Racing: Interdoms return to three heats, final format

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Harness racing fans can breathe a sigh of relief - the Interdominions are heading to Perth and back to the good old days.

What that means for the New Zealand Cup remains to be seen.

The news, announced by Racing and Wagering Western Australia (RWWA) and Gloucester Park Harness Racing this week, will put a smile back on the faces of many fans who have been yearning for a return to the cut-throat nature of the Interdominions in days gone by.

The carnival will revert to the traditional format of three heats and a final, which should ensure the series will be a war of attrition. While the format is returning to an old style, the financial rewards are going in the other direction.

The Grand Final, to be held at Perth's Gloucester Park on December 11 next year, will be run for A$1.3 million, making it the richest harness race in the world. Total prize money for the series is A$1.8 million.

The Western Australia racing authority takes over the series from Harness Racing New South Wales, which has hosted the series for the past two years and will hold the last series of its three-year cycle in March.

The New South Wales format copped mixed reviews.

Solitary heats were held in states in Australia and in New Zealand all on the same night, which was popular for television viewers, but failed to capture the attention of trainers and owners, with very small heats the order of the day in New Zealand.

The switch of the Miracle Mile to mid-March opened up a perfect gap in late November and early December for RWWA to slot in the series.

The 800m Gloucester Park circuit already hosts a carnival during that time and the Golden Nugget and Mares Classic, both at group one level, will strengthen the undercard on Grand Final Night. Lights will also be installed at Pinjarra, a 1000m track an hour's drive from Perth, so it can host a heat night.

What effect the date and change has on the New Zealand Trotting Cup will become clearer next year.

Australian trainers who might have weighed up a trip to Addington for the 3200m battle on the second Tuesday in November, may now opt to bypass the Cup and head to Perth instead, saving a transtasman flight.

New Zealand trainers, meanwhile, will have to be confident their horses can cop a steady diet of hard racing leading into the New Zealand Cup before travelling to Perth to line up in the opening heats less than three weeks' later.

However, with a final worth A$1.3 million, the money might be too hard to ignore.