KATE Gath and Tilly Wilkes still haven’t met, but the friendship already runs so deep.

It the moments after TOUGH TILLY’S biggest and most dominant win so far, Saturday night’s $350,000 Group 1 Australian Gold final, Gath looked down the barrel of the Trots Vision camera and said: “Hi Tilly, I’m so excited for you.”

When Gath’s night was finally over and she turned on her phone, the first text message she saw was from Wilkes, thanking her for drive on Tough Tilly and congratulating her.

THIS will be a special night for the TOUGH TILLY team.

It’s the first time the big group of 30, including the “face” of the filly, young Tilly Wilkes, will all gather trackside to cheer for their superstar in the $350,000 Group 1 Australian Gold 3YO final at Melton next Saturday night.

Because of COVID-19, the Tough Tilly team has been restricted to meeting and watching her races together away from the track.

THE time has come to ditch sprint lanes.

When they were first introduced in Australia, the “sell” was increased turnover and better perception for the sport.

There’s no evidence either have eventuated.

What sparked me to raise the sprint lane debate again – it’s certainly not the first time I have – is the massive surge of interest and betting turnover on Mildura.

“THAT was a bit like the good old days.”

Those were Kerryn Manning’s words in the moments after teaming-up with her father, Peter, for their first Group 1 win together in 11 years with PLYMOUTH CHUBB at Melton last Saturday night.

And weren’t those good old days special, when Peter was the “King of the Kids” for his stunning success with juveniles then showed his versatility by taking KNIGHT PISTOL from a rogue to a Group 1 trotting megastar.

THE door is open and the contenders are coming knocking.

When LOCHINVAR ART was ruled out for the rest of this year with injury, the crown as Australia’s best was up for grabs.

Sure dual Miracle Mile winner KING OF SWING justifiably inherits the number one seeding, but the challengers are coming thick and fast, headed by EXPENSIVE EGO.

SUPERSTAR four-year-old EXPENSIVE EGO has unfinished business at Melton.

The only time he’s been down to Melbourne proved a complete and utter shambles in the Group 1 4YO Bonanza and left some Victorians doubting the huge buzz around him.

Fair to say he’s deemed himself since through a stunning Chariots Of Fire win and arguably even bigger run when second to King Of Swing in the Miracle Mile.

WE should know the result of the fascinating Tasmanian Cup inquiry early this week.

And it could have far-reaching ramifications for not just the harness but the thoroughbred industry as well.

How you might ask? Well, should decorated and hugely respected former Racing NSW chief steward Ray Murrihy change the result of the race, much interest will centre on how much the improper and excessive whip use contributed to his decision.

IT is time to take the Breeders Crown back to where it began – the bush.

After a stellar month of regional racing – firstly in NSW at Bathurst and Wagga and now at Mildura – it’s clear taking the sport 'on the road' is vital and needs to be embraced even more.

Australian thoroughbred racing’s most iconic country carnival, Warrnambool – or simply 'The 'Bool' as it’s known – is just around the corner and it begs the question why Mildura is Victoria’s only true country carnival.

ANTHONY Butt’s decision to make Victoria home will go down as one of the great decisions.

While the stable, largely backed by leviathan owners Emilio and Mary Rosati, were making waves in NSW, it’s gone to a whole amazing new level since relocating to Victoria last October.

And yesterday was a perfect example with Butt and fiancé Sonya Smith winning “majors” in Victoria and NSW.

Through an era of new and richer juvenile races, the Bathurst Gold Crown Carnival has successfully and proudly kept its place as a genuinely major event on the calendar.

There’s lots of factors behind it, but passion is its backbone. The passion of the club, its key people, the local community and the passion of those of cover plenty of territory to be part of it as often as they can.

And that passion shone brightly on what was truly a golden night for the Carnival at Bathurst last Saturday night.

Emerging star WOLF STRIDE is poised to smash through the $500,000 stakemoney barrier with his last race of a fantastic campaign.

As much as co-trainer Anthony Butt wants to get Wolf Stride out for the spell, the chance to race for $100,000 at Group 1 level in the new Riverina Championship at Wagga on April 4 is irresistible.

After Wolf Stride’s slashing Miracle Mile third, Butt waited until it was clear sidelined star LOCHINVAR ART would miss the Wagga feature before deciding to “push on” with Wolf Stride.

Champion driver Chris Alford is still in hospital and no closer to knowing when he can return to the sulky.

Just hours after driving in the last Saturday week’s Miracle Mile, with what he thought was a sore but recovering knee injury after being kicked by a horse, Alford rushed to Kilmore hospital.

“I was OK at Menangle, but maybe the flight home triggered it or something because by the time I was coming home from Shepparton on the Sunday, my knee has blown-up to double its normal size,” he said.

The story of this Miracle Mile is more about what lies ahead rather than King Of Swing's win itself.

Yes it’s a mighty effort to become the seventh horse to win successive Miracle Miles, but, in retrospect, King Of Swing was a class above his rivals with Lochinvar Art sidelined. He won accordingly.

There were no sparks, there was no real contest. King Of Swing cruised to the front, driver Luke McCarthy dictated his own terms and really only dashed-up for the last 400m to cruise home. His 1min49.2sec mile was the equal slowest in the past six years and 1.2sec slower than he went to win 12 months earlier.

KING Of Swing has the $1 million Miracle Mile at his mercy.

The powerhouse stallion is TAB’s $1.40 favourite to continue the surprisingly great record of back-to-back Miracle Mile winners.

Since the race was first run and won by Robin Dundee in 1967, King Of Swing is aiming to become the seventh back-to-back winner. Those so far have been: Smoken Up (2010/11), Be Good Johnny (2005/06), Sokyola (2003/04), Holmes DG (1999/2000), Chokin (1993/94) and Westburn Grant (1989/90).

THIS will be a night to treasure at Newcastle. The 30-year history of the club’s flagship race has seen some of the greats win and now the 'Arty Party' heads to town when the sport’s pin-up pacer Lochinvar Art tackles Saturday night’s Group 1 Newcastle Mile.

Lochinvar Art’s owner-breeder Kevin Gordon is a local and has wanted to win the Newcastle Mile since his mate Vic Frost won it with the sublime Westburn Grant in 1990 & ’91.

“That was such a great time when Vic brought his champ him to win those two Miles. Ever since, I’ve wanted to have a runner in the Mile and to try and win it … I’ve got the horse now with Lochinvar Art,” Gordon said.

LOCHINVAR ART’S got that rare magical mix harness racing so badly needs.

He’s not just a superstar pacer, some would say already deserved of the “champion” tag, but he’s got charisma. In the words of trainer-driver David Moran, he’s quickly become a people's horse.

And Moran is such a big part of that with his refreshingly open-book and can-do attitude to any and every media request.

It is hard to see how budding superstar LOCHINVAR ART won’t win Saturday night’s $500,000 Del-Re National A. G. Hunter Cup.

When he drew nine last night, a little gasp when through the room, but just moments later KING OF SWING drew much worse in gate 12.

Lochinvar Art was $1.70 with TAB pre-draw, $1.50 moments after it and quickly crunched into $1.30, which underlines his dominance when you consider he does have to come from the back row to win.

Just how good could LOCHINVAR ART be? During a break in Sky Racing’s Ballarat Cup coverage, my co-host Gareth Hall declared Lochinvar Art was better than the recent Kiwi great LAZARUS.

At first I thought he was caught-up in the moment of yet another stunning Lochinvar Art win, but Gareth made a good argument.