Weekly preview / Andy Morris / 08 April 2009 / Leave a comment Bet Now

Easter brings more than eggs with a wealth of great harness racing on offer here in Australia.

Action kicks off at Gloucester Park on Thursday night with the running of the $40k SKY Easter Cup over the marathon 2902 metres.

I like the way Real Life has been progressing and with the miles in his legs (2 recent wins over 2503 metres off standing starts) he should measure up to this better class.

Total Defiance will be his greatest obstacle with Aldo Cortopassi sure to give the winner of 17 of his 34 starts every chance. Sportivo should fill the place just ahead of regular sparring partner Hombre Higgins.

At Dubbo on Saturday night a great card is on offer with a couple of nice feature races. The $30k Peter Moraghan Four & Five Year Old Championship features the in form Franco Nester while the $20k Golden Mile Red Ochre Mares Classic might belong to a local in Foolish Kiss from the emerging Canasta Shannon.

In Launceston on Sunday Ohoka Utah returns for the $40k Nichols Sound & Communications Easter Cup which will be a great relief after battling the giants in the recent Inter Dominion Pacing Championships.

Deana Troy starts off 30 metres which won't help her cause but she does have the class the reel most of these in. Kerryn Manning is always dangerous and she'll be plotting the downfall of the aforementioned aboard Brooklyn Brute who is off 20 metres. The feature on the card is the $125,000 Australian Derby which has produced a cracker field.

Garnet River comes off a strong win in the Tasmanian Derby last week and had enough at the end to suggest he can do it again. Village of Dreams is never far away but the surprise may come in the form of Villagem and David Miles who, despite the bad draw, is showing lots of promise and could well mount a serious challenge.

Veranjee looks well placed by Arthur Fullwood in the $25k Rapidvite Warragul Pacing Cup on Sunday.

Jodi Quinlan takes the drive and I think he'll be too good for Our Sir Jeckyl and Doolan Jack. Good punting and happy Easter - trusting the Betfair Bunny leaves you a nice deposit.