Three-time Group 1-winning trotting mare Dance Craze returns to harness racing at Bendigo on Saturday night.
While neighbouring pacer Ride High has been taking the harness racing scene by storm, Dance Craze gets her opportunity to put her name up in lights again.
Dance Craze is trained by Anton Golino – who trains at Cardigan next to the stable complex of Clayton Tonkin, who prepares superstar Ride High.
Dance Craze has not raced since March, but there will be no easy return for the six-year-old.
She runs straight into arch-rival Tornado Valley and emerging star Wobelee in the Yabby Dam Racing Trot, 2150m, as well as the highly credentialled Big Jack Hammer.
Two starts ago Dance Craze took out the Group 1 Australian Grand Prix – adding to her group 1 2019 Great Southern Star – to reinforce her status as one of the great trotting mares of the modern era.
She goes into this assignment after two trials against pacers in Ballarat.
Tornado Valley, trained near Bacchus Marsh by Andy Gath, has been off the scene since March.
The eight-year-old has been the benchmark for trotting in Australia for the past two years since arriving from New Zealand, winning an Inter Dominion.
Tornado Valley has won seven of 12 starts this season, with two of his defeats being seconds to Dance Craze in the Grand Prix at Melton and Cochran Cup in Ballarat.
Each of the two big guns also have highly regarded stablemates in the same race.Golino has the improved Imsettogo, while Gath also lines up NZ import CK Spur.
While Ride High takes a week off after a fifth win on end for the season at Shepparton on Saturday night, his arch-rival Lochinvar Art races at Bendigo on Saturday.
The Shepparton pacer was a disaappointing third in Ballarat on August 8. Lochinvar Art was found to have low-grade viral infection, but trainer-driver David Moran says his stable gun is ready to race again.
He will again clash with the Emma Stewart-trained Major Times and My Kiwi Mate, which finished ahead of him in Ballarat.
Sirletic is also engaged after finishing second to Ride Highj (twice) and Lochinvar Art at his past three starts.
Ballarat district duo James Herbertson and Kima Frenning are going to the wire in their battle for the Victorian concession drivers' premiership.
Herbertson from Lexton has a two-win lead over Frenning, who is now based in Ballarat.
Frenning is the defending titleholder after edging out Darby McGuigan from Gordon last season.