15 LEILANI: THE WILL TO WIN The 1975 Australian Cup of 2000 metres was next on the list. Until 1979 this historic autumn feature (originally a 3627-metre marathon) was always a handicap race. Leilani was allocated topweight, with 58.5 kilograms on her back, two kilograms over weight-for-age. Roy Higgins had ridden her in seven of her previous wins and was again in the saddle. Leilani hit the lead in the straight but was challenged by Tudor Peak, a Bendigo Cup winner, and St Martin, a tough gelding trained by Tommy Smith. Thirty metres from the post, the mare was barely a head in front. Defeat seemed certain. Yet Higgins had a way of lifting a horse in a tight finish, and the crowd pushed with its own willpower. Leilani held on to win by half a length. One reporter tried to describe the excitement. It sounds modest by today’s expectations, but it was loud and sustained. Bart was still in the early stages of his career, with a mere four (of an ultimate twelve) Melbourne Cups to his credit. This was his third Australian Cup success. Altogether he would win this race a record thirteen times, but Leilani’s victory as topweight under handicap conditions was among the greatest. And Leilani’s Australian Cup win was surely the best in her career, eclipsing even the previous year’s easy Caulfield Cup victory. She was duly anointed Australian Champion Racehorse for 1974-75. Leilani’s racing career continued with seven more starts at top level for three seconds, two thirds and a repeat win in the St George Stakes. She would have won a second VRC Queen’s Plate had her saddle not slipped: even so, she finished second. Injured in the 1976 Tancred Cup at Rosehill, she returned to her breeder for a stud career in New Zealand. Roy Higgins understood and amplified the public affection for Leilani. After that famous Australian Cup win, he told reporters he had ‘fallen head over heels in love’. He said the day would come when he and Leilani would be beaten, and he knew she would be as disappointed as he. Leilani had a fighting desire to win, he said, and would give everything if challenged. ‘I’ve found that courage in only three other racehorses. Light Fingers and Aquanita had it and, in modern times, Gunsynd had it.’ Grand company. ‘Scenes never before seen on a racecourse greeted Leilani and Roy Higgins as they returned to scale. Cheers and handclapping reached a crescendo as trainer Bart Cummings greeted the pair in the winner’s stall.’
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