Big month kicks off at Alexandra Park this Friday

By Michael Guerin

Two of the harness racing circuits that rarely overlap will do so in the features at Alexandra Park this Friday.

And it will be two of the surprise packages of the Cambridge spring racing who will take in the strongest formlines, numerically at least, against the glamour horses straight from Group 1s.

Friday’s meeting kicks off a huge month at The Park and along with two TAB Metro Finals, one each for the pacers and trotters, but it is the two big races for the girls that bring the most disparate formlines.

The $25,000 Queen Of Diamonds Prelude leads into the Group 1 trot on Friday week and sees three-year-old filly Ya Rite Darl with a -599 formline turn up against Cambridge regular Emily Bay, who incredibly has the best digits next to her name with back to back wins.

Ya Rite Darl will still start a warm favourite in the mobile 1700m even though she has one win from her five Alexandra Park starts as she has raced against the best of her age almost every start in 2025 and would seem to only need to bring her best manners to match the older mares.

Bringing an even more impressive string of Cambridge wins to Friday night is Aquila, who has remarkably won five straight in the Waikato for young trainer Zev Meredith.

She goes up a long, long way in class though taking on dual Oaks winner Arafura in the G3 Caduceus Club Northern Breeders Stakes, the natural lead-up to next week’s Queen Of Hearts.

To make life even tougher on Aquila she finds herself a R63 mare and therefore drawn outside Arafura (barrier 3).

In the Metro Trot Final, Look To Da Stars will start a hot favourite even from the worst draw after he won his heat last Friday almost as easily as he did his previous start at Addington.

His stablemate Arden’s Memory could start favourite in the $35,000 TAB Pacing Metro Final after her brave last start win while the meeting also features the Franklin Country Cup with a small but even field.

To see Friday's fields click here