Gus NZ winning the 2026 Waikato Flying Mile
IT was a dream start for the Aussie raiders when star Queensland pair The Janitor and Gus humbled their Kiwi rivals at Cambridge last night.
The Chantal Turpin-trained pair were the “advance” party of a record eight-strong team of Australian raiders for next Friday night’s huge Night Of Champions at Cambridge.
They both overcame adversity to beat some of NZ’s best in their respective Waikato Flying Miles last night.
Brilliant trotter Gus set the tone when he overcame being “wiped out” rounding the home bend, balanced-up again and stormed home to win.
“He wasn’t entitled to win, but speed is his best asset and he used all of it last night,” driver Pete McMullen said.
“To make up the ground he did after being pushed so wide on the last bend was enormous.”
The win stretched Gus’ unbeaten NZ record for McMullen and wife Chantal Turpin to three after he won the huge Group 1 double – Dominion Trot and NZ Trotting free-for-all – at Addington last November.
But McMullen was quick to the main NZ target, next week’s $NZ530,000 TAB Trot, which will be much harder with the presence of champion Australian mare Keayang Zahara.
“I’m under no illusion, that will be a much bigger challenge,” he said. “We’ve put Gus back in the barrier draw, but next week is a preferential draw and Keayang Zahara being a mare means she has to draw better than us.”
The Janitor ran right up to his recent second to Leap To Fame in the Miracle Mile when he did all the work outside then leader, star Kiwi Merlin, and dug deep to win in a track record 1min51.4sec mile.
It showed The Janitor has the strength to match the speed he has shown driven off the pace at his previous two runs.
“He’s tough alright,” McMullen said. “The part I liked the most is that we know he’s got improvement to come. That run will top him off nicely for next week.
“But, like Gus, we’ve beaten the Kiwis and now we have Leap To Fame and some other top Aussies to deal with next week.”
That’s in the $NZ1 million Race by Sport Nation, a race Leap To Fame won in powerhouse style last year.
“He’s the one to beat again,” McMullen said. “I think our chance of beating him is to hope we can get into a spot to stalk and have the last crack at him.
“To hope one of the other guns leads, Leap To Fame has to sit outside them and we can try and grab them late.”
McMullen is thrilled with the transition of The Janitor, who has always looked an exciting talent, who has made into the big league.
He ran a close third to Don Hugo and Leap To Fame in the Group 1 Blacks A Fake last December and then brilliantly won a Miracle Mile qualifier before his close second in the Mile itself.
“It was great to start the trip like that last night, but we know it’s going to get harder,” he said.
Leap To Fame, Swayzee, Kingman and Captains Knock are the other Aussie pacers in the Race by Sport Nation, while Keayang Zahara and stablemate Jilliby Ballerini join Gus in the TAB Trot.
The barrier draws for both races are on Tuesday.
PHOTO: Race Images NZ
