A former Kiwi pacer destined to become a star in NSW has a huge fan in ace Sydney harness racing horseman Robert Morris.
Three-year-old gelding Balraj NZ (Art Major-Mahendra (Courage Under Fire) has burst onto the scene in spectacular fashion, with three spine-tingling undefeated runs.
Prepared by astute hobby trainer Shaun Simiana, who trains at Hawkesbury, Balraj has not only got faster at each of his three appearances on Australian soil, but his winning margins have got bigger.
Morris was understandably impressed with Balraj's first two runs, but his most recent start at Newcastle took the cake when he absolutely blew away his rivals to set a new track record of 1.50-9 and a winning margin of 55.9 metres!
"The horse has been a bit of a surprise packet because he's still got a lot to learn, which might sound scary," Morris said.
"He's still a little green and certainly not your typical horse that glides along. He can get on one rein at times, as well as become a little rough," he said.
"But incredibly, while there's a lot for Balraj to learn, there doesn't seem to be an ending to him. The horse is quite unreal in the way he just gets the job done.
"There's certainly some fun times ahead for Shaun (trainer) and his three mates who purchased the horse. He's certainly exciting and Shaun has him looking an absolute picture."
Newcastle Harness Racing Club secretary-manager Wayne Smith believed Monday's winning margin was the biggest seen at the track, beating the effort of the Shane Tritton-trained Arms Of An Angel (32.4m) in 2015.
Balraj blitzes them! The photo finish of this week’s record-breaking Newcastle run
Prior to crossing the Tasman Sea, Balraj had three unplaced runs at Addington, Rangiora and Omakau, but then turned it around with two wins at Forbury.
Two months later, Simiana produced his newly-acquired pacer at Penrith where they won a qualifying trial over 1720m in two minutes.
It was four weeks later when they returned to Penrith, but this time it was at the races. Morris worked forward in the early stages, and despite having to balance him up on the final bend, Balraj was too good. He won by 7.1 metres in 1.58-7.
The next assignment was Newcastle on June 14. After galloping for a few strides at the start, the youngster again went forward. Morris allowed him to stretch out over the final stages and they recorded a 25.7m victory in an impressive 1.52-7.
But it was his latest performance at Newcastle that has everyone, rightfully so, touting Balraj as a shining star of the future.
In taking out the $6360 Tooheys Pace by one of the biggest winning margins ever seen at the venue, the pacer eclipsed the previous track record of 1.51-4 held by Majordan, by half a second.
"I knew we were running along, but the time did surprise me," Morris said.
"The third quarter was 26.4 and he went a bit awkward around the bend, but then he straightened up and dug in again with a final split of 27.9. He's got some class about him."
Morris said Simiana had only ever worked small teams of horses.
"He's always had one or two going around and does them as a hobby around his work.
"They decided to buy one from New Zealand with the idea of having a bit of fun. They all love the sport and I'm certain they are in for some great times."
Morris, 27, who began driving professionally just over a decade ago, has now landed more than 1250 winners. The Menangle Park based reinsman forms a formidable combination with his talented, horse training wife Kerry Ann.
Terry Gange
NewsAlert PR Mildura