Trained and driven by Chris Lang, last year’s winner Sundons Gift outclassed his rivals once again as the $1.60 favourite beat home shock second placegetter, Queensland-trained Kasyanov ($147) by an easy 9.5m with Lang’s other runner Skyvalley ($5.50) finishing off the trifecta a further 3.8m back.

Improving trotter Cillas Earl ($38) was a close fourth just ahead of Acacia Ridge ($18.70) in fifth.

Sundons Gift showed sensational speed from barrier one to take the lead early, running a first quarter of 29.7s. The third pre-race favourite, Gavin Lang’s Don King ($9.60) was in second place for the first quarter, but went to three wide by the middle before eventually tailing off to finish seventh.

After a 31.8s second quarter, Sundons Gift still held a 3m lead from Don King while eventual second-placegetter Kasyanov moved to the inside.

Running 28.9s over the third quarter Sundons Gift increased his lead on the final turn, running clear from the pack as Don King tiered, slipping back and making way for Kasyanov to move up to second place.

As the leader kept pulling away for a sensational win, his stablemate Skyvalley moved up to third on the outside.

The eight-year-old winning Sundon gelding clocked a smart mile rate of 2:01.0 in his 29^th victory from 57 career starts. The $142 500 in Saturday’s Inter Dominion winnings bought his overall career earnings to $789 673.

With the win Sundons Gift became only the second horse in history to secure back-to-back trotting Inter Dominion Championships, the first since New Zealand runner Pride Of Petite in 1996/1997, and the first Australian bred trotter to achieve the feat.

The victory may have been Sundons Gift’s second, but his trainer went one better as it was Lang’s third successive Inter Dominion win.

Runner-up Kasyanov also made history as the first Queensland trained trotter to not only make the Inter Dominion Grand Final, but place in the top three as well.

The $30 000 Group 2 Inter Dominion Trotting Championship Consolation (2575m) was the other major trotting event at the meeting, won by Ronerail ($2.40) 4.7m ahead of Earl Of Mot ($9.50) with Chris Lang’s Kyvalley Mac ($32.40) in third.

2010 Inter Dominion Trotting Championship Results:

The barrier draw for the highly anticipated event took place yesterday where the Chris Lang-trained and driven defending Inter Dominion champion Sundons Gift drew the prized barrier one.

The eight-year-old Sundon gelding claimed an emphatic victory in the second semi final last week and will start as the odds-on favourite for the final.

If Sundons Gift succeeds in Saturday’s final he will become just the second horse in history to win successive Inter Dominions alongside Pride Of Petite back in 1997.

Also drawing well was Gary Hoban’s Acacia Ridge. The in-form pacer placed second to Sundons Gift in last week’s final but will have his chance at revenge on Saturday.

Known as a promising fast starter Acacia Ridge, ensuring a good start, is sure to be close on the heels of the favourite all the way.

Chris Lang’s other trotter, Skyvalley, who in a shock defeat placed fifth in semi final one last week has drawn barrier seven.

Cillas Earl, the Michael Marais trained roughie who caused one of harness racings’ biggest upsets when he defeated Skyvalley in the semis, has also had luck with the barrier draw and will start from four.

In fact the entire front row is full of the favourites and those coming off great semi final runs, with the rest of the forward line occupied by Bete Noire in barrier 3, Heyzeal in barrier 5 and the brilliant Don King in barrier six.

The Michelle Manning-trained Bete Noire was the other roughie who had a smashing semi run coming in second behind Cillas Earl.

Heyzeal was the third placegetter in the second semi and Gavin Lang’s Don King, despite running fourth in the semis, is still a top class runner with plenty of ability to do well here.

Kasyanov in barrier nine may be sitting well down in the betting markets for the final, but has already made history being the first Queensland trained trotter to make the final field of an Inter Dominion Grand Final.

The SEW-Eurodrive Inter Dominion Championship is scheduled as race five on the night’s elite and very lucrative 10-race programme, where over $1million in stakes are up for grabs, and is due to jump at 8:02pm (VIC time).

Other highlight harness events at the meeting are the $30 000 Group 3 4YO Bonanza (Race 2 – 6:30pm), the $30 000 Group 2 Inter Dominion Championship Consolation (Race 3 – 7:00pm) and the big ones for the pacing fans will be the $200 000 Group 1 Alabar Victoria Derby Final (Race 6 – 8:32pm) followed by the other Group 1 highlight of the night the $400 000 Group 1 BIG6 Hunter Cup (Race 8 – 9:30pm).

2010 Inter Dominion Final Field & Barrier Draw:

Moonee Valley Race Programme – Saturday 6 February:

In a shock defeat and one of the biggest harness racing upsets in recent years, the highly fancied Chris Lang-trained champion Skyvalley nearly had his Inter Dominion dreams cut short when he only just managed to finish within the required top six to earn a spot in next Saturday’s final.

It was an unexpected finish in the first semi final when seven-year-old Cillas Earl ($25.30), trained and driven by Michael Marais, claimed a lengthy 4.3m victory ahead of extreme long-shot Bete Noire ($82.10) with Solar Active ($41.10) 1.3m further back for third.

Fourth place went to another roughie, Red Samurai ($94.30) who defeated the pre-race favourite at the shortest possible TAB price, $1.04, Skyvalley by 1.5m. It was a strong finish for Red Samurai who sat in last place as they passed the 800 metres.

Five-year-old Skyvalley started sensationally, displaying good speed from gate six. After sitting three wide early, driver Chris Lang Jnr. had the Muscles Yankee colt leading at the bell by nearly 5m. But Skyvalley pulled hard in the lead, running himself ragged after a blistering 29.7 first quarter, which was the fastest of the race.

Skyvalley was then overtaken by Cillas Earl on the final turn and failed to come back or threaten the lead again.

Chris Lang was soon smiling again though, when he took out the second semi with his star Sundons Gift.

The champion eight-year-old Sundon gelding started as the $1.40 favourite and proved why when he ran a great all the way win, defeating early leader Acacia Ridge ($1.90) by 3.2m with Heyzeal a distant third nearly 9m back from the winner.

Second favourite Don King ($5.20) came in fourth followed by Dream A Moment with Kasyanov finishing off the six final qualifiers.

The Grand Final of the Inter Dominion will take place at Moonee Valley this Saturday, February 6, with the barrier draw for the event happening this Tuesday.

Both of the Group 2 status semi finals are worth $40 000 and will determine the final field of top trotters that will line up for the Group 1 final on February 6 at Moonee Valley.

The first semi final is headlined by the Chris Lang-trained Skyvalley in barrier six. The magnificent and highly promising Muscles Yankee colt has displayed some sensational recent form, winning four of his past five starts.

Skyvalley’s regular reinsman, Lang’s son Chris Junior will drive the popular trotter on Saturday night with Skyvalley sure to start as the odds-on favourite.

The Gavin Crone-trained Sunana Asset has drawn the prized inside barrier one, the Sundon colt coming off a last start victory at Albion Park.

And on the other end of the barriers, the Clinton Welsh-trained Red Samurai has drawn the outside barrier after being the last to secure a spot in the series following their win in Ouyen Trotters Cup back on January 15.

Lang, a trainer-driver from Nagambie, also has Sunny Elegant in barrier five while his leading squaregaiter and the defending champion Sundons Gift is engaged in the second semi.

The second semi final features a star studded field, and despite Sundons Gift’s class and proven ability, it will still be a highly competitive and entertaining race as the eight-year-old last start Group 2 E B Cochran Cup winner faces off against the likes of Acacia Ridge and Don King.

Acacia Ridge will be looking to atone for their second to Sundons Gift in the Cochran Cup last week, where despite Acacia Ridge’s favourable barrier two draw, Sundons Gift still managed victory after starting wide from barrier 11.

Still a consistent trotter, Acacia Ridge has drawn barrier five on Saturday and will be driven by trainer Gary Hoban.

Many eyes too will be on the Gavin Lang trained and driven Don King, the imposing gelding shares the same super sire as Sundons Gift, the US bred Sundon. Don King has been on fire recently, storming home to four successive victories and has drawn barrier eight.

Sundons Gift will head the betting markets as the top selection and will be driven by Lang from barrier seven.

All the starters in the second semi will move up a barrier position if the emergency Earl Of Mot, drawn in barrier one, does not gain a start. If this happens, the New Zealand bred In Pursuit will secure the inside running.

Pacing fans will also be treated on the night with the $125 000 Group 1 Ballarat Pacing Cup running as race seven at the action packed meeting.

The Inter Dominion Trotting Championship semis will run as races three (8:03pm) and six (9:30pm) on the night’s bumper nine-event programme.

The $1.50 favourite, five-year-old Skyvalley claimed an easy 5.5m victory ahead of stablemate Sundons Gift ($7.00), giving Nagambie-located trainer Chris Lang the quinella and his first win in the event, with Ronerail ($20.00) 1.9m back for third.

