Heat One of the Touchdown Car Rentals Rising Stars was won by Franco Lomu a fortnight ago, with a number of runners returning from that race for Heat Two this week.
Among those back are runner-up St Paddy (11) from the Dalgety barn and fourth-placed Nikolai Ray (2), who has had mixed fortunes with the barrier draw this week. St Paddy led and battled bravely from a front row draw last time, while Nikolai Ray continued his steady progression with a sound run and has drawn nicely again. New additions to the field include the immensely talented Ashley Frank (9), who has trialled well ahead of his first run back this campaign having won two of his four career starts, and the impressive first-up winner Bord De La Mer. The Brendon Hill-trained son of Downbytheseaside arrived with a big reputation before winning on debut and holds the added advantage of barrier one this week.
The enigma of the race is undoubtedly the Cran and Chrissie Dalgety-trained Razor Horizon, who made his New Zealand debut back in June as favourite but disappointed in seventh. The son of American Ideal won twice in Australia and has been back to the trials since, accounting for open class pacers including Tact McLeod. The third Dalgety runner is Franco Ankara (3), who won his maiden impressively from a wide draw a fortnight ago, draws better this week, and has the services of Kimberly Butt.
The Horses Perform Better On Betavet Mobile Pace shapes as another race of genuine intrigue, with a stack of form amongst the nine runners. Franco Lomu beat a strong field a fortnight ago and draws perfectly in barrier one to again play a major role. Always A Porsche (8) wasn’t on his best behaviour on his return from a two-year absence, but the Diamond Racing-trained 5YO has a big motor and is well suited to drawing wider on the front row. Add in the ever-reliable Trump Card (9), the consistent Song Sung Blue (6), and Malakai (7), and this race shapes as a very informative guide for the races ahead.