The strongest challenge came from local hero Avonnova, who was in the mix for most of the race, as was Abettorpunt, but in the end, McCarthy favourite For A Reason was simply too good, and came in at the head of the field. It seems like it was an emotional night for Team McCarthy, who were very pleased indeed at the success of a horse who they’re very fond of, and one that’s named in honour of a Frank Sinatra tune, according to Belinda McCarthy, who was watching as husband Luke steered For A Reason to the QPC win: ‘he’s an amazing horse who holds a special place in our heart, he means the world to Luke and to see him winning Grand Circuit races is an emotional thing for us given everything he’s been through over the past couple of years. He put the writing on the wall last week with his excellent run in the Gold Coast Cup and he improved on that effort greatly. Luke drove a perfect race, we’re all very excited. We will head home to Sydney now but I would say it’s looking pretty good for a New Zealand Cup campaign before the Miracle Mile. We’ll confirm all this in the coming days. Frank (a.k.a. For A Reason) is a favourite of everyone involved with our stable, we all love him and it’s great to see him winning at the elite level. He had a virus which ruled us out of the winter carnival but it’s great to have him back at full health.’

And now that he’s back at full health, he will most likely be contesting the next leg of the Pacing Gold Grand Circuit over in New Zealand, likely with up-and-coming stablemate Our Hi Jinx along for company. We’ll have all the Racing odds for both, of course, waiting for you at the end of that link there…

And it was a fine night for the McCarthy horses, as For A Reason came home to win the Queensland Pacing Cup ahead of Avonnova and Our Hi Jinx. It was a performance that did Our Hi Jinx’s reputation as a genuine prospect no harm at all, and it’s not a result that will have scuppered any plans to take him to New Zealand, however vague those plans might have been. As Luke McCarthy saw it before the Cup, ‘this is a quantum rise in grade for him but I thought he deserved his opportunity, he’s a neat horse who can follow speed really and the barrier draw panned out perfectly for him. He reminds me a little of Lightning Raider (who scored 35 wins and earned $470k), a great follower of speed and still capable of running a good quarter himself at the end of his races.’

And his enthusiasm for Our Hi Jinx was proved well-placed on the night – and it could well be again if and when he makes the relatively short journey over to New Zealand. When he does, you can be sure we’ll have all the Racing odds you need to keep an eye on him for value, and we’ll bring you any more news as we get it…

Themightyquinn would go into the 2015 Summer Carnival with an enviable record behind him, but it looks like he’s no certainty to go to the Carnival at all, according to trainer Gary Hall, who is likely to be a very disappointed man if things don’t turn out for Themightyquinn, but you can understand him taking every precaution with the horse: ‘an exact cause of the soreness has yet to be diagnosed. There’s only three months to the cups and I think he’s got just a rough chance of starting. Quinnie won’t race before January, so the odds are against his cup prospects.’

Of course, the removal from the picture of Themightyquinn throws up some very interesting possibilities indeed, and even the threat of him being sidelined by injury will have lots of trainers working overtime to take advantage. It could also have an impact on the Racing odds we’ve got for you, so probably best to have a look over them, and check back in regularly for more news odds as we get them…

Rattray was happy to tell the press this week that he has yet to settle on a strategy for his drive of Beautide in the Nick Robin Free For All, but he’ll certainly have an eye on the upcoming Miracle Mile, just as he’ll be aware that Suave Stuey Lombo – a horse that Beautide has followed home in a couple of recent races – won’t be in the race on Saturday night. It could be that he settles on a more aggressive approach because of the start from Barrier 9, but punters will have to wait and see: ‘yeah, the barrier draw hasn’t been kind to Beautide again so hopefully a good barrier is just around the corner. He trialled last week and I was really happy with the way he went in the trial and he has pulled up well since so there are no excuses. I will analyse the race fully later on in the week, I went forward in the trial last week and he did everything I asked him to so that is definitely an option I have. Before the Miracle Mile I would like to give Beautide two runs, obviously this weekend is one of them and the other mostly likely will be the first Miracle Mile qualifier at Menangle.’

