Otago Daily Times racing/sports reporter Matt Smith cast his eye over the important - and the not so important - matters in the racing industry.
I tell you what - if you can't get excited about the racing options this weekend, then it's time to close down your TAB account, unhook your Sky account and bury your head in a good book instead. While all three of these things might not be a bad thing in isolation, just don't do that this weekend.
Today, the Central Otago Racing Club hosts a seven-race card at Omakau. That will nicely whet the appetite of multi-code fans to lead into the first meeting of the Auckland Cup carnival - namely the Great Northern Oaks meeting at Alexandra Park.
The Orange Agent looks like something special in the Oaks itself, while the Derby Prelude is lip-smackingly good with Hughie Green, Follow The Stars and Express Stride all looking to overcome bad draws.
There's night racing from Moonee Valley tonight but you can probably be in bed by midnight to save up some energy for a big weekend.
. . . of racing
The New Zealand Derby at Ellerslie headlines Saturday's racing, and with Volkstok'n'barrell and Mongolian Khan, we have the prospect of a cracking last few hundred metres shortly after 5.48pm.
Throw in the Mr Tiz Trophy and the Darley Plate from Ellerslie, the smart Mighty Solomon in the open 1400m at Hastings and harness racing from Winton and you should be pretty fired up.
Three group 1s at Caulfield and one group 1 at Warwick Farm will get you through to 8pm - taking into account some flicking between channels to check the update from the cricket and Super Rugby.
Sunday consists of seven - yes, seven - group 1s at Menangle. The Inter Dominion final shortly before 6pm (NZ time) is the obvious focus, but the Chariots Of Fire, the New South Wales Derby and the Ladyship Stakes all have strong Kiwi representation.
Closer to home, there are seven races for the Otago Racing Club at Cromwell on Sunday, while the Auckland Greyhound Cup and Railway Stakes are the features at Manukau Stadium on Sunday.
Tired yet?
Lazy Fiver
Kasundi was disappointing at Riccarton last week. I'm back to the harness code for this week's bet, and I reckon Our Sky Major could collect group 1 glory in the Chariots Of Fire at Menangle on Sunday.
