The good thing about a December Inter Dominion final is that it’s just the start of the feature racing splurge.

And we don’t have to wait long for our next “fix”.

Saturday night’s $100,000 Group 1 Cranbourne Cup will be a pearler.

Time will tell how many horses back-up from the Inter Dominion pacing final, but waiting for them will be arguably Victoria’s best pacer Rock N Roll Doo.

Trainer-driver Mick Stanley confirmed his star would launch the biggest five months of his career at Cranbourne.

“He had a couple of weeks off after NZ and he’s raring to go again,” he said. “We’re going to Cranbourne instead of the Vicbred series – we had to choose because the Cup clashes with the heats.

“We also like the idea of getting a string of staying races into him before the Hunter Cup, so he’ll go Cranbourne, Bendigo and then Ballarat before the Hunter Cup.”

Beyond that, Stanley said the Miracle Mile and Cambridge’s “The Race” were Rock N Roll Doo’s major targets.

“Those slot races (WA and Cambridge) are on the same day. He wouldn’t really handle Gloucester Park and it’s easier to get to Auckland and then down to Cambridge, anyway,” he said.

In other exciting news, dual NZ Cup winner Copy That is also headed back our way.

His managing owner Merv Butterworth confirmed the Ballarat and Hunter Cup were targets.

“He was terrific winning last Friday (at Alexandra Park) and has another couple of races in NZ before we bring him across for Ballarat and the Hunter Cup,” he said. “He won’t go to the Miracle. It’ll be back home to get ready for The Race after the Hunter Cup.”

One horse we won’t see in those early Victorian features is Captain Ravishing. He’s favourite in some Hunter Cup markets, but won’t run.

Connections have made it clear his next major target is the Chariots Of Fire with a likely pathway being through the Group 1 4YO Bonanza at Melton on February 4.

Captain Ravishing also won’t be going to either slot race – the Nullarbor at Gloucester Park or The Race at Cambridge – both on April 14.

Travel challenges and the clash of dates with The Race make it unlikely we will see many eastern states horses chase the inaugural Nullarbor.

So, that makes local star Magnificent Storm the top seed. He showed another weapon with explosive gate speed to lead and easily win the Group 1 Village Kid Sprint at Gloucester Park last Friday night.

He is a clear prepost favourite for the $300,000 Fremantle Cup (January 13) and $450,000 WA Pacing Cup (January 27).

Should he dominate through those races, it will be interesting if connections take their first interstate trip for a tilt at the Miracle Mile.

That’s probably unlikely, given he could stay home and prepare for the Nullarbor.

Amidst all the emotions of Just Believe’s Inter Dominion trotting final win came a beautiful moment of reflection from trainer Jess Tubbs.

The Tubbs and Greg Sugars stable is such a family operation, but one person who played such a big role in the foundations of it wasn’t there last night.

Tubbs’ father, Alan, a hugely successful trainer and passionate horseman, passed away in late 2017.

“I did look up at the sky before the race and ask Dad to send us down some luck,” Tubbs said.

As good as winning his first Inter Dominion was with Maori Law in Sydney last year, winning again in his own backyard with the family horse, Just Believe, was next level for Sugars.

“Teaming with Jess and everyone around the stable to do it is just extra special,” he said.

Tayla French’s “come from the clouds” win in the Australasian Young Drivers’ Championships was one of the feelgood stories of the Inter Dominion carnival.

French was a distant sixth on the points tally behind Kiwi Sam Thornley after the first two of the nine-race series.

She was second to Thornley going into the final heat at Melton last Saturday night, but didn’t hold out much hope aboard $81 shot Major Watson.

But in a hotly contested race, Major Watson scooted through on the sprint lane to win and give French the title by three points over Thornley with WA’s Emily Suvaljko another 11 points adrift in third place.

Having spent some time with the drivers during the week, the future of the sport is in great hands.

It must be so inspiring to them all to see how Down Under drivers like Dexter Dunn and Todd and Andy McCarthy have risen to such great heights on the ultimate stage in North America.

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.