Olympian Eager and Lim's Racer the ones to watch
Duo second in their trials but could have won with handbrakes released
The two star performers at yesterday morning's barrier trials were not the winners but the runners-up - Olympian Eager and Lim's Racer.
In fact, the duo would have won their trials outright if their riders had wanted to. They were kept on a stranglehold to the line.
Taking part in the third of seven heats, Olympian Eager sat on the pace on the fence, as Darc Bounty and Super Warrior disputed the lead.
Although jockey Vlad Duric did nothing, Olympian Eager cruised easily to the front on straightening and opened up a clear lead.
Conilad and Terms Of Reference closed in steadily in the final stages but Duric held his reins to the line.
With the naked eye, it looked as though the David Kok-trained two-from-two winner had lasted but the photo-finish print showed that Conilad got the verdict by a nose.
The winning time was pretty fast, 59.56sec for the Polytrack 1,000m.
It will pay to jot down Olympian Eager in your notebook.
The Steve Burridge-trained Lim's Racer then trooped out in the next trial with jockey Glen Boss astride.
The five-year-old mare led and Cadet got up to her in the final 200m and probably stuck his neck ahead. But Lim's Racer rallied back without Boss's leg on the accelerator. This allowed Cadet to win by a head.
Again, a fast time was recorded, in 59.83sec, only the second winning time to dip below one minute yesterday. It is obvious that Lim's Racer, a three-time winner from eight starts, is coming back to form.
She should also be closely watched in her next assignment.
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