By MICHAEL GUERIN
New Zealand's spluttering Interdominion challenge has finally started to gain momentum.
After appearing to be derailed during a disastrous Nights Of Glory carnival in Melbourne in February, our best pacing talent looked back on track over the weekend.
New Zealand's two leading pacers, Holmes D G and Yulestar, both trialled impressively, prompting renewed support for them on TAB fixed-odds markets and with Australian bookies.
And with the start of the Brisbane-based series just 12 days away, the main Kiwi hopes appear to be nearing the right form.
On Saturday Holmes D G, who will go into the series without a start in two months, paced one of the fastest last 800m sectionals ever recorded at Pukekohe with a 55.2sec effort.
That saw him beat series rivals Cigar and Ouch and boost the confidence of trainer-driver Barry Purdon.
"He has taken a while to get over the virus he had in Melbourne but he felt great on Saturday," said Purdon.
Cigar has also impressed trainer Mark Purdon with his improvement in recent weeks. Ouch would have finished closer but for hanging on the final bend on Saturday.
All three fly to Brisbane on Thursday, with Ouch and Cigar to race on Saturday night.
Also on the flight will be Yulestar, who has started to hit his straps again after the worst race of his career in the Hunter Cup last start.
He trialled impressively on Sunday and driver Tony Shaw is convinced he is back to his best.
"He trialled well on Sunday and the week before when I drove him he paced his last 800m in 57 seconds on the grass so he is getting right back to where he needs to be," said Shaw.
While the big names of New Zealand pacing are approaching the form needed to break Australia's 24-year dominance of Pacing Grand Finals on their home soil, our overall team for the series has shrunk by four.
The third-favourite for the trotting championships, Fleur's Invasion, has been forced out of the series with a stress fracture in a hind leg.
"She pulled up sore after the race, but it was not too bad and we thought it was muscular," said trainer Stewart Campbell.
"We had a couple of vets look at her and one found a stress fracture of cannon bone on a hind leg."
Her withdrawal and a lacklustre performance from Take A Moment at Addington last Friday have seen Last Sunset shorten to a $2.75 favouritism. Take A Moment is at $3.50 and Mountain Gold, an impressive weekend triallist, at $5.50.
Game Bid has also been pulled out of the trotting series while Happy Asset and Homin Hosed dropped out of the pacing series after battling Easter Cup efforts on Friday night.
Homin Hosed, who had looked to be on the improve with a third at Alexandra Park recently, had his chance in the Easter Cup but is still obviously nowhere near his 1999 New Zealand Cup winning form.
He may now be spelled and set for the Addington classic in November.
Happy Asset also had his chance in the Easter Cup but lacks the finishing punch of recent seasons and trainer Tim Butt said the veteran gelding was better off in New Zealand.
"He simply isn't going well enough to make the trip but we will give him one more campaign early next season aimed at races like the Hannon Memorial,"said Butt.
Their defections bring the New Zealand representation for the series to 14: seven pacers and seven trotters.
New Zealand punters can still get the best odds on pacing favourite Atitagain, who has been as short as $3.25 in Australia but is a $4 chance on our TAB because of the weight of money for Yulestar and Holmes D G.
Racing: Big guns firing as Interdominions near
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