Perfect planning helped Morrinsville reinswoman Alicia Harrison take an early lead in the New Zealand Junior Drivers Championship at Forbury Park last night.
Harrison leads the four-heat series after winning heat 1 with Olde Oak Emma and running third in heat 2 with Franco Huntington.
The North Island team member enacted her pre-race plan perfectly to win the first heat.
Harrison had studied the form and the likely gate speed in the heat.
"I knew that Omar Sharif would lead, but I also knew that the 1-horse [Neve Franco] didn't have much gate speed, so I thought I would come out as good as I could and try and slot in and it really did work out perfectly.
"I'm absolutely rapt. It couldn't have panned out better."
Harrison helped the North Island team make a perfect start to the series as it filled the trifecta in the first heat.
The favourite, Omar Sharif, who ran second, was given every opportunity to win by driver Jack MacKinnon, who set a sedate tempo in front
Beaudiene Gambler ran into third for fellow North Island driver Ben Butcher.
Mark Hurrell shot up to second placing in the competition after winning heat 2 with Possente Cavallo.
Hurrell positioned Possente Cavallo in the one-one before taking a trail.
"The trail horse stopped at the 600m and I managed to get in the trail. She was probably the best horse in the field. She just needed the right run and she managed to get it," he said.
Possente Cavallo wore down the leader, Elva Jaccka, who gave Ben Butcher his second placing of the series.
Those points and Harrison's third placing helped consolidate the North Island team's 98-82 lead over the South Island after heat two.
The final two heats of the championship will be contested at Addington tonight.
Canterbury junior driver Sheree Tomlinson produced a front-running drive to win race 1 behind the Mark Jones-trained Fancy Woman.
Tomlinson then gave Bub's VC a perfect run in the trail before they sprinted along the passing lane to win race 2.
But Tomlinson's fortunes did not continue in the junior drivers' series where she had an 11th placing with Billy Klondike and finished ninth with Command Lustre.
Fellow South Island representative John Morrison also scored a win last night outside the junior drivers' series.
Magic Blaze sprinted quickly from three back on the markers to win for trainer Raewyn Low.
The second heat of the South Of The Waitaki Series will be held at Addington tonight.
Bookmakers yesterday opened Cast A Shadow as the favourite as a result of his strong front-running win in heat 1 at Addington eight days ago.
The Bull Pen, who ran home solidly for third in last week's heat, looks his main danger.
