Promising visiting greyhounds dominates Sunday’s Auckland hosted $7,000 NZRS Novice final. However, it is an exciting locally prepared youngster who will start as the warm race favourite.

It was a torrid on-the-pace paw wrestle that decided the outcome of Thursday’s $40,000 The Fitz Sports Bar NZ Oaks.

After 755m of hard out chasing action, there was just a half-length difference in time between the two Adept Accountants Wanganui Distance heat winners from last Friday evening.

Can’t Catch Tim and Timma Turtle both produced a bold pair of feature cup wins over recent days.

It was Fair Pippa who set the time standard for the $40,000 The Fitz Sports Bar NZ Oaks heats when she thumped her 520m rivals in 30.21s in the first of four Group 1 520m heat at Addington on Thursday.

It was entirely appropriate that long time northern trainer Ben Craik mentored the slippery Simple And Plain to victory in the $15,000 Lois Henley Memorial Trophy at Group 2 level.

It was an emphatic free-wheeling chasing display that the Karen Walsh prepared Thrilling Flo produced to demolish her rivals via her pace-making 43.20s victory in the $15,000 Theresa McDonald Memorial Cup over the extreme staying 747m distance.

A storm warning was issued for the northern region on Thursday. That storm hit the Cambridge Raceway at precisely 8.25:25.49pm.

Two factors stand out when looking at Thursday’s Mike Stent Decorators NZ Derby field. Nine of the ten listed runners are New Zealand-bred, while nine of the ten are provided from just two kennels.

A pair of $15,000 Group 2 races form the main support events to Thursday’s huge Waikato hosted Cambridge meeting. The stayers are in action in the Theresa McDonald Memorial Cup over 747m, while the bitches will contest the 457m Lois Henley Memorial Trophy.

It was straight into high-quality early March racing with a pair of Group 1 races being decided at the Manukau Stadium on the first Sunday of the month.

Northern trainer Karen Walsh prevented a two kennel total clean sweep of all ten final field positions for next Thursday’s Mike Stent Decorators New Zealand Derby final.

When the lure stopped rolling following the running of the last race on Auckland Cup day at the Manukau Stadium, it marked an end of an era for the northern region. ‘Hanging up the lure’ for the final time was the region’s long-serving driver Erena Kokeheke.

It was billed as a festival weekend of tri-code racing and the inaugural City of Palmerston North Gold Cup racing certainly delivered on all expectations.

An undoubted highlight during the Palmerston North Gold Cup meeting on Friday was the running of the four dog $10,000 Arch Lawrence Distance Invitation paw wrestle over the extreme 766m race distance.

Canterbury trainer Craig Roberts’ kennels are in a run of solid form as seen when producing the winner and third-place getter in the $7,500 Flair Ladies Bracelet last Thursday evening.