And they're off

Blackadder v Harris

John McCombe

Todd Blackadder in the lead with Chris Harris right on his tail.

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Todd Blackadder and Chris Harris take the reins in a special Avenues harness racing event.

In the spirit of Cup Week, we teamed sporting legends Todd Blackadder and Chris Harris with two equestrian superstars and pitted them against each other. Only one team could win, but neither was used to losing, reports Yvonne Martin.

"Interested in taking Lyell Creek for a whirl around a track?" Avenues texts revered Crusader Todd Blackadder.

"Yes, I am," is his instantaneous response. "See you there. Excited."

"Creek the Freak" won nearly $3 million in his illustrious seven-year racing career. Once co-owned by Graham "Steel Balls" Bruton, the champion trotter won 56 races from 113 starts before retiring in 2005. Now a 16-year-old, Lyell has made a comeback as an "ambassador" at The Horsepower Experience in Avonhead, where the public can try harness racing by way of a dual-control sulky.

As the star of the stable, Lyell is only harnessed up and raced on special occasions and Horsepower owner Lindsay Kerslake had offered Avenues the reins. But who was to drive? Giving the leader of the Crusaders a chariot was an obvious choice.

"I feel fast already, like a Ferrari," says Todd, as he chooses a Canterbury-red silk jacket for his racing colour.

Canterbury's evergreen cricket all-rounder Chris Harris is also eager to do battle. He is teamed up with another well-known retired trotter, Take A Moment, a $1 million-plus stakes winner. Chris went for a gold silk, the colour of victory "although I don't like gold - it's an Australian colour".

Todd's extended family is involved in racing, but he restricts himself to a Cup Week flutter.

"I've seen too much money lost on horses," he says.

Rugby has brought many opportunities to try different sports, including stock-car racing, but this is the first invitation to hurtle around a racetrack behind a horse he's had. "I've got a philosophy that I have a go at anything," Todd says.

Chris tried horse riding years ago and his eight-year-old daughter, Sophie, is at the pony-begging stage. He, too, is a harness-driving virgin.

*To see who took the trophy, read the October issue*