Captains Mistress produces jaw-dropping win at Addington
Michael Guerin • November 14th, 2026 10:01 AM
A mistress became a giant killer in one of the most staggering female pacing performances ever seen in this part of the world at Addington today.
Captains Mistress, the four-year-old mare who started her career here but is now trained in New South Wales by Jason Grimson did the unthinkable when thrashing Leap To Fame by nearly seven lengths in the $150,000 Hill Scott And Lee New Zealand Pacing Free-For-All, leading home an Australian first four with the winner’s stablemates Minos and Swayzee next.
Usually that would be the big story, the all-Aussie first four in a serious Group 1 at Addington, one of the jewels in our crown.
But not on this early evening under the Addington setting sun.
This was about one mare doing something many of us never thought we would see.
Captains Mistress beat one of the greatest pacers of all time by a cricket pitch and appeared to do it in a jog.
Yes, she had all the advantages, her front line draw seeing her run straight to the lead with fresh legs not dulled by the rigours of Tuesday’s New Zealand Cup.
And as expected Leap To Fame had to work forward to sit parked, so at the 1000m mark everything was going to script.
But nobody saw what happened next coming.
Driver Cameron Hart clearly worked out the best way to beat Larry was to simply not let him get close enough to threaten his mare so he chucked a 26 second 400m sectionals into the race between the 800m and 400m and that was that.
She put a mind-boggling gap on a true champion that allowed her to cruise down the straight in a performance of pure shock and awe.
Maybe Leap To Fame’s blade was dulled by Tuesday’s Cup win but to see Australasia’s greatest pacer distanced was one of the most amazing sights in recent harness racing history and suggests that Captains Mistress may also be a champion.
“It is hard to believe she is only four and I hope we get to keep racing her for at least a couple more years,” said Hart.
“She is very special and she does it so easily.
“When Larry came up to us at the 1000m I asked her to go a bit quicker and was doing it so easily I thought I’d ask to go a bit faster again at the 800m.
“She is just so fast but it is remarkable to beat a horse like Larry like that.”
Captains Mistress appears to have this part of the pacing world at her hooves as it is becoming increasingly hard to see how she would be beaten in any race where she draws the front line.
It defies belief that in this age of Leap To Fame’s iconic greatness another horse will now be the futures favourite for any race she is aimed at, even if Leap To Fame is also heading there.
It also completed a Group 1 Cup week double for broodmare Imaginary Bet, whose son Faith Not Fear won the Sires’ Stakes Final on Tuesday.
Captains Mistress wasn’t the only four-year-old mare to beat a Queensland champion in a Group 1 today as Habibti Pat claimed the New Zealand Trotting Free-For-All with Gus incredibly finishing unplaced.
In a high pressure race early Habibti Pat was able to stay out of the burn early for Blair Orange while everybody else wanted to go forward.
That gave her the gas to outsprint her rivals late to down Ya Rite Darl and Freya in an all-female finish.
Gus wasn’t a factor after looming up over the last lap but being beaten at the top of the straight.
The win capped a great week for trainers Greg and Ben Hope, with a 1-3 finish in this Group 1 after two wins on Tuesday and Greg also training his 1100th career winner.
Not that Greg was taking much credit for the Habibti Pat win.
“She is just so tough but that doesn’t have much to do with us, she has been a good horse since day one,” says Hope.
She and Higher Power have cemented themselves as the great new hopes (excuse the pun) of New Zealand open class trotting and the victory, even over a Gus clearly below his best, was a rare reason for local skiting rights over the Australians and a promising pointer to even better things next season.
