I flew back from Melbourne this morning and spent a lot of time thinking about some of the special performances that I saw at the Breeders Crown Final Day yesterday. When there are nine Group 1 races on the program there are always going to be multiple highlights but the effort from Make Mine Cullen to win the four year old mares final was something very special.

Make Mine Cullen has come a very long way since joining the Douglas stable and after a number of stunning performances this season I was wondering whether she had another "big" run left in the tank. After the barrier draw was conducted her chances looked even more remote with her main danger, Broadways Best on the front row.

Before the race I made the comment that should Broadways Best win it didn't go very far as to prove which mare was Australia's best because she had the favours however should Make Mine Cullen win she would lay claim to being Australia's best. Make Mine Cullen took out the Ladyship Mile earlier in the season and had competed admirably in open company against the boys. So she clearly deserves the tag as Australia's best mare after Sunday.

Where to now for Make Mine Cullen? I assume connections will look to give her a short break before getting her back for races like the Miracle Mile and Victoria Cup. If she made feature events like that she would be a good each way price even off a good draw but it seems the logical progression after a stunning four year old season.

Outside Make Mine Cullen's performance I was very taken with Royal Verdict's win in the two year old colts and gelding division. He had already won a couple of features and had history against him going into the final. Only two horses in the history of the male two year old Breeders Crown division had been beaten in the semi final and returned to win the final. However a masterful piece of driving from Brian Gath got the youngster over the line.

Trainer Ian Dornauf came up with the idea of taking "the sit" on one of the other leading chances in the race and told Gath that should the option arise he should not be afraid to do it. When semi final winner Sushi Sushi pushed forward from a wide gate and challenged Royal Verdict, Gath decided to opt for the sit and try for a late sprint lane finish. When Our Major Mark basically stopped inside the final lap because of an issue with his tyre, the chasing pack became disorganised and as the field swung for home there were only two possible winning chances, Sushi Sushi and Royal Verdict. Royal Verdict used the sprint lane perfectly and ran through to win the event comfortably however the race's intrigue was not yet over. The stewards ruled that Gath had caused interference on the first turn and as a result suspended him for three weeks.

Gath wasn't the only driver to cop a penalty from the stewards on Sunday. Craig Thornley copped 4 weeks on the sideline after he took the running of Remember El in the three year old colts and geldings final in the concluding stages and winning driver Brent Mangos received a $400 fine for crossing his reins and using the whip with a free hand on at least one occasion in the straight.

New South Wales enjoyed some success late in the day when Rohan Home proved too strong in the Free For All racing away in the concluding stages returning a healthy win dividend on the tote. Blake Fitzpatrick made his move inside the 1200 metres and while he was helped when leader Standelle suffered from a heart fibrillation it disorganised the field behind it including the very unlucky Benny Mac. However I am tipping the Fitzpatrick stable could count the numerous times they had been beaten in feature races because of bad luck, they were entitled to some good fortune in a big one.

It would be remiss of me not to mention Sheezallattitude, the talented two year old filly after her close second to Passions Promise. Felicity Gallagher hasn't had an easy time with the filly this season. Early on Sheezallattitude's manners were letting her down on a regular basis and as a result the stewards were forcing her back to the trials once and sometimes twice between races. I thought she looked a bit below her best through the series but a trailing draw may have been a blessing in disguise for the filly because she saved her best effort for last, charging along the sprint lane to win some serious money despite finishing second.

Bella Shine lost her chance when Sheezallattitude punctured her tyre and Jimmy Brown was fined as a result. Another NSW horse worth mentioning is Our High Octane because he was very unlucky in the three year old colts and geldings final and should have been placed with more room in the straight.

A big night will wrap up the metropolitan season this Friday at Menangle. Paul Fitzpatrick and Ian Wilson will battle it out for premiership honours and by sheer weight of numbers, Fitzpatrick might do enough to win the top trainers award. For Wilson to be any chance in the premiership he needs Internationalplayboy to win his race and hope for some luck later on in the program. Another highlight on the card will be the running of the Ian Thorn Trotters Memorial and I would like to wish Ian's son David the best of luck in the race with his trotter In Midnites Pocket. Thorn Jr has had a remarkable season and I know it would mean a lot to David and his family if he could win the event.

Don't forget the Eugowra Carnival Of Cups meeting is just over a month away. Many trainers will be eyeing off the Canola Cup for all of their talented C0's. I can't wait for the meeting! Catch you next week.

