The battle for Auckland Cup favouritism was unclear after two feature races at Alexandra Park last night but the title of New Zealand's best trotter was probably put to bed.
Stablemates Dream About Me in the $100,000 Queen of Hearts and Turn It Up in the Franklin Cup were both professional winning their targets and are now set to clash in the Auckland Cup on New Year's Eve day.
The pair have dominated the market for the Cup since both Thefixer and Ultimate Machete pulled out of the race and it could even come down to who draws the best, even for a 3200m standing start.
But not up for grabs is favouritism for the $100,000 National Trot the same day after Marcoola smashed his opponents in the $50,000 Lyell Creek last night. His performance mirrored his domination of the Dominion at Addington a month ago and he only needs to hold his form to add the National.
The night's race was not without a downside though when a smash in the Ladyship Stakes saw driver Ben Butcher break a bone in his shoulder while three-year-old pacing filly Macey Maguire had to be humanely destroyed.
