SATURDAY night is Albion Park’s big dance this week, but don’t miss some key races at The Creek on Friday night.
Many of the stars from last week’s fantastic Group 1 Great Square lock hooves again in the Pryde’s Easifeed 3&4YO Trotting Feature (2138m).
The trifecta from the Great Square is back with winner Jilliby Dreamlover drawn best in gate two.
Runner-up Dash Dosh has gate three and eye-catching third placegetter Crackerjack is out in gate seven.
Long time Great Square favourite Mecarno, who couldn’t get into the race from a poor draw last week, will relish getting back to the front row (gate six) and should be a big improver.
Classy NSW raider I Am Hellbound ran a slashing fourth last week and has the gate speed to race handy from barrier five this time.
Throw in Shannon Price’s Sassy Galleon, who ran a huge seventh last week after an early mistake, and this is a ripper race.
In Jilliby Dreamlover's case, this is a tune-up race for a tilt at next week's $500,000 Group 1 Ladbrokes Inter Dominion trotting final.
She landed a golden ticket into the final through her Great Square victory.
Stars from around Australia come together in qualifiers for the Queensland Derby and Oaks. Those two Group 1 races will be run Saturday week.
Powerhouse Victorian trainers Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin hold the key in the Derby qualifier with Cardigan Dan favourite from the pole with Mark Pitt aboard and Cam Hart on main danger and stablemate Brooklyn Dan (gate five).
They also have the emerging Dynamitedan (Jason Lee to drive), but he faces a task from outside the back row (gate 13).
For good measure, Stewart and Tonkin’s stable foreman Allan McDonough has a runner of his own with the in-form Major Blitz in gate two with Nathan Jack aboard.
Stewart and Tonkin also have a strong hand in the Oaks qualifier with Pre Eminant (gate six) and the untapped Bettor Beach (nine).
Bettor Beach has been crunched from $6 to $3 in early markers with David Hewitt’s classy filly Sparkling Sea $2.50 favourite.
Sparkling Sea drew poorly and was never a factor in last week’s South-East Oaks, but can push forward and lead this time.
The other watch race of the night is the Wolf Signs Junior Free-For-All (race five) where the much-travelled Heza Punk Rocker has his first run for Jason Grimson and is drawn the pole.
PHOTO: Toby Coutts
