Is this the fastest last quarter in harness racing history?
Is this the fastest last quarter in harness racing history?
So it is fair to ask. Have we just seen the fastest finish in harness racing history?
How a slow race became a sprint
The Lazarus Effect stepped brilliantly from barrier 5 and was three lengths clear in a few strides. Trainer-driver Bob Butt had said he wanted to lead, and nobody took him on.
Craig Ferguson found Marketplace parked after 300m. Rather than press forward, he eased back to the inside and ended up fifth on the markers, in a pocket. He waited for a ride on the back of It’s Tough that never came.
The overall numbers tell you how soft the lead was. The winning time was 2:56.70, a mile rate of 1:58.4. Take away the last 800m and the first 1600m took about 2:04.
That is a stroll for open class pacers.
So the Flying Stakes turned into a drag race. The Lazarus Effect turned in a length and a half clear. Marketplace found clear running on the inside but was still three lengths back with 100m left. He was flying at the line and missed by a neck.
Bettors Anvil, who sat in the trail, was third, 1¼ lengths further back.
| Place | Horse | Driver | Time | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Lazarus Effect | Bob Butt | 2:56.70 | Winner |
| 2 | Marketplace (fav) | Craig Ferguson | 2:56.70 | Neck |
| 3 | Bettors Anvil | T M Williams | 2:56.92 | 1¼ lengths |
| 4 | Renegade | S W Hill | 2:57.05 | ¾ length |
Official splits: Last 800m 52.80 seconds; last 400m 25.10 seconds.
Comparing it with the world’s best
The short answer is no for the winner, but maybe for the runner-up. The Lazarus Effect’s finish matches the world’s fastest mile almost to the hundredth.
Marketplace’s would sit with the quickest closing splits ever timed.
Comparing them takes care, because North America times races differently. A quarter there is a quarter mile, 402.3m, not 400m. And its times are written in fifths of a second, so 25.1 means 25.2 seconds, not 25.1.
Bulldog Hanover set the world record of 1:45.4 in the Haughton Memorial at the Meadowlands on 16 July 2022, for Kiwi reinsman Dexter Dunn. His last quarter was 25.1. Over 400m that works out to about 25.06 seconds.
The Lazarus Effect ran 25.1. They are effectively the same.
But 25.1 is not the fastest final quarter on record, despite what some websites claim. Three weeks earlier Bulldog Hanover had come home in 24.4 in a Graduate Series leg.
That summer his rival Abuckabett Hanover twice paced last quarters of 24.4 against him. The Meadowlands record for a final quarter is 24.3, set by Mach N Cheese and equalled by Mirage Hanover in 2024.
| Horse | Race | Official last quarter | Equivalent over 400m |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketplace (estimate) | Ashburton Flying Stakes, 2026 | Not timed | 24.2–24.6 sec |
| Mach N Cheese / Mirage Hanover | Meadowlands track record | 24.3 (24.6 sec / 402m) | 24.5 sec |
| Bulldog Hanover | Graduate Series leg, 2022 | 24.4 (24.8 sec / 402m) | 24.7 sec |
| Bulldog Hanover | Haughton Memorial, 2022 | 25.1 (25.2 sec / 402m) | 25.1 sec |
| The Lazarus Effect | Ashburton Flying Stakes, 2026 | 25.1 sec / 400m | 25.1 sec |
| Captain Ravishing | Ballarat, September 2022 | 25.1 sec / 400m | 25.1 sec |
| Cash N Flow / Petracca | Menangle track record | 25.3 sec / 400m | 25.3 sec |
| Auckland Reactor | Noel J Taylor Mile, 2009 | 25.4 sec / 400m | 25.4 sec |
North American quarter-mile splits are converted from 402.3m to 400m for comparison. Marketplace’s split is an estimate, not an official sectional.
Closer to home, 25.1 is about as quick as it gets. When Captain Ravishing ran 25.1 at Ballarat in 2022, it equalled the fastest last quarter recorded in Australia since 2000.
Auckland Reactor’s famous 25.4 last 400m in the Noel J Taylor Mile was treated as freakish at the time. Even Menangle, regarded as Australia’s fastest track, lists its quickest last 400m at 25.3, run by both Cash N Flow and Petracca.
The Lazarus Effect went two tenths faster than that.
The 52.8 last 800m is world class, but not a world best. Bulldog Hanover came home in :52 flat in the Graduate Final, about 51.7 seconds over 800m.
There is also an asterisk. Much of the final 400m at Ashburton came with a strong tailwind, and the slow early pace left plenty in the tank. The Meadowlands miles were run at a breakneck pace the whole way.
The verdict, and what it means for the Cup
So, is it the fastest last quarter in harness racing history? Not quite. The Lazarus Effect’s 25.1 equals the finish of the fastest mile ever paced, which puts him in rare company. But the Meadowlands has timed faster closing quarters.
Marketplace is the more intriguing case. If he really ran 24.2 to 24.6, he matched or beat the best final quarters timed in North America. His split was not officially clocked, and the tailwind helped.
Still, on any reading he produced one of the fastest finishes seen in this part of the world.
For the Go Media New Zealand Cup on 10 November, The Lazarus Effect’s gate speed makes him central to the first-lap tactics. Marketplace, the current second favourite, showed raw speed few can match.
But Addington over 3200m is not a sprint on a windy Ashburton afternoon. Pacing past Australian champion Leap To Fame will take more than a fast last 400m.
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From Harnesslink Media
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