New Zealand's best pacer Akuta won't tackle Saturday week's $100,000 Ballarat Cup.

But champion trainer Mark Purdon confirmed he and son, Nathan, were still focused on chasing Victorian riches with pacing stars Akuta and exciting young stablemate Don’t Stop Dreaming.

It will be quite nostalgic when two of Mark Purdon’s big guns arrive in Melbourne next week.

While Purdon’s return to Melbourne for the first time in four years is a coup for Harness Racing Victoria and harness fans, the champion trainer admits he himself is as excited as anybody.

For all of Purdon’s success in NZ and through many parts of Australia, he looks back on his early days as a trainer and many successful trips to Melbourne as some of the most enjoyable times of his stellar career.

Victoria will be the big winner in the wash-up from an epic Brisbane Inter Dominion Grand Final night.

Not only did our own champion Just Believe arrogantly complete another clean sweep of the trotting series, but it’s close to a lock pacing hero Leap To Fame will join Just Believe to propel the February 3 Hunter Cup meeting to the next level.

Never have barrier draws been more important.

Yes, we have heard it all before, how the marbles fall today (Monday) for the Inter Dominion pacing and trotting finals is critical, albeit in slightly different ways for the two races.

The Inter Dominion has a rich history of fairytale stories and Plymouth Chubb has the makings of being that horse in Brisbane.

The former champion juvenile, who has been sidelined with two significant injury setbacks, delivered one of the biggest upsets and most exciting wins of opening night at Albion Park last Friday.

The Breeders Crown needs an overhaul.

As a purist, the stars in action and the racing was great at Melton last Saturday night, but there is no disputing the once great event is nowhere near what it used to be.

Through a weekend of stars and sparkling performances, none were as remarkable as Just Believe.

Sitting at home watching tomorrow’s New Zealand Cup will be a timely walk down memory lane for Kerryn Manning.

The trailblazing driver, who is recovering all too slowly from wrist injuries sustained in a Melton fall just over six weeks ago, will get a boost from watching a race she created history in with Arden Rooney in 2015.

On one of Australian thoroughbred racing’s biggest days, the best performance by any horse last Saturday came from a pacer at Melton that night.

Throughout the day at Flemington we saw the likes of Riff Rocket, Ozzmosis and Pride Of Jenni win impressively, while Japanese visitor Obamburumai was awesome in the Golden Eagle at Rosehill.

One of harness racing’s most exciting and fascinating rivalries is set for another chapter.

Star four-year-old’s Catch A Wave and Captain Ravishing have met just three times, but they have been the centre of so much hype and discussion in their relatively short but brilliant careers.

History says Just Believe can successfully defend his Inter Dominion crown in Brisbane.

Much anticipation surrounds the star trotter's return to racing after his fantastic efforts against some of the world’s best trotters in Sweden during May and June.

Queensland officials must be a bit torn with Leap To Fame’s frustrating run of feature race defeats.

On one hand, he has quickly become a pin-up horse for harness racing – and even the broader racing industry for that matter – in the Sunshine State

We are just days away from Australia’s greatest extravaganza of racing and Victorian harness is a key part of it.

So much can change with this Pryde's EasiFeed Victoria Cup in the 12 days until it is run - for starters, we are still none-the-wiser whether long-time favourite Leap To Fame will be in the race.

There is still lots to play out with who makes this Pryde's EasiFeed Victoria Cup field let alone who wins it.

Leap To Fame is the raging hot favourite, but in the words of his trainer-driver Grant Dixon he is “50-50” of making the trip to Melton on October 14.

What a golden era of mares we are enjoying.

The stunning success of the TAB Eureka has created a wonderful and immediate opportunity for Victoria.

The TAB Eureka was everything those behind the creation of the race could have hoped for and more. It was as much a celebration of the sport as it was the launch of a new, headline race.