Cambridge trainer Tony Pike will be chasing stakes success at both ends of the country on Saturday, with Agera leading his northern charge at Tauranga.

A quartet of top-flight contenders on Saturday will give Stephen Marsh a decent shot at completing a memorable elite-level double at Riccarton.

Pre-post favourite Affirmative Action will have to overcome a wide gate and a lighter than intended preparation in his shared bid to defend the stable’s title in Saturday’s Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m).

Shaune Ritchie hopes his decision to bypass the fillies’ feature at Riccarton with Tajana will pay off on Saturday when she takes on the boys in the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m).

Cambridge-based horseman Nick Kneebone tasted his first success in the training ranks when two-year-old gelding Speed Demon caused a minor upset in the Hallmark Stud 2YO (1100m) at Pukekohe.

A relentlessly wet spring has provided a frustrating start to the season for David Greene, but things might be turning the corner as the Te Rapa trainer prepares to unleash his emerging star First Five in Saturday’s Listed Legacy Lodge Sprint (1200m) at Pukekohe.

The Odyssey’s performance at Ellerslie on Melbourne Cup Day may result in a change to his immediate program.

There is a sense of déjà vu for Pam Gerard as she navigates a muddled path to this year’s Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m), but she is keeping her eye on the prize.

Awapuni filly War Princess moved a big step closer to a summer target when she ventured to Tauranga on Saturday and scored an impressive come-from-behind victory in the Armory Standing at Mapperley Stud 3YO (1200m).

For the second year in a row, the Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) dream has gone unfulfilled for the connections of highly talented Kiwi stayer Mark Twain.

Almost nothing has gone to plan this spring for Te Akau colts He Who Dares and Hostility, but trainers Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson are hoping for a change of fortune in the lead-up to the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton on November 15.

Cambridge trainer Sam Mynott is hoping to take her stable’s winning momentum into the weekend.

Passiflora will provide her connections with a sound guide at Tauranga as to where she sits in the three-year-old pecking order.

Rain, rain, go away – that’s the thoughts of many trainers around the country as the wet weather persists through the spring.