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An unlucky 6th at his last start in Lazarus' New Zealand Cup, Franco Nelson is now in Perth and is set to lock horn's with many of Australasia's best in this year's Inter-Dominion series.

The weekend has been a good one from a stable point of view, with two wins at Timaru yesterday and a further win at Motukarara today.

A seven month period away from the track has done little in quelling the huge talent that American Tart has. A big win on cup day signalled to driver John Dunn that she is right on track for today's target the Southern Mares Classic.

The path to this year's New Zealand Trotting Cup has been a smooth one for Franco Nelson by and large. Even a less than ideal draw is not going to knock the confidence levels ahead of tomorrow's big race.

At the start of this season Franco Nelson had been winless for 26 months and had been through a few stable changes. But what those closest to him knew was that things were on the up after an important operation to improve a bone chip from the horse's fetlock. The old Nelson was back they sensed and maybe a chance to go round in this year's New Zealand Cup, a cup that he was narrowly beaten in two years ago by the great mare Adore Me.

A convincing winner of the Te Awamautu Cup first up, Robbie Burns was disappointing second up in the Holmes DG, However, on Friday night at Alexandra Park, he was a good winner over the 2700m in a smart 3.21.4 for the 2700m stand.

It has been a case of all going to plan so far for Franco Nelson in his quest for New Zealand Cup glory and tomorrow's Kaikoura Cup sees another opportunity for him to measure up against many of his opponents in this year's two mile feature.

While he has been off the racetrack for going on two years, former age group star Alta Orlando looked like a star of today in his resuming run at today's Rangiora workouts.

Just as the spring racing looks to go up another notch in the next few weeks, so too does the quality of horseflesh around the stable step up also.

Just as it was a fortnight ago for the New Brighton Cup, tonight's Canterbury Classic looks another belter of a race with all of the big hitters involved.

It was supposed to be the return of the big hitters, but no one bothered to tell Franco Nelson.

Then again, perhaps the born again pacer, who finished second in the 2014 edition of the New Zealand Trotting Cup is no longer a member of the chasing bunch either…his victory last night a prime example.

While it may have taken until his 7th race start to win his maiden, it has been no looking back for Kotare Yael since then and he is fast fashioning a record as the most consistent horse in the Robert Dunn stable.

The carefully planned comeback of Franco Nelson to pacings top ranks takes on another dimension at Addington this evening as he contests the Group Three New Brighton Cup.

While they may have both been away from the winners list for a long time, both Franco Nelson and Jag's Invasion are class racehorses and were well overdue for experiencing that winning feeling.

A very patient drive from John got Extreme Guest home in Race Three at Addington on Friday.

It has been acknowledged in recent seasons that the Maurice Holmes Vase is the first serious test for the cup class pacers and tomorrow night's field is testimony to this with some class pacers on show.

After a quiet first week to the season, the season tally now sits at two wins, after wins on Friday night with Natural and today at Rangiora with Danse Macabre.

Franco Cristiano gets his Australian campaign under way this Saturday evening and could not have chosen a major tougher assignment than the field that he lines up in.

While the 2015-2016 season represented a personal best for Robert as a trainer, he has high hopes for this season, especially with a well bred crop of two year olds.

He's been a familiar face around the Woodend stable for a long time, but for junior reinsman Matt Purvis, tonight will be his final drive as part of the Robert Dunn stable.

The hugely successful Westview syndicates of Nigel Armstrong are heading in an exciting new direction and want you to join them on this journey.