VICTORIAN iron horse Smoken Up collected his third Len Smith Mile, holding on to win in his usual never say die style in a blanket finish at Menangle on Saturday night.
Forced to work early to hold the lead and put under pressure rounding the home turn Smoken Up was a sitting duck for his rivals in the home straight, but as he has so often shown this ain't no ordinary little duck.
As a handful of runners issued their challenge the now eight-year-old Smoken Up kept finding sometrhing extra and at the end he held them off by the narrowest of margins.
After enjoying the run of the race Captain Joy was the last one to have a crack at the leader but he fell a nose short.
Jaccka Clive, who scored a shock win over Smoken Up at Melton last week was a close up third.
The winner clocked a smart 1:52.4 sec. for the trip, well short of the Australasian record of 1:48.5 sec. he set in winning last year's event.

Earlier in the night, as expected the trophy for winning the Chariots Of Fire at Menangle was headed back to Victoria last night but not in the vehicle of the connections who were expected to collect it.
With Kate Gath steering while husband Andy screaming support from the grandstand Victorian longshot Caribbean Blaster stormed home for a shock win.
While the Gath's were celebrating their win the connectionns of last saeason's star three-year-old Sushi Sushi were scratching their heads and wondering what went wrong
After an interupted week of preparation where he had a mild cough Sushi Sushi was sent out a hot favourite but in the end he put in a career worst performance.
Caught wide for the first three quarters of a lap he worked into the death seat in the back straight and still looked a winning chance as he headed early leader The Phantom entering the home straight.
But the favourite compounded like a pricked balloon and was swamped with 200 metres to travel.
Showing great heart The Phantom kicked back to regain the lead only to be challenged and passed by Excel Stride and just as Excel Stride was being hailed the winner did Caribbean Blaster run over the top of them both.

CHAMPION pacer Smoken Up suffered a shock defeat in his racetrack return when he was nailed in the closing stages by Jaccka Clive in the Westburn Grant Free-For-All at Tabcorp Park in Melton on Friday night.

Having his first race start after his out of character performance in the Inter Dominion final at Gloucester Park in Perth on March 2, where he broke into a gallop just as he was challenging Mr Feelgood for the early lead, Smoken Up was a long odds-on favourite and he appeared to have the race in his keeping when he strode to the front just on a lap out.

He had done a little work to get there but that has been the signature of his success throughout his career.

The alarm bells started ringing when Decorated Jasper issued a challenge at the top of the home straight but as he has always done Smoken Up kicked back to ward off Decorated Jasper but he had nothing left to stop the late charge of Jaccka Clive had came with a late dash to edge out the hot favourite.

The winner clocked the smart mile rate of 1:55.1s., not far off Smoken Up’s track record of 1:53.4.Smoken Up’s trainer Lance Justice is confident his star will benefit from the run and thinks the horse is still the one they have to beat the Len Smith Mile at Menangle on April 28.

STAND in driver John Justice has threatened to declare war on any driver that dares to hamper Smoken Up’s charge for the early lead in tonight’s Inter Dominion final at Gloucester Park in Perth.

Justice is unbeaten in four drives on Smoken Up including the three qualifying heats of the Inter Dominion where the horse has worked to the lead and outstayed his rivals.

He has taken the reins while his brother Lance, who also trains the horse, is out of the sulky with serious injuries received in a fall at Melton earlier this year.

Speaking at Melton yesterday before leaving for Perth, Justice said: “I haven’t spoken to Lance yet, but I’d imagine it will be the usual tactics.”

Everybody, especially tonight’s opposing drivers, knows what those tactics are.

Go hard early and if they fight to hold the lead just keep on pressing.

Smoken Up is a warrior and he can apply those tactics and still win but God help anyone who tries to hold him off.

If anybody is likely to offer an early challenge it may come from John McCarthy who steers the polemarker Mr Feelgood and there would be no other horse that the Justice camp would like to drive into the ground.

The American import won last year’s Inter Dominion after Smoken Up was disqualified for returning a positive swab.

Mr Feelgood returned to his best  in his heat last week and he has shortened to third favourite at $5.50 on Sportingbet fixed odds market.

A major concern for Smoken Up is his ability to handle the tight, flat turns at Gloucester Park.

A similar flat turn cost his defeat in the recent Ballarat Cup and although he is unbeaten there the turns at Gloucester Park are not his favourite.

Justice said: “I’d like it if the track was bigger but you have to work with what you have got.”

If Mr Feelgood hands up the early lead there is a strong chance that with the pressure of an Inter Dominion final that Smoken Up may drift off the track on the home turn and present the race to him.

