The most successful driver in Australian harness racing history returns to Cambridge tonight with two horses and one plan.

Chris Alford is nearing 8000 career wins, more than twice as much as New Zealand’s most successful driver Tony Herlihy, although Alford and most other leading Australia drivers compete far more often than Herlihy ever has.

Alford is world class though, and while he has rarely driven in New Zealand, he did win the 1995 Inter Dominion at Addington on Golden Reign, finished second in another Inter with Mont Denver Gold and has won 10 races in all here from just 65 drives.

Alford will partner Triple Eight in the $1million The Race by Grins tonight, but that is a pick-up drive and not the reason he is coming to the meeting.

“He is a lovely old horse and it will be great to have a drive on him, but he will need a good tempo to show his best,” says Alford.

The real reason he is crossing the Tasman is to partner Victorian trotter Aldebaran Zeus in tonight’s $45,000 Group 1 Turf Bar Mile, the start of a northern autumn campaign for the speedster.

He has picked the right race, with Muscle Mountain missing tonight, Bolt For Brilliance recovering from injury and Sundees Son and Temporale recently retired.

Aldebaran Zeus will start favourite, even from barrier seven at the tricky Cambridge mile start point.

“He has very good gate speed, so I will be going forward looking for the front,” Alford told the Herald.

“When he won the Maori Mile at Bendigo last season he came off the gate (opening 400m) in 26.8 seconds and when he won at Menangle two starts ago he went 27.3 seconds early and trotted a 1:52.6, so he is a top class miler.”

Alford says forget Aldebaran Zeus’ defeat at Melton last start when beaten by a 40-1 outsider.

“He was too fat and needed the run and was really blowing afterwards, but he will be ready for this week,” he said.

Aldebaran Zeus is joined out wide by another natural speedster in Majestic Man, so the trot should serve as a buzzy lead-in race to the $1million The Race by Grins which follows.

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The opinions expressed in The Forum are those of the author and may not be attributed to or represent policies of Harness Racing Victoria, which is the state authority and owner of thetrots.com.au.