Unfortunately I think Barry Lew is going to have to bite the bullet and take his stable star Karloo Mick to Newcastle to get a run or two under his belt before he heads back to the city for the Winter Cup at the end of the month. That's the way it looks because the Newcastle club seems to be the only one that can consistently run fast class events and the shadow of the Miracle Mile placegetter is scaring away possible opposition in the bush. Are there any other options for the administrators that run our sport to help the "good" horses race into fitness?

The obvious solution is to run four horse fields as they do in Queensland. The main issue facing administrators when going with this option is the turnover or lack of it that a small race attracts. To have place betting you need a minimum of five horses and a horse like Karloo Mick can stifle betting even early in his campaign. Any administrator will tell you that turnover is the lifeblood of our industry and without it the sport will fail to exist but should allowances be made for the topliners? The best horses are the ones that drive the turnover in the feature races. It is a difficult issue to sort out but I believe that there should be allowances made for our best horses.

In another surprising twist I spoke with Mick Lombardo on Monday afternoon and he has confirmed that Lombo Pocket Watch will return to the breeding barn for the upcoming season but will be back at the races later in the season. Lombo Pocket Watch hasn't raced since November last year when he finished down the track in the Cordina Chicken Sprint behind Karloo Mick and a cloud has been over his career since. Taken from the Fitzpatrick stables, Lombardo confirmed during the Bathurst Gold Crown carnival that he was thinking about sending the horse to New Zealand for the Inter Dominion and while that is still a possibility it looks more likely that if Lombo Pocket Watch is to continue racing he will compete in Perth. Lombardo wasn't in a position to confirm the West Australian trainer but did mention that Ross Oliveri would be a leading contender should his property be suited to stabling a stallion.

It has also been confirmed that Auckland Reactor is heading back our way with the failed North American trip being aborted. Reportedly suffering from several problems in the USA it was thought that he would return to New Zealand to stand at stud but when a seven figure deal fell through late last month it has now been confirmed that the stallion will return with a strong possibility of returning to the stables of Mark Purdon. He is worth very little commercially in Australasia as a stallion and after a couple of gut busters on the track twelve months ago I can't see him coming back to racing with much success. He has been through a lot in his short career and will still have a few issues to get over when he returns home. I wish the connections all the best but they look up against it.

Jimmy Douglass became the last New South Wales driver to enter the 100 club. Douglass has now driven 100 winners in NSW for the season and it is the first time since the 06/07 season that there have been four centurions in the season. Of the four drivers that have completed the feat this season only one was a member of the 06/07 group. Greg Bennett, Blake Fitzpatrick, Glenn McElhinney and Ben Sarina were all members of the 100 club three years ago while Bennett, Ashlee Siejka, Amanda Turnbull and Jim Douglass are this year's group. Cameron Fitzpatrick and Robbie Morris are both within sight of 100 winners for the season but would need a remarkable three weeks to get to the elusive target.

The metropolitan trainers premiership is set to go down to the final meeting with Ian Wilson holding a one win lead over Paul Fitzpatrick. In recent weeks the Team Fitzpatrick has begun getting the results that we have become accustomed to and I wouldn't be surprised to see Fitzpatrick regain the lead in the final week or so. I see that Saucy Legend will resume on Friday night in the M2 or better event at Harold Park and while he has drawn the outside of the front line it will be good to see the Newcastle Mile winner back on the track. Keep in mind this is the horse that was all but invited to the Miracle Mile only to have connections suggest it was too early for the horse and he would be better in twelve months time. Saucy Legend only had five runs last campaign and raced well below his best but it should be noted that the entire Fitzpatrick team was struggling at the time and the stable did have a virus pass through it mid-year.

Smoken Up was brilliant in winning at Melton on Friday night and I see that Lance has flagged a possible trip to Brisbane for the Queensland Pacing Championship. I would be very surprised to see connections opt for a northern raid. The Miracle Mile is a very winnable race for him next season and surely Justice has his eye on the biggest sprint prize in the country. Sure, he needs to get racing under his belt before the big one but why jeopardise his chances by competing all over the country. I found it quite interesting that the syndicate that races Smoken Up has reduced its numbers with Lance Justice. Peter Gadsby told me that the syndicate has around 17 horses at the moment and currently Justice is looking after about 7. Twelve months ago Justice would have been looking after a larger percentage of their team but "a toe in the water" in WA has been very successful for the group and I will be interested to see whether Our Malabar heads west again in chase of the big WA prizemoney. Catch you next week.

The Chariots Of Fire was a great race on Friday night at Tabcorp Park Menangle. It had all the ingredients to make it an exciting race. There was early speed from Deadsetlucky, Make Mine Cullen and Ima Rocket Star, a mid race leader change when the West Australian visitor rolled past Deadsetlucky and a late surge from Villagem and Lisa Miles to win the event. It was a great training performance from Lisa and David Miles and especially when you consider that they raced the clock to even have the horse fit enough to take his spot in the Paleface Adios Sprint. He needed the run badly and was beaten by Buckeye Nation after he got a saloon inside passage but what a difference a week makes. The Miles camp has now indicated that they will target the Miracle Mile at Menangle and will then concentrate on the Inter Dominion next year in Christchurch.

Plenty has been made about the distance of Friday night's feature. Is 1609 metres ideal or should it be run over 2300 metres? From what I can ascertain from the New South Wales Harness Racing Club I would be majorly surprised to see a distance change in the near future and to be honest I think that's the right decision to make. There are a number of reasons why I believe the race distance should be kept at 1609 metres.

1.The new track at Menangle was built to showcase mile racing. I acknowledge that you can't have all of the races over the same distance because it would become bland and boring however the track was designed for fast mile racing, something not witnessed in this country before.

2.Breeding. Have a look at the breeding statistics. The Australasian breeding industry is aimed at speed and more importantly mile speed. Why do we want to continue breeding speed horses yet testing them over further? They get plenty of opportunities to race over distance as a four year old yet there aren't too many feature races for them that are run over the shorter trip.

3.Menangle's best racing has been over a mile. I would argue that the best three races run at the track since it opened have all been over the mile. Plenty would disagree and would put Blacks A Fake's Inter Dominion win amongst the best victories but I think you have to be careful not to get too wrapped into the overall achievement of Blacks A Fake's effort of winning four Inter Dominions. There were very few moves in the race and Natalie's decision to lead up the three wide line was the winning move. Compare that race with the Len Smith Mile won by Smoken Up earlier this year. That race had everything, early speed, mid race action and a three way battle up the straight. Or last year's Miracle Mile when two horses cut at one another yet still battled up the straight and were beaten narrowly and I think last Friday night's race is right up there.

4.Great lead in for the Miracle Mile. If the Chariots Of Fire is moved to April as it has been mooted then it would give the Miracle Mile selectors a chance to look at the up and coming horses with a view towards Australia's feature sprint later in the year. Winning the Chariots Of Fire should just about guarantee a horse a spot in the Miracle Mile later in the year and to have both events over the same trip makes commonsense.

This issue will definitely polarise people. For example on In The Gig on Monday night both John Tapp and Adam Hamilton would like to see the race stretched to 2300 metres yet I would like to see the race left alone.

There will be plenty of debate in the next fortnight but I am tipping the only change to next year's Chariots Of Fire will be the date.

Congratulations to Ashlee Siejka after bringing up 150 wins for the season after driving a treble on Friday night. Ash book ended the program for boyfriend Peter Russo and also partnered At Large for Mark Rolfe in race three. The improvement she has made has been evident and while she has always been very good in front, Ashlee has improved her strikerate when driving horses that race midfield or further back. While her father and boyfriend continue to train plenty of winners expect Ashlee to be right up there in the premiership.

Another highlight on Friday night was the performance of Sting Lika Bee's little brother Hesa Buzzin. The Brian Tuddenham owned and Ian Wilson trained eight year old is still unbeaten in Sydney after three starts.

His first two wins were at Harold Park but I think he looked a lot more suited at Menangle where he had the big open spaces and the long straight in his favour. Slick Bromac finished second in that event and I would be surprised if he didn't win his next start. He had to do a lot of work in the run and was only narrowly beaten.

Plenty of people had the daggers out for Captain Joy after he finished fourth in the same event. The four year old was disappointing the week before in the Paleface Adios Sprint and raced below his best again. Am I ready to get off the band wagon yet? No, I am prepared to give him another campaign to prove himself. While his results in Queensland were good, I thought he looked below his best up there and I wonder how much his effort in the 4 year old Championship took out of him. He pulled quite hard in that event and has raced below par since. It's been a big season for the son of Mach Three too. He has been to New Zealand, Queensland and New South Wales and is entitled to be looking for a break. His next campaign will be vital. Catch you next week.