Injury ends Keayang Zahara’s NZ Dominion campaign

Australian trotting megastar Keayang Zahara (Volstead) will miss this year’s Renwick Farms Dominion Trot at Addington on Tuesday, November 10.

The now five-year-old harness racing mare pulled up short in her action after training on Wednesday, with further testing revealing an issue in a hind leg.

“She has a slight strain in her back leg” said a deflated co-trainer Paddy Lee this morning.

“She will have a six to eight week spell and get that right again, so she will miss the Dominion Trot”.

The long-time favourite for the $400,000 feature and the winner of 28 of her 29 starts was only a matter of weeks away from a trial on a campaign that centred around getting her to Addington once again.

The Lee-trained mare wowed Kiwis in 2024 when she demolished her rivals in the inaugural running of The Ascent before then clean sweeping the New Zealand Trotting Oaks and Derby.

She was last seen in April when winning the TAB Trot at Cambridge.

Paddy will join Friday Night Lights at 4.40pm this afternoon for a comprehensive update.

By Brittany Graham for Harness Racing New Zealand