Will we see Im Themightyquinn clash with Smoken Up over the mile at Tabcorp Menangle later in the year in Australia's speed test, the Miracle Mile?

According to Gary Hall SNR, the trainer of Im Themightyquinn the Miracle Mile is not the main target for arguably Australia's fastest pacer.

Hall is keen to return across the Tasman and take on their best in the New Zealand Cup. There is nothing to stop Hall racing in both events, Smoken Up has done it for the past two years as has Monkey King but there are a few factors against Hall turning up in Sydney.

Hall has made no secret of his dislike for big track racing.

He finds it boring and his training methods are better suited to small tracks.

He has his horses screwed down harder than other trainers, he likes his horses rock hard fit and it allows them to do more work and outstay their rivals rather than outrun them, however that is not the case with Im Themightyquinn.

His best attribute is his straight line speed which would suit a track like Menangle however recent feature mile races there would suggest horses don't win coming from further back than fourth.

When the top horses are running 1:50 in front it becomes a mathematical impossibility for a horse to give the leaders two lengths at the quarter and run home over the top.

Smoken Up won last year's Miracle Mile from the death seat and Monkey King won the first running at Menangle when he lobbed into the 1-1 early in the race.

The Len Smith Mile has been won by Smoken Up twice and Changeover and they raced up front as well. Horses can win from anywhere on the track at Menangle but when the best hit the track the short history suggests horses need to be up front and that would not suit Im Themightyquinn.

Im Themightyquinn is off for a well deserved spell after his Inter Dominion campaign and strangely enough the only time he has missed a place all season is the Mount Eden Sprint as he attempted to gain an invite to last year's Miracle Mile!

When you look back at his season it has been unbelievable.

The Auckland Cup, WA Pacing Cup, Fremantle Pacing Cup, Cranbourne Cup, Bunbury Cup and two heats of the Inter Dominion have all been wins while he has also been placed second in an Inter Dominion final and third in the Hunter Cup, the Victoria Cup and the Auckland Free For All. It doesn't get much better.

There is plenty of water to flow under the bridge between now and then and I hope he is in Sydney at the end of November for the Miracle Mile but I have no doubt he will take some beating in the NZ Cup on the second Tuesday in November.

Luke McCarthy pulled the right rein with his two runners as he attempted to qualify Motu Crusader and For A Reason for the Chariots Of Fire.

I must admit I was a little surprised to see For A Reason in the final event last Friday night while Motu Crusader was in the Hondo Grattan Stakes attempting to qualify for Australia's biggest four year old event.

I spoke with McCarthy about it and he was quick to point out there were two reasons for the decision. Firstly he liked Motu Crusader and thought he had a good chance in the Hondo Grattan and secondly For A Reason had suffered a setback in March and needed the hitout on Friday night before lining up in this week's Paleface Adios Stakes.

Sure he was putting all of his eggs in the one basket and should something go wrong this Thursday night then For A Reason will miss out but after he dismantled a talented field last Friday its hard to see him missing the first five spots this week unless he breaks gear.

I got a little hot under the collar on In The Gig on Monday night in regards to the Chariots Of Fire.

I have had enough of reading and listening to people bagging the way the Chariots Of Fire is now being run.

Give the New South Wales Racing Club some credit, the race has been run every which way and in every time slot in the calendar and no one is ever happy. Can the current set up be any fairer to trainers across the country? In the past the club has invited horses to compete, people weren't happy with that so it announced qualification races with the first two horses past the post qualifying.

Then the club was bagged because barrier draws in the qualifiers had too much bearing on which horses qualified and which didn't so the club announced two qualification races with the first five horses past the post in both races making up the final field.

Now people don't want to travel to New South Wales three weeks in a row if they fail to make it the first time. Don't forget it is Australia's biggest four year old race, trainers and owners should be happy to gain a start.

What a massive weekend it is going to be coming up.

Good luck to the Dubbo club as it hosts its Carnival Of Cups meeting on Saturday night with the running of the Red Ochre Mares Classic.

Unfortunately due to the amount of travelling I will be doing this weekend I won't be able to attend the meeting and it will be the first Easter in four that I haven't spent in Dubbo.

The heats were run on Sunday and the racing was spectacular.

On Sunday the Carnival Of Cups rolls into Goulburn. I will be there for Sky and I am looking forward to the meeting because it will be the first time I have visited the track since it opened and finally it's off to Coolamon for the all trotters day on Monday.

Mark McNamara is back to call the races and I will be there too for Sky so make sure you tune in for all the action! It doesn't get any better catch you next week.

Can Blacks A Fake make it five Inter Dominions? Before the barrier draw on Monday night I would have said no.

He has had an interrupted campaign after suffering his second heart fibrillation before flying to New Zealand.

His trainer Natalie Rasmussen has been battling to have him fit enough for the final but after his two heat runs there is no doubt there was improvement between nights one and two.

He actually ran the fastest last half in his heat last Friday but for mine was going to need some help at the draw. Well guess what, that is exactly what he got!

Barrier two for the champion could mean an early lead and while there will be attackers he won't have to go around another horse.

Not only has he drawn perfectly but his main rivals have all drawn off the second row.

This could be another Blacks A Fake fairytale and I wonder whether Mark McNamara is dreaming up a line to use should the old boy put his head out on the line to record his fifth win in the Inter Dominion.

Never knock a champion because they have a tendency to put egg on your face and while he isn't my top selection in the race I do concede that he can win it.

Before I look at the other chances here are a few statistics about the Inter Dominion.

Only three horses since 1987 have been the leading pointscorer in the series and gone onto win the final.

So history is against Smoken Up and Themightyquinn but it is important to remember that most of those series were run over three heats and a final and many of the top pointscorers may have left their best performances on the track in the heats leading up to the final.

Elsu did it in 2005 at Alexandra Park, Baltic Eagle was the leading pointscorer in 2003 at Addington while Jack Morris topped the points after the heats in 1993.

Strangely enough Blacks A Fake has only topped the point scoring list in the heats once in his career and that was in the Queensland series when he finished behind Mr Feelgood in the final, it just seems to be a hoodoo that horses can't overcome.

The last two Inter Dominions run at Alexandra Park have been won by horses carrying saddlecloth number seven.

Elsu wore seven as did Our Sir Vancelot in 1999.

Villagem will carry seven this week and I'm not yet writing him off. Many people would have been disappointed with his effort last Friday night when he finished well down the track behind Themightyquinn, however you need to consider his sectionals.

Only one other horse broke 56 seconds for their last 800 metres in the heats and that was Themightyquinn. Villagem ran his last 800 in 55.9 and was forced to run from the 800 to the 400 in 27.2.

He can run the times and just needs the right cart in to the race at the right time.

What about Smoken Up and his run of barriers in Inter Dominion finals? This is Smoken Up's fourth consecutive final.

He carried saddlecloth three in Melbourne, before drawing ten on the Gold Coast, in Sydney and now in Auckland.

He is in career best form and that is a big call considering he won a Miracle Mile in November last year. Lance Justice has declared that he will be having a bite for the lead if he can get through quickly on the back of Blacks A Fake and get up outside the Queenslander in the early stages.

However sometimes I think Justice uses the three card trick and tells people the obvious while doing the complete opposite. Surely Justice would be happy to sit outside the leader and stop any attacks in the race?

His drive when he won the Miracle Mile was very similar and many have forgotten that it was his tactical drive that got Smoken Up over the line.

No one was brave enough to make a move in the Miracle Mile and try and wrestle the death from Justice and he was able to go along at a speed that suited him.

I am sure he would think he could sit outside Blacks A Fake and beat him home.

However the speed factor from Themightyquinn must be a concern for Justice and Smoken Up.

While Smoken Up went two seconds faster overall on Friday night in his heat win, Themightyquinn was 1.2 seconds faster over the final 800 metres and that equates to around 17 metres.

The only concern for the West Australian is the traffic. He was by far and away the best horse in the Hunter Cup but still didn't win the race and if he doesn't get the right run home he might find himself one position too far back.

Gary Hall JNR has been in unbelievable form in the sulky since returning from suspension but Friday night is his biggest test. He needs to produce something very special to record a win.

What about the other Queenslanders Mr Feelgood and Washakie?

Washakie lacks the class of the best ones and at his best is a length or two off them but I do respect Mr Feelgood even though Themightyquinn smoked him up the straight last Friday night.

Mr Feelgood was forced to run a very fast lead time on Friday night and that may have taken more petrol out of the tank than we all thought.

He has been written off in the past, don't forget when he won in Queensland he was at double figure odds because of two below par efforts before the final. He can win it for sure.

My tips in the Inter Dominion final are
1. Themightyquinn
2. Smoken Up
3. Mr Feelgood
4. Villagem
So no room for Blacks A Fake in my top 4 but I will be cheering loudly should he be in front at the top of the straight. I left him out last year and he made it four, maybe he can make it five this time around.

Catch you next week.

The first night of the Inter Dominion pacing series produced everything that was expected.

Fast sectionals were the order of the night as the Australians dominated the opening night with five of the six placegetters in the two heats coming from this side of the ditch.

The Inter Dominion trotting series produced one surprise when series favourite Sundons Gift stopped at the turn and failed to score points, which leaves the two time winner precariously close to packing his bags and heading home. A favourable draw may help him on night two but more about that later.

Firstly Smoken Up was very impressive and before people suggest that it was just a sprint home for the Miracle Mile winner it is very important to analyse everything.

Firstly, it was his first run right handed since very early in his career and he handled it quite comfortably, in fact Lance Justice commented to me that he is stronger, straighter and smoother racing in the clockwise direction.

Secondly Smoken Up was handed an Inter Dominion heat win on a platter at Newcastle twelve months ago when he led and walked in front but was gunned down by Washakie after he showed too much speed for the son of Tinted Cloud.

Turn the clock forward a year and Smoken Up was able to shoot the lights out late, blasting home in 26 seconds for the final 400 metres.

I know I have been caught up with the Justice enthusiasm in the past but I don't think I have heard him more confident going towards a big race.

He thinks Smoken Up will win the final with a reasonable draw and his confidence stems from the horse's preparation this time around.

Justice opted to miss the Hunter Cup and concentrate on the Inter Dominion, something Inter Dominion King Brian Hancock did on numerous occasions when preparing his horses for the gruelling series.

Congratulations to part owner Peter Gadsby as well. Peter has been a part owner in horses that collectively have had 27 starts in heats of the Inter Dominion and he has not troubled the scorer.

It's hard to believe considering he has raced Double Identity, Smooth Crusa, Smoken Up and Our Malabar but at least the voodoo has been broken.

Of the beaten brigade Mr Feelgood was not knocked about in running second. Luke McCarthy was very quick to put the whip away when he swung into the straight and he is going as well as ever.

Villagem was sound when running third and looked to even pinch a metre or two off the two leaders.

I'm not sure whether he is as comfortable going clockwise but he has just about ensured he will start in the final in less than two weeks time.

The second heat was a cakewalk for Im Themightyquinn after he unleashed a devastating closing burst to grab Washakie halfway up the straight.

The question mark about whether the horse will stand up to so many tough runs in a short space of time is still yet to be answered but driver Gary Hall JNR won't have to knock him around this week.

Washakie was a strong tip on track and he ran accordingly, don't forget he started third favourite in the Inter Dominion final last year and after drawing barrier one was given a winning hope by most of the experts.

Blacks A Fake was forced to race outside the leader and finished fourth but Natalie Rasmussen was pleased with the "old boy" and is looking forward to the second round of heats this Friday.

This week the barrier draws have been very kind to the Australians.

In the third heat for the pacers Mr Feelgood has drawn barrier one, Villagem two and Captain Joy in three while Monkey King has a good trailing draw in barrier nine and Im Themightyquinn will start from barrier ten.

It looks a perfect heat for Mr Feelgood. He has drawn barrier one, has the speed to lead and with only Monkey King on his back I can see a comfortable win for the Queenslander.

Heat four has Smoken Up in one, Washakie in four and Blacks A Fake in five.

Smoken Up will have the gate speed to lead and once again that should be the end of the race with the other chances unable to run him down.

There is no need for anything to sit outside him and grind away and it might be a repeat of last week with Smoken Up walking in front and blasting home in fast time.

The pacing heats will be dominated by the favourites but the trotting heats will be a different story. Sundons Gift was dreadful last week and trainer Chris Lang had no excuses.

From barrier one he is sure to have his supporters but with fast beginners drawn around him, Lang will be hoping to hold the front.

If he gets crossed at the start it could be series over for the defending champ yet should he lead and win then he will come back into calculations.

I can't see him winning the final after his display on Friday night even if he bounced back to form this week. Sovereignty has drawn well on the second line and looks the hardest to beat.

Let Me Thru will start a short priced favourite in the second heat and after his win last Friday night I'm not sure connections will be too worried about this week. He has drawn the outside of the back row and will carry saddle cloth 13.

I Can Doosit will get his chance from barrier four this week and Springbank Richard has drawn well too in gate two. I wouldn't be surprised to see somewhat of an upset.

Congratulations to Bathurst on another successful Gold Crown carnival.

Unfortunately due to family commitments I couldn't attend this year but enjoyed the action on television on Saturday night. I hope to be back in twelve months time. Catch you next week.