The one the punters want is local star Im Themightyquinn who is now odds-on at $1.95.

He is likely to drop back early and he would be the one to benefit most from a battle for the lead.

Top New Zealad hope Auckland Reactor ($7.00) is also unbeaten in his three heats and he too will more than likely drop back early and the whoever wins the battle of tactics between his driver Anthony Butt and Gary Hall jr on Im Themightyquinn will play a major role in the result.

Im Themightyquinn has consistently been the fastest in the run home three all three heats but he has got away with some easy early sectionals.

There will be no easy sectionals in tonight’s final.

Here is how the four main chances have performed in their heats:

The final field with Sportingbet markets is:

INTER DOMINION FINAL - 9.10pm Perth time. Gloucester Park. Race 7.

LOCAL champ Im Themightyquinn remains the hot favourite for Friday night’s Inter Dominion final despite drawing outside second elect Smoken Up.

While Smoken Up, drawn six, will probably charge into an early battle with Mr Feelgood for the lead, from barrier seven Im Themightyquinn is likely to drop back early and hope the leaders tear themselves apart.

Mr Feelgood who returned to his best form to win his heat last Friday has drawn the pole and it is hard to see him giving up the fence without a battle.

Top New Zealand pacer Auckland Reactor has drawn the extreme outside and it would be hard to imagine him challenging for the early lead from that draw.

That four are the only horses wanted by punters for the final with the remaining five runners conceded nothing more than traffic hazards.

If things go his way the Perth champ will take a lot of beating but you can be sure that Smoken Up won't go down without a fight.

The local press and commentators everywhere have been talking up Im Themightyquinn which has generated a lot of disquiet from the Lance Justice camp.

Unable to drive the horse in races because of injuries sustained in a fall at Melton last month, Lance has been driving the printed case for Smoken Up on his Facebook site.

Without wishing to degrade Im Themightyquinn in reference to the local horses easy win in last Friday’s third round he quoted this week: “Tell me when they run 32 second sections in Smoken Up’s heats.”

And Justice hasn’t been alone with his thoughts, receiving plenty of support for his champions prospects from many followers as well as the horse himself!

Smoken Up has his own website which is produced by the Justice camp and the horse is quoted this week as saying: “I love to be told what I can't do.....”

2012 INTER DOMINION FINAL – 2506 metres. Mobile start
The field and barrier draw with current Sportingbet odds:

THE final round or preliminaries of the Inter Dominion at Gloucester Park in Perth on Friday night kicked off a massive weekend of Australian racing that encompasses the three racing codes.

As it has been with the first two rounds of the Inter Dominion the usual suspects came to the fore with Smoken Up, Auckland Reactor and Im Themightyquinn remaining unbeaten after again outclassing their rivals.

And edging back into contention for the series was the USA bred star Mr Feelgood who returned to his best to score his first win for the series.

Now that the final field has been decided the next important round of the series will be the barrier draw to be conducted at an Inter Dominion function on Sunday then after that in pinching a line from USA boxing ring announcer  Michael Buffer “Lets get ready to rumble.”

Who draws where will play a major role in the betting for the Inter final but before then TAB Sportsbet have local champ Im Themightyquinn favourite at $2.10.

He was super impressive on Friday night striding to the front going down the back straight and coasting away to win by 19 metres.

Smoken Up remains second elect at $3.20 after he again delivered a gutsy performance to score a fairly narrow win in his heat.

As he has done throughout his career Smoken Up worked hard and kicked back strongly when tackled rounding the home turn.

On ability he is the one to beat but like he did when losing in the Ballarat Cup earlier this month he has been struggling around the fairly flat Gloucester Park turns.

His class and heart have enabled him to kick back and win his three heats but the final will see him facing a much tougher field.

Auckland Reactor had to work hard early before finding the lead in his heat but from there he was never challenged and went to the line under a strong hold when winning by four metres.

He is the third elect for the final at $4.80 with Mr Feelgood at $7.00 the only other runner under double figures.

Those odds could change dramatically depending on the draw and another strong factor in the final could be some of the “cowboy” tactics of a couple of the other local drivers in the final.

Interesting is one word that could be used to describe some of the drivers on longshots during the series so far where some drives would seem not to have presented their horses with the chance to obtain their best possible position.

TAB SPORTSBET MARKET FOR THE INTER DOMINION

Gloucester Park, March 2. Before the barrier draw

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ON the thoroughbred side of the ledger there are three Group 1s up for decision at Caulfield today.

