For the third straight year, the best harness racers from Australia and New Zealand have converged on Bunbury for the second night of Inter Dominion heats on Tuesday night.
The first of the three heats saw short-priced favourite Lennytheshark fail to handle the pressure.
Driver Chris Alford seemed confident went interview before the race and while he restrained Lenny off the gate, he slid around the field mid race to set the tempo and led at the bell.
As the back markers began to put pressure on the leader around the final turn, he shifted out and to compound the problem, Alford was fined by the stewards for unacceptable whip use as he tried to urge Lenny to keep his mind on the job.
The shift out gave Bunbury driver Ryan Warwick a chance to sneak Galactic Star ($15.50) along the pegs for a win in a narrow three-way go with the fast finishing Yayas Hot Spot.
Galatic Star’s win will go a long way towards guaranteeing him a spot in the final.
The second heat followed the script closer with short-priced favourite Soho Tribeca ($1.20) winning by 2.5 metres for trainer/driver Kim Prentice.
Caught three wide early, Prentice had Soho Tribeca working forward to lead at the bell.
Much like Lennytheshark, he shifted out in the straight under pressure but had the momentum required to salute the judge first ahead of Devendra and strong WA hope Chicago Bull.
The final heat for the night saw Tiger Tara ($2.70) use the number one gate well to record a 1.7 metre win over favourite Lazarus for driver Todd McCarthy.
The blistering pace of the 2100 metre race saw Tiger Tara set a new track record and firm in the hunt for the $1.1 million Inter Dominion prize.