THERE were so many highlights through this Summer Of Glory, but also some important takeaways for the future.

The first, and most important, is where the Woodlands Stud Great Southern Star sits and when it should be run.

The idea of turning Del-Re National A. G. Hunter Cup weekend into a double-header – similar to the Manikato Stakes being run the night before the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley – hasn’t worked for Harness Racing Victoria.

And, crucially, it’s not getting the eyeballs or crowd the race, or those lucky enough to win it, deserve.

Maybe there is still a place for a Melton meeting the night before the Hunter Cup with people coming to town from the interstate, the bush and even some from New Zealand.

But it should no longer be Great Southern Star night.

So, when should it be run?

The easy option is to whack it back as part of Hunter Cup night to bolster that and ensure the biggest possible audience gets to see our best trotters as well as best pacers in action on our biggest race night.

Don’t forget the Racing.com audience – and what a huge boost for harness racing that’s been - takes the sport to a much bigger and broader audience on Hunter Cup night, as it did on Victoria Cup and Inter Dominion finals nights.

The other option is to make the Great Southern Star the centrepiece of what was “flat” middle night of the Summer Of Glory this year.

It’s our biggest carnival of the year in Victoria and we must have a Group 1 race on night two.

Sure, the much needed and sensible changes by HRA to Group 1 race classifications meant there wasn’t a Group 1 race on night two this year, but that needs urgent addressing by HRV.

The racing was good, but far from great on night two.

Why can't we whack the Great Southern Star there and make it the centrepiece of the night?

It would be a pretty simple change to switch it with the Group 2 Dullard Cup.

Move to the Dullard Cup to Hunter Cup night, give it a prizemoney hike to Group 1 level, and most if not all of the guns from the Great Southern Star would back-up a week later in it.

And that would still give that big, broad Hunter Cup night audience a chance to see our best trotters in action on the night.

Now, to the ongoing, almost annual and burning issue of our feature race field selection criteria.

HRV’s job is not just to run the sport, but market it, too.

If there’s an opportunity to spark added interest with an “X-factor” runner in a race, the field selectors need a clear way of making that happen.

Some have suggested a complete overall of the process and criteria, but that’s overkill.

And it runs the risk of going too far, which the Peter V’Landys led Harold Park committee did at times during the 1990s.

Who can forget Our Sir Vancelot being overlooked for a Miracle Mile berth in favour of Manaville? Yep, I don’t blame you if you haven’t heard of Manaville.

There is a middle ground and, although it won’t please everyone, it needs serious consideration.

Continue picking the fields for races like the Victoria and Hunter Cups under the current criteria, but, and it’s a big but, keep one wildcard spot.

With respect to the fringe-dwellers in last Saturday night’s Hunter Cup, every year we see one or two make the field on reputation or otherwise who are just making up the numbers.

As his breathtaking Mercury80 win showed, Catch A Wave would have added a serious X-factor to the Hunter Cup.

Yes, a good barrier would have been crucial and who knows if he would have been good enough, but he would have added a lot more talkability and debate to the pre-race build-up.

But this isn’t just about Catch A Wave.

It’s about creating a way we can factor in some vital marketing, and PR flair to races like the Victoria and Hunter Cups when the opportunity arises.

Remove the shackles of selection criteria, even for just one spot in the race.

It stung when Victorian harness racing didn’t seize a rare and potentially amazing PR opportunity with the Ride High/Lochinvar Art match race a couple years back at the height of Covid.

We needed to learn from that and it seems we haven’t.

It’s a great one for new HRV CEO Matt Isaacs to ponder as he moves into just second week in the gig.