him perfectly but it is a bit tougher coming out of 5 and 3 wide for a good part of the journey.
No one has said a word about my hard copy.!!!!! hello......he actually won the race, it was his 2nd Fremantle cup and he also has won a WA pacing cup. so he is no mug. Lazarus ended up the bridesmaid......If you want to say it maybe the greatest run ever...I dont think so. If he had won then yes, it could have been afforded that title. Just a thought Kev, the first 800m was a lot of horses trying to get a position so that could not be counted as the whole journey, others ended up 3 wide as well :) which is why i said most of the journey. I will give you 1800 metres. Other good horses have won going 3 wide that distance and dont forget those champions of the past who used to win off 60 yards
He was at least 3 wide for 2536m of the 2536m race Pat - there is nothing to debate
I don't think anybody is forgetting the champions of the past
The reason for rating the hd defeat so highly was the calibre of the field and the time run (While sitting 3w the entire journey)
Hi Pat,
Actually, it's two WA Pacing Cups and now a Fremantle Cup and IMO the horse was a certainty beaten in 2016 AG Hunter Cup finishing third, My Hard Copy is no bum and can be lethal off a fast pace.
A little too much obsequiousness is rained upon Lazarus after all he has a 3/3 win-loss ratio over here and didn't he finish third in the 2017 Miracle Mile; no doubt he is a champion racehorse but the horse is not unbeatable.
On saying that he will probably win the WA Pacing Cup but can we just settle down a little with the accolades.:D
Compliments All Stars website
NOT LOOKING GOOD FOR LAZARUS FOR WA CUP -MARK'S "GUT FEELING" - IT COULD BE LONGER
it looks like just a bruise in the foot and I think that is what it is. Gut feeling ? I think the Hunter Cup could be in doubt. But that is only a gut feeling. With some luck it won't be as bad as that" Mark said Sunday after a foot injury struck superstar pacer Lazarus which is likely to force him out of the WA Cup on Friday.
And that might not be the end of it.
With a concentrated run of features over the next month time is vital, it past Friday that the Lazarus team has to look at and he will need good news in the next few days to keep the full race programme alive. His next assignment is the Hunter Cup (February 3) a severe staying test which means any missed work becomes vital.
Mark was caught three wide throughout the Fremantle Cup but had no alternative.
"The front wasn't there. They weren't going to make if easy for us and on a track like that the bends come up so quick you done't have time for much more than we were doing"
NATALIE REPORTS
"It was a tough run from Ultimate Machete but he came out of it a little lame. Mark will be assessing that for next week but he was very happy with him going into the race so we will have to cross fingers there. He has quite a lot coming g up too. We pro ably needed a bit more room when it counted but you could not take anything from Lazarus. That was just amazing.
Cheers Rod for correcting that statistical inaccuracy. Lazarus would surely be placed in the WA pacing cup if he was to run in it due to the fact he has never missed a place in 41 starts, a record which speaks for itself. I dont care which horse it is but if scribes think a horse is going to start favourite and win all the group 1 races at GP in any one season then they need to study their history first. Lazarus would win them if he drew 1/2/3/4 but wider than that it is a different story especially if you have gut busters like the Friday night race and then have to back up.Quote:
Hi Pat,
Actually, it's two WA Pacing Cups
Kev, Richard Bell can be a good caller but does make a few mistakes, I had a horse there racing once and it took him 3 races before he actually got to call the horses name correctly.
1977-78 season from the archives
Quote:
In January Pure Steel won the Western Australian Pacing Cup for the second consecutive year, this time breaking the race record. The following month he travelled to Melbourne for the Hunter Cup and was successful in recording a remarkable staying performance. Pure Steel sat without cover outside of leader Rip Van Winkle for most of the 2800m but won convincingly in track record time. ‘The gutsiest thing on four legs’ said driver Ted Demmler.[2] The race is still regarded by many as one of the greatest ever run at Moonee Valley[4]
These are the types of great performances that people remember and what lazarus performance has to be compared against, winning is everything when you talk about all time great performances.
You just need imagination Pat.
Lazarus holds on and even you would be calling it phenomenal
Winning from the death is an accepted strategy nowadays but nobody sits 3 wide and does it (running time) - I don't think we will see the likes of it again
I will remember his performance
Winning is everything because it suits your argument but I don't deny that it is the one at the top of the list in the records and in time, that is all that people see/have to go on
I'll remember Laz's effort for a fair while but the wins do get remembered more.
Adding one to the mind blowing 3 wide efforts which was a win. Not open class and shorter distance, Lombo Rapida's 2000 Chariots win on a rain affected 1/2 mile circuit. Probably wouldn't remember as much if she didn't win, but her being a female makes the run stand out. A pity there's no video footage.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?objectid=11975048
Calculations say he covered 56ms extra. Means he ran mile rate 1.52.8 over nearly 2600m.
Kev, I just dropped in a comparison to lazarus's performance because you did put a question mark to it which to me indicates some type of participation or answer in what you raised. I wasnt arguing about it.
Not only that, it opened up the forum topic to others who have remembered great performances in the past especially those older guys who were around watching Pure Steel, Hondo Grattan etc. Great performances do get forgotten over time especially now that tracks are faster leading to crazy mile rates and horses have better avenues to medical treatment etc.
pure steel sat 3 wide for an entire miracle mile, i know cause i was there!!.the time was not flash but the courage was immeasurable,big class difference between a miracle mile and a fremantle cup.oh yes and pure steel did win that miracle mile,so let's not get carried away with that great run.
Agreed Colin, Pure Steel, pure guts and determination, I will never forget his 1980 AG Hunter Cup win when he sat on the outside of Paleface Adios all the way and went on to win with the great sit/sprinter Koala
King unable to run him down. The call of that race was remarkable. Pure Steel, my all time favourite until I'm Themightyquinn came along.:)
Footnote. They actually measured the stride of Pure Steel in full flight....... 7.9 metres or 26 feet. incredible.
It was a great run Colin but he only sat 3w for the last lap (most of the first lap he was on the fence last)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXObwKQe9NQ
The MM only has 6 runners and apart from Pure Steel, Paleface and Markovina (skittled fav) were the other stars that year - this year's Freo Cup was not too shabby
Yes thanks Wayne, it reads like a Mark Purdon interview. The video is not really good enough (angle) to tell but looking at Bettors and the Bull you could not be sure if they quickened to cause Ultimate Machete to drop back a couple of metres
http://www.harness.org.au/racing/ste...l/?mc=GP120118
Hey folks, yes Pure Steel sat 3 wide for an "entire Miracle Mile" a very slow miracle mile and the MM is over approximately 1600 metres not 2600....as Paul has pointed out, Lazarus's effort was OUTSTANDING, I know there are a few among us that have been around a while, who can remember ANY other incident either side of the ditch where a group one race over further than the mile was won by a horse sitting 3 wide the entire journey?? Bit of a harness tragic as some of you know the answer is ZERO, how about you all give the horse and his camp the credit they deserve? What about the time? what is the track record for that distance? anything like sub 1.54? leave alone sub 1.53?? If you take the blinkers off you will notice that Lazarus dug VERY deep near the line trying to fight off the winner...I reckon another 50 yards Lazarus wins!! There were some on this forum that were bagging the horse through he ID heats, he came out and done the big job on the big night, as predicted.
Is Lazarus the best horse ever?, he is a ripper but in order to get that tag he still has a power of work to do, but at the moment he is way better than anything in the Southern Hemisphere.
I'm not sure how Michael Frost, Hermosa Star and Dimante Hanover stack up as stars of the game, and Markovina clipped Pure Steels wheel so effectively out of the race. Freo Cup of Chicago Bull, Soho Tribecca and Ultimate Machete doesn't stack up too bad.
That the first qtr was the quickest in that Miracle Mile of 28.2 when Pure Steel dropped back suited him, whereas Lazarus was working hard the whole race. Pure Steel was also the 3rd slowest Miracle Mile and this race was in quick time. Not knocking Pure Steel but I think its easy to look back at history with rose coloured glasses sometimes.
I wasn't really being serious Breno - I know Dan's cred - if anybody didn't they need only look at the response to his post
Lazarus time for the 2500 at GP was unbelievable but we all know that times can belie a horse's true ability Lazarus an exception. Take Queensland harness racing they zip around their favourite distance 1660 metres in quick times but that's where it ends.
ITMQ's pedestrian 1:53.5 at GP translated to a 1:50.4 at Albion Park in 2014 Sunshine Sprint a time that will take some beating and only a horse the calibre of Lazarus could do it.
Have been searching for a video of the race for a few years Dan. I've looked through Kyle's (Amlin) terrific youtube stash. Any leads Kyle?
Albeit not a grand circuit race but it was a "a horse just can't do that" moment for me, hence the memory. She did draw wide, as you'd know. I did wonder if her remaining wide throughout (my recollection) was tactical due to the rain affected state of the track, but still. Pretty sure John Justice on Shakamaker was just as "amazed".
Was an opportunity to jog your, or anyone else's memory of the race Dan. Hoping we might dredge up a video of the race. Cheers, Wayne.