So whatever happens at the weekend, you can expect to see Beautide’s name in those Racing odds both for the Miracle Mile and in the meantime – we’ll bring you any more news on the 2014 Horse of the Year as we hear it…

In the Maryborough Trotters’ Cup, it will be eight-year-old Michael Thomas who will be aiming to replicate his 2013 win, though he will have a tough task ahead. Where he led last year’s race all the way and was able to hold off challengers with some aplomb, he will have to overcome a 10-metre deficit and a stiff contest from a field that includes the impressive Kvintet Avenger if he’s going to claim the prize again. He has the benefit of freshness after a long spell away from the track on his side, mind, so it will be interesting to see how this one pans out.

Meanwhile, in the Pacers’ Cup, Im Corzin Terror will be the horse chasing repeat glory, and he, too, will be the horse who starts at the back of the field of a dozen that includes its share of talented horses, Cut For An Ace amongst them. So whether you’re backing repeat success at Maryborough at the weekend or if you’re looking elsewhere in the Racing odds for a new name on either trophy, we’ve got everything you need at the end of the link there…

Most of the attention will likely be on Sensational Gabby, and rightly so, going into Friday’s race – she has an incredible CV, and comes into the race in some enviable form, despite a performance last time out that was below her usual sizzling best. She’ll see some stiff competition from a field that includes some other fantastic mares beside her on Friday night, though – it’s a field that includes Leda McNally, who fought hard to hold off her challenge in the Navy Cup last time they met, but ultimately faded. Also in the mix will be Famous Alchemist and Libertybelle Midfrew, who have accumulated a huge amount of prize money between them over the past half dozen races. Both those horses will have their sights on the prize money again, but Sensational Gabby has a real advantage going into the Mount Eden Sprint: she will start from that crucial Barrier 1 position, and she will look to get in front and stay there for the duration.

So the shape of the race could be settled early on, when the reinsmen behind Leda McNally, Famous Alchemist and Libertybelle Midfrew will have to judge whether they can get in front of Sensational Gabby. If they can’t do that, then we might see another win from this sensational mare – make sure you’ve got all the Racing odds you need ahead of what could be a great race!

Flaming Flutter is probably the safer bet of the two, but only because we haven’t seen all that much of Cut For An Ace, and because Flaming Flutter comes into the weekend on the back of three wins from three standing starts. That suggests that Flaming Flutter will aim to take a commanding position right from the start of the race, and Webster thinks he has the quality to compete: ‘he’s going very well. This is a step up in grade but with the right run he’s right in with a chance. He’s always been against the best horses through his career so he’s definitely up to the class.’

He will have to be on his best form to hold off a classy field on the night, of course – one that includes Guaranteed and Maximan, the two horses dominating the betting and with some of the shortest of the Racing odds we’ve seen. It’s also a field that includes the surprise package in the form of Flaming Flutter’s own stablemate Cut For An Ace, who is a fairly unknown commodity, but one that Webster sounds like he has in mind for great things: ‘it’s a big step up (in class) for Cut For An Ace but he ran second one night to Maximan and he seems to like stand-starts.’ He’ll have to like them very much to compete for the win at the weekend, but it should make for a great race if he can!

And what a pair of prospects they are for the 2014 Queensland Pacing Championships. The main hope of success will likely be For A Reason, who’s a real chance in the race, which is one that the McCarthy stable target specifically, according to Luke McCarthy: ‘It’s been a good race to us and we make it our business to win this race every year. This is where we got started and we always love racing in Brisbane, especially in the bigger races and this is the ultimate race to win in Queensland.’

And whilst For A Reason is likely to be understandably popular with punters assessing those Racing odds, look out, too, for newcomer Our Hi Jinx, who’s unbeaten in a couple of starts since making the move over from New Zealand: ‘For A Reason was super last week and his sectionals were outstanding, it was a really encouraging sign heading into our main target during this Brisbane campaign. He missed a fair bit of racing over the winter owing to a cold and he was always going