Brisbane Lions premier player Darcy Gardiner knows all about grand finals.
Now he is chasing a flag victory of a different type with his brilliant trotting mare Jilliby Ballerini (Majestic son).
But just as the Lions were underdogs against Geelong in last year’s AFL Grand Final, Jilliby Ballerini will be an outsider against her own great stablemate, Keayang Zahara, in Saturday week’s $250,000 Group 1 Great Southern Star at Melton.
“We’re going at it. No matter how good our mare is, all things being equal, the other mare just looks a little bit better,” he said.
“But whether it’s football or racing, you have to show up, make a joke and hope the other side, or in this case Keayang Zahara, has a bad night.
“To say that, they are stablemates and I have a very good relationship with Jason (Lee), Paddy (Lee) and the family, and I would be very happy for them if the other mare won.”
While Keayang Zahara has inspired comparisons to some of the great trotters of all time, Jilliby Ballerini’s remarkable past nine months have gone somewhat under the radar.
The five-year-old has won 13 of her past 18 starts.
She has only met Keayang Zahara once in that time and ran a very credible second in the Group 1 Bill Collins Sprint, leading by just 2.2 metres. There was 25 meters of separation from the rest of the field, including reigning Inter Dominion champion Arcee Phoenix.
“For pure speed over 200 yards, ‘Ballerini’ may have ‘Zahara,’ but Zahara can hold that speed for so long, and that’s what separates her,” said driver Glen Craven.
Before she battles Keayang Zahara again, Jilliby Ballerini will seek the biggest win of her career in the $75,000 Group 2 Kilmore Trotters’ Cup on Saturday evening.
She has shrunk from $2.25 to $1.50 since ideally signing to lead from gate one.
“It’s nice to have a big race where we don’t have to race Zahara,” said Gardiner. “They (the Lee clan) have done a remarkable job of keeping them apart as much as possible, but we know that will end once they are both in the biggest races.
“Hopefully she can win this week and then we will shift the focus to taking on Zahara again.”
With the start of the AFL season just weeks away, Gardiner will have to watch from afar in the coming weeks.
“Between practice matches and training, it’s quite chaotic at the moment. We train on Saturdays, which makes it too difficult to come down,” he said.
“Hopefully, if Ballerini keeps up this form, I will see her here (Brisbane) racing in the Inter Dominion at Albion Park (in July).”
Jilliby Ballerini is the latest in a line of harness horses that Gardiner has raced after befriending the Lee clan through his good friend and former AFL Rising Star, Lewis Taylor.
“Through Lewy I met Jase and Paddy and old Code Bailey, who did a fantastic job for us despite his injury problems, was one of the first I was involved with,” he said.
Gardiner, 30, who made his debut for Brisbane in 2014 and played 183 games, was one of the key players in last year’s premiership.
“We have a good team and the list looks at least as strong as last year, so hopefully we have another exciting season ahead of us,” he said.
Through Adam Hamiltonfor Harness Racing Victoria
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