Sundons Gift, ridden by Lang on Friday night, has now had a minor placing in the last three successive Bill Collins Sprints – eighth in 2007, third in 2008 and then second this year.

Ridden by Chris Lang Jnr, the son of Muscles Yankee exploded from barrier three in a sensational display of speed, continuing on to break 30 seconds in every quarter, clocking a blistering 1:56.3 second win.

2009 Bill Collins Sprint Results:

There has been a major shake-up of the Bill Collins final field today, with the reigning champ Will Trapper scratched due to injury. The son of Keystone Salute will not get a chance to defend the title after suffering a minor bump on the leg that will stop the eight-year-old from competing on Friday night.

It is still a high quality field of runners with all of the starters in last week’s Australian Trotting Grand Prix backing up with a run in the Sprint, with the exception of last placegetter La Mosca. One of the most talented trotters is the Chris Lang-trained Sundons Gift now boasting a hat-trick of Grand Prix victories after last Friday’s success. The champion squaregaiter is aiming at his first victory in the Bill Collins, after placing eighth in 2007 and third last year. He will have to work hard to prove himself as a star sprinter as well as stayer though after drawing awkwardly with gate 10.

Another fancied runner Sundons Gift’s stablemate, Skyvalley has drawn well with gate three. Lang also has Kyvalley Mac starting from gate two in the feature event.

The squaregaiters will get their chance to battle it out at 8:40pm (VIC time) when the Group 1 $50 000 Bill Collins Trotters Sprint runs as the sixth event on Tabcorp Park’s mega 10-race programme on Friday night.

2009 Bill Collins Sprint Final Field:

Eight-year-old Sundons Gift ($8.70) driven by trainer Chris Lang defeated Will Trapper ($20.30) by just 1.5m with another outsider and local star Save A Sixpence ($23.10) 7.3m back from the winner in third.

Odds-on favourite at $2.30 and stablemate to Sundons Gift, Skyvalley managed fourth while the other highly fancied runner Springbank Richard ($2.40) finished a dismal fifth some 13m from the winner, despite having had the inside run. The poor performance put an end to Skyvalley’s impressive string of six victories.

The victory proved the reigning Inter Dominion champion, Sundons Gift, was back in winning form after placing eight in last week’s Cranbourne Trotters Cup. The bay gelding ran a gross time of 2:45.2 for a sharp mile rate of 1:58.7, which beat Skyvalley’s track record by half a second.

Sundons Gift will start next in the coveted $50 000 Group 1 Bill Collins Trotters Sprint on Friday night.

Other feature trotting events held over the weekend were the $15 000 Yarra Valley Trotters Cup won by ten-year-old Solar Active in Victoria on Friday night. The $10 000 Wedderburn Trotters Cup (2690m) followed at Maryborough on Sunday, where Don King claimed victory for his 12^th win from 22 career starts.

2009 Australian Trotting Grand Prix Results:

Aiming at his third successive victory in the event is the Chris Lang-trained Sundons Gift. The eight-year-old veteran has drawn ideally with barrier three and looks a strong chance to make it a trotting Grand Prix hat-trick. Sundons Gift, the defending Inter Dominion trotting champion, will come up against in-form stablemate Skyvalley on Friday, who is aiming at his seventh consecutive victory. Four-year-old Skyvalley will start from barrier nine following the scratching of first emergency False Gem and it is certain to be an anticipated showdown between Lang’s two boom horses.

Previous Victoria Trotters Derby champion Springbank Richard also drew well and will have the inside running from barrier one. The Kiwi trotter is coming off a last start victory in the Dominion Handicap and will be tough to beat.

Also set to start in the front line are local stars Save A Sixpence (br. 2), Ronerail (br. 4) and last year’s Sky Channel Dullard Cup champion Viva La Fever (br. 7).

Another Kiwi visitor to watch is the up-and-coming squaregaiter In Pursuit (br. 11). The Michael Marias-trained son of Monarchy is a truly emerging talent looking to set himself up as the new trotting champion.

The SEW-Eurodrive Australian Trotting Grand Prix will run as race seven on the night’s nine race programme.

Other feature trotting races taking place around the country this weekend include the $15 000 Yarra Valley Trotters Cup in Victoria on Friday and the $10 000 Wedderburn Trotters Cup at Maryborough on Sunday.

2009 Group 1 Australian Trotting Grand Prix Final Field & Barrier Draw: