Elsu (foaled 19 December 1999) is a black

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

bred Standardbred pacer who won the

Australasian Pacers Grand Circuit The Australian Grand Circuit for Pacers History The Circuit began in 1977 and was designed to be the showpiece of the Australian Harness Racing Industry with horses competing from every state within Australia. In 1992 New Zealand was admitted ...

Champion and was twice the

New Zealand Horse of the Year There is a New Zealand horse of the year in each of the racing codes: - Standardbred or harness racing, either pacers or trotters, and - Thoroughbred racing or gallopers. Harness Horse of the Year The New Zealand Harness Horse of the Year award ...

. He was sired by Falcon Seelster out of Interchange by New York Motoring.

Racing record

He was trained by Geoff Small and driven by David Butcher. In 2002/2003, Elsu won the

Great Northern Derby The Great Northern Derby is a harness racing event for 3 year old standardbreds. It is a major event for 3 year old colts and geldings in New Zealand. It is run at Alexandra Park in Auckland, on the same night as the Auckland Cup in early March. ...

, the NZ Yearling Sales Series Open, the

New Zealand Trotting Derby The New Zealand Derby is a classic event in New Zealand for 3 year old harness horses, run at Addington Raceway. History Formerly called the New Brighton Derby Stakes from 1914 to 1925, the race was conducted by the New Brighton Trotting Cub and ...

and the New South Wales Derby. During his career he also won the 2003 and 2004 Auckland Pacing Cups, the

Chariots of Fire ''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 British historical sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell ...

, the Noel J Taylor Memorial Mile, the New Zealand Messenger Championship, the

A.G. Hunter Cup The A.G. Hunter Cup is a competition in Harness racing. It is contested over 3,000 metres at Tabcorp Park in Melbourne, VIC. It is one of the world's richest handicap standing start events, currently worth A$425,000. The race was formerly staged ...

, the Inter-Dominion Pacing Championship and the City of Auckland Free For All. The 2004/2005 season saw Elsu crowned the

Champion, as well as being crowned New Zealand Harness Horse of the Year for the second time. Elsu was also placed second in the

New Zealand Trotting Cup The New Zealand Cup for standardbred horses, also known as either the New Zealand Trotting Cup or the New Zealand Pacing Cup is a Group One (G1) harness race held annually by the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club at Addington Raceway in Chri ...

in 2003 and 2004, beaten in both races by Just An Excuse. Elsu's performance in the 2005

was a remarkable effort in the world's richest standing start event, handicapped 20 metres, Elsu sat 3 wide for the last 1,100 metres then powered to the line to easily win. It was later found that he was suffering from leg injuries at the time. His best time for the mile was 1:53.6.

Major race wins

* 2003

Auckland Pacing Cup The Auckland Pacing Cup which is sometimes referred to as the Auckland Trotting Cup or merely the Auckland Cup is a race held at Alexandra Park, Auckland, Alexandra Park in Auckland, New Zealand for Standardbred horses. It is one of the two major h ...

* 2003

* 2004

* 2005

A G Hunter Cup The A.G. Hunter Cup is a competition in Harness racing. It is contested over 3,000 metres at Tabcorp Park in Melbourne, VIC. It is one of the world's richest handicap standing start events, currently worth A$425,000. The race was formerly stage ...

(Handicap of 20 metres) * 2005

Inter Dominion Pacing Championship :''for winners of the trotting event see: Inter Dominion Trotting Championship'' The Inter Dominion is a harness racing competition that has been contested since 1936 in Australia and New Zealand. The Inter Dominion was the brain child of Western ...

He was retired to stud in 2005 with over two million dollars in earnings. His stud career began well with a full book.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist

External links

Register of Standardbred Stallions
Auckland Pacing Cup winners New Zealand standardbred racehorses Inter Dominion winners 1999 racehorse births

Racing record

Major race wins

Pedigree

See also

References

External links