2011 Cox Plate winner Pinker Pinker returns to the track in the fifth race the WFA Futurity Stakes.

Her win at Moonee Valley was mainly due to one of the great big-race rides of all-time by Craig Williams but from the pole draw today she is likely to get buried back in the field and she may need another clever ride by Williams if she is to succeed.

Three scratchings has reduced the field to only eight starters which should help her cause.

Top class Kiwi galloper King Mufhasa has a solid record over the 1400 metres and he looks the one to beat.

Star 3YO colt Sepoy is looking to go out of Australia on as winning note in the Oakleigh Plate, race six.

With 10 wins from 11 starts to his credit he certainly has the form on the board but his huge weight of 58kg against the 54kg of boom speedster Bel Sprinter makes him vulnerable.

Highlight of the day at Caulfield is the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes which on paper looks a benefit for star filly Samaready.

Jockey Craig Newitt has declared her as the best 2YO he has ridden and is confident she can give him his first success in the 2YO classic.

One person who knows how to win a Blue Diamond is jockey Dwayne Dunn who with ex top jock Roy Higgins holds the record of four wins in the event.

He is looking to claim a fifth win on the David Hayes trained Mama’s Choice who was an impressive winner at her only outing at Caulfield on February 12.

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THE woofas round off a great days racing with heats of the Australian Cup at The Meadows although the meeting has been robbed of a lot of interest with the scratching of super stayer Miata from the heats of the Stayers Cup.

2011 Victorian Greyhound of the Year Dyna Tron is looking to add another big race to his resume.

He was a super success last year winning the Melbourne Cup, the Geelong Cup and the Hobart Thousand.

He loves a wide draw and from box seven in the fifth heat of the Cup, race seven, he should have no trouble in qualifying for the final.

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.

THE 2012 Inter Dominion pacing championships got underway at Gloucester Park in Perth on Friday night with the farcical situation that we might know this year’s winner before we can be sure of last year’s winner.

Amazingly we still don’t have a final result for the 2011 series which was “won” by Smoken Up in New Zealand last April.

That “win” was eradicated when Smoken Up returned a positive swab to a substance named as dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) which shocked the horses trainer driver Lance Justice.

At the time Justice declared he knew of the substance but had never used it.

However a hearing last August found Justice guilty and apart from having the horse disqualified which resulted in the loss of $400,00 in stakemoney, the trainer/driver was fined $3500 and ordered to pay costs of more than $32,000.

Justice appealed the decision and that hearing was held earlier this month with a decision expected before the 2012 series began but nothing has yet been decided.

While the decision makers in New Zealand are still dilly-dallying with the 2011 result, Smoken Up showed that he will again play a leading role in the 2012 event with his usual win at all costs style  in the third heat at Gloucester Park.

Made to work by Saucy Legend ($4.70) to find the early lead in the 1720 metre event Smoken Up ($1.30 fav.) looked set to be challenged by Dasher Vic ($13.50) at the top of the straight but the champ always had him covered and went to the line 1.6 metres in front.

Dasher Vic    held on for second 3.1 metres ahead of Saucy Legend with Hesa Buzzin ($50.20) running on late for fourth.

Earlier in the night the Kiwis quinellaed the first heat with Auckland Reactor ($2.10) edging past Washakie ($1.70 fav.) in the closing stages to win the first heat by 2 metres.

Auckland Reactor had enjoyed the run of the race while Washakie led but was assassinated by Sneakyn Down Under ($59.80) who pressured him all the way.

Stewards later queried the driver of Sneakyn Down Under on his driving tactics.

The second heat provided the upset for the night when Crombie ($26.50) came from three wide for the last lap to beat Can Return Fire ($49.50) by a head with early leader Rocket Reign ($5.50) a half neck away third.

Among the unplaced runners were Mr Feelgood ($2.80) who worked early and led the outside division before battling on fairly for fourth while the shock of the race was Raglan ($2.30 fav.) finishing an unlucky sixth.

Raglan had enjoyed the run of the race one out, one back but his driver Anthony Butt let himself become boxed in going down the back straight and from there he never got a clear shot at them.

He now faces a tough task to make the final.

The final heat was as expected won by the local champ Im Themightyquinn ($1.30 fav.).

He also sat one out, one back but when the pace stepped up his driver Gary Hall Jr was taking no chances and he pulled out and raced away to win by 5.4 metres from Has The Answers ($4.70) with Son Of Fergie ($40.30) 2.7 metres back in third place.

The runners back up for the second round of the series at Gloucester Park on Monday night by which stage the final field will be close to being decided.

At the same time let’s hope the officials in  New Zealand can also step up and give us a final result for 2011.

SUPERSTAR pacer Smoken Up didn’t just break the 1720 metre record at Tabcorp Park in Melton on Saturday night – he smashed it to smithereens!

His trainer Lance Justice elected to bypass the rich Hunter Cup in protest at the handicap mark he had been allotted and while it produced a win and another track record it was a shame not to see him race against the best.

Piloted this time by the trainer’s brother John Justice, the star’s third driver in as many runs, as usual Smoken Up ($1.20 fav,) looked to be labouring rounding the home turn as the smart Decorated Jasper ($6.70) edged a couple of metres clear.

But in his standard style Smoken Up straightened up, balanced and moved forward to go neck and neck before drawing clear in the closing stages to win by 4.1 metres over Decorated Jasper with Stirling Charming ($34.40) a futther six metres away third.

Smoken Up stopped the clock with a record mile rate of a remarkable 1:51.1 sec., clearly the fastest time set at Tabcorp Park in it’s short history.

It adds to his record time the he holds for the 2240 metres at the circuit.

It was Smoken Up’s 57^th win from 107 race starts and he is quickly approaching $3,000,000 in stake earnings..

The win atoned for his disappointing (for him!) third behind Highview Tommy and Sushi Sushi in the Ballarat Cup a week earlier.

His trainer expressed his thoughts of the Ballarat track on his Facebook page after that race when he blamed the lack of camber on the turns for the defeat.

REPLACEMENT driver Greg Sugars was somewhat bemused after his first competitive pairing with star pacer Smoken Up in a trial at Tabcorp Park in Melton on Monday night.

Allowed to stroll to the lead by his four rivals Smoken Up was untouched to lead throughout and win by about a dozen metres  but not before handing his new driver a scare or two.

After the trial, and with a grin from ear to ear, Sugars said: “Early on I thought to myself ‘Hello, is there something wrong with this horse.”

Sugars was concerned that Smoken Up wasn’t stretching out as well as expected but his fears were soon relieved.

“I think he was just being a bit lazy,’ he said.

After coasting through the first half of the trial Smoken Up ran home the last half mile in 56 sec. flat, the last quarter in 27.8 sec. untouched.

After driving the horse in trackwork for the first time on Saturday, Sugars said he is still learning about Smoken Up who this Saturday will contest the $100,000 Group one South Australian Cup at Globe Derby.

He said: “Obviously Lance (Justice) knows all about the horse, I’ll know a lot more after Saturday night.”

LEADING reinsman Lance Justice was taken to hospital on Monday afternoon after a horrific race fall at Tabcorp Park in Melton.
Justice suffered a suspected broken ankle after his drive Discrimination was part of a five horse pile-up shortly after the start of the sixth race.
Ironically the break comes just six days after Justice's biggest win at the track with Smoken Up in last Saturday's Victoria Cup.
Four other drivers were knocked about in the melee including Chris Alford who at first appeared to have sustained a broken wrist but remarkably returned to drive a winner at the Melton night meeting.
The other three were able to walk away after the crash although Kylie Sugars had a dislocated shoulder and late last night medical staff were waiting on X-ray results before trying to put it back in place.
Ross Payne and John Cassar who were also tossed from their sulkies were shaken but otherwise okay.
Justice and Alford were both treated on the track for over 15 minutes before they were both placed on stretchers and loaded into ambulances.
Justice was taken to the Western General Hospital for treatment but Alford insisted he would be alright to drive later in the evening program.
The accident happened half way around the first turn where at first Sugars' drive La Belle Aurore just seemed to lose her footing and nosedived into the track.
With the field still working for position the others had little to no time to react and as the carnage spread more horses got involved and in a split second the race was decimated.
A number of those that remained on their feet were still severely hampered and the drivers abandoned the race shortly thereafter.
Apart from hurting his wrist Alford also went head first into the track and came up looking like he had just gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson.
He obviously thought Louvre was a good thing in the third race on the evening program as he defied advice to forfeit the drive and was rewarded with a win but after that race he decided to hand up another four drives he had been booked for.
They all missed a place.
Justice obviously had to forego his drives in the final two races of the day program and another four he was due to drive at the evening meeting.
His injury pens up a situation as to who will pilot superstar pacer Smoken Up the South Australian Pacing Cup on January 14, and possibly the Inter-Dominion which is scheduled to begin at Gloucester Park in Perth on February 17.
One thing for sure is that there will be a long list of volunteers.