THANK goodness Black Caviar isn’t racing at Caulfield on Saturday.

If she was lining up for her 20^th consecutive win it would have taken some of the gloss of a high quality Sportingbet Oakleigh Plate.

A full field of 18 have accepted for the 1100 metre dash and you can make a strong case for a lot of them.

Heading the weights and the markets is star three-year-old Sepoy ($2.70 fav.) who has lost only once in his twelve runs to date with five wins from as many starts at Caulfield, including three from three over the 1100 metres.

Of course the best of them was when he blew his rivals away in the 2011 Blue Diamond Stakes before going on to win the Golden Slipper.

Barrier 11 is the widest he has yet drawn in a race but that shouldn’t be too much of a concern as he has the early pace to snare a handy position.

What might test the resolve of Sepoy and punters is the hefty 58kg he has been lumbered with.

Three-year-olds have claimed three of the last six Oakleigh Plates but none of them carried close to the burden that Sepoy has been given, even allowing for the recent lift of minimum weights by 1kg.

When Starspangledbanner won in 2010 he carried only 52kg and it should also be noted that five of the 13 starters that year were three-year-olds with four of them missing a place.

Weekend Hussler carried 53kg. when he won in 2008 and we all know what a superstar he turned out to be while Snitzel won in 2006 with 51.5kg.

Allowing for the recent 1kg weight rise only two horses in the last 40 years have successfully carried the weight Sepoy will carry.

Undue won as a five-year-old with 57kg in 2007 and Fastnet Rock was a three-year-old when he carried that same weight in 2005.

Rated high among the chances is the lightly raced flying machine Bel Sprinter ($3.20), a winner at five of his only six starts including his only two at Caulfield.

He resumed from five months off with an extra-ordinary win at Caulfield on February 4, when he got a long way further back than usual and flashed home to win in great style against Listed company.

He has been kept fresh for this race where he gets 4kg off Sepoy in the weights and he has drawn nicely in barrier five.

Add to the mix Eagle Falls ($21.00), a last start Group 2 Rubiton Stakes winner over this course, along with West Australian star Grand Nirvana ($41.00) and a handful of other smart ones and the Oakleigh Plate looks certain to be a hotly contested event.

Race 6 Sportingbet Oakleigh Plate – 1100 metres 3.50pm.

IN racing these days the champions can earn their connections millions of dollars but for every one of them there are hundreds, maybe thousands of horses whose earnings don’t cover their costs – financially.

However for some the rewards are not recorded in monetary terms but more in the lifestyle that they present.

Harness trainer John Collins is a perfect example.

John bred, owners, trains and drives veteran pacer Khans Gold who finished second last in the first race at Melton on Tuesday, nothing unusual about that.

After all it was the 85^th time the now 11yo has fronted the starter and he has won only one race (in September 2008) and he hasn’t run a place since May 2010.

It continues a somewhat under-whelming record for the breed as his mother had 29 starts for no wins and his half-brother Yeah Alright won only one of 43 race starts.

But that record doesn’t bother John who left the track on Tuesday feeling like a winner.

A veteran himself at 77yo, John has had his taste of success during more than 50 years in the sport and these days he is happy to just be out there competing.

Patting the defeated Khans Gold after Tuesday’s defeat, John said: “He keeps me going, gives me a reason to get up in the morning.

“If he had a good run he used to have a good sprint at the end but he isn’t as sharp as he used to be, I think he might be coming to the end.”

But the end for Khans Gold will not see the end of John Collins.

“I’ve got three others in work including his half sister.

“She has got good speed but lacks the heart.”

If the trainer can induce the filly to show as much heart as he does for the game hopefully she might improve his recent strike rate.

FLYING filly Samaready remains the hot pick for next Saturday’s Blue Diamond after drawing well when the final field was announced today.

Unbeaten in her only two outings Samaready has drawn in barrier eight and will jump from seven if none of the emergencies get a run.

Sportingbet have the daughter of USA sire More Than Ready at a tight quote of just $2.10 for the two-year-old classic on the strength of her fast win in the Blue Diamond Prelude at Caulfield on February 11.

At her only other outing she was an impressive winner at Flemington in December.

After her latest win her jockey Craig Newitt declared her as the best two-year-old he has been associated with.

The only other runner under double figure odds is The Travelling Man who has been rested since he resumed with a smart all-the-way win over 1000 metres at Caulfield on Australia Day.

The Travelling Man is drawn ideally in barrier two and he has the early pace to get a gun run for the 1200 metre dash.

Third pick at $12.00 in the betting is the Tony McEvoy trained colt Jimando but he has drawn the extreme outside stall of 20 and will be starting from barrier 16.

2012 BLUE DIAMOND STAKES – 1200 metres 4.30pm

THE second round of heats for the 2012 Inter Dominion has done little to sort out the three way logjam in the search for this year’s final winner.

Superstar pacer Smokin Up, local champ Im Themightyquinn and New Zealand star Auckland Reactor remain unbeaten after winning their heats and that trio look to have the race between them.

Edging slightly back into the mix was another Kiwi with Raglan benefiting from a more tactful drive from Anthony Butt when he led to win the first of four heats on Monday night.

Raglan looked in danger of missing a spot in the final when he finished down the track last Friday after Butt allowed himself to get pocketed in going down the back straight and from there he never got a shot at them.

But in a heat where Raglan ($1.80 fav.) ran back into contention another star was virtually eliminated when Washakie ($2.80) faded badly and finished a disappointing last.

Auckland Reactor ($1.60 fav.) was untroubled to lead throughout in his heat but like last Friday’s win he was more solid than impressive.

He went to the line 2.1 metres ahead of Mr Feelgood ($5.00) who did plenty of work in the run.

Smoken Up ($1.10 fav.) was his usual self in the third heat.

He worked to the front early but looked in trouble when he was headed by Crombie ($12.60) at the top of the straight but in his standard style he lifted when challenged and kicked back to win by 1.67 metres.

The pride of Perth Im Themightyquinn ($1.10 fav.) maintained his awesome record on the tight Gloucester Park circuit with an easy win in the final heat but not before giving his supporters a scare.

As Anthony Butt did with Raglan last Friday, Gary Hall jr. allowed Im Themightyquinn to be pocketed going into the back straight but he bustled his way clear and soon reeled in the leaders.

The third and final round of heats will be decided this Friday with the final a week later on March 2.