The 2022 SENTrack Inter Dominion grand finals night at Melton - a fitting finale to an exhilarating two-weeks that had it all.

It provided the best in harness racing - the people, the horses and the racing.

And then there was the party atmosphere off the track - the perfect backdrop as two new Inter Dominion pacing and trotting champions were crowned on Saturday night.

The Melton course was packed with every vantage point taken to see the racing and also enjoy the experience.

There were the harness racing doyens with stories of past Inter Dominions, newcomers seeing their first, families getting a taste of the sport and youngsters enjoying the fun of the fare, from rides and other fun activities to all a variety of food trucks had to offer.

 

Of course the focus, for most, were the Inter Dominion finals.

Who would stand the tallest after being pushed to the limit in three starts in the previous 14 days?

The Group 1 $250,000 trotting final saw the Jess Tubbs-trained and Greg Sugars-driven Just Believe elevate himself to the status of a true great of his era by completing a clean sweep - winning all three heats and then the big one.

There is always the likelihood of a surprise, given the depth of these fields, and New South Wales-trained I Cast No Shadow provided just that in the Group 1 $500,000 pacing final.

Here is a six-year-old who, little more than a year ago, was racing largely in obscurity in Victoria.

The rest is now history that he made his way north of Murray to the stable of Jason Grimson, who turned around the career of I Cast No Shadow and now has back-to-back Inter Dominion titles to his name as a trainer.

While Just Believe and I Cast No Shadow took up the lion’s share of the limelight, there were others who were able to share the spotlight.

Emerging Victorian reinswoman Tayla French was among them - winning on outsider Major Watson in the last race in the Haras des Trotteurs Australasian Young Drivers Championship to clinch the coveted title.

It was the ninth race in the five-day series, which had taken some of the best driving talent from Australia and New Zealand around Victoria.

One of extraordinary features of the Inter Dominion Championship was the impact of female trainers.

They won all nine heats - Emma Stewart seven, Belinda McCarthy one and Jess Tubbs one (plus three trotting heats) - and had 10 of the 12 finalists.

While the final did not go their way, they made their presence felt on the night, winning seven of the 10 races.

Stewart went away with three, including smart four-year-old Major Moth first-up in a year in the IRT Australia 4YO Pace, while Julie Douglas produced a double, and Marg Lee and, of course, Tubbs one apiece.

In all there were 13 wins on the track, with three pony trotters also saluting as the stars of tomorrow put on a show.

But the on-track success was only part of the story. The big winner on Saturday night was harness racing.

The Inter Dominion has been a showcase for the best of the sport for decades and once again it delivered.

We cannot wait to see back in Victoria.

RELIVE THE TERRIFIC TROTSVISION COVERAGE WITH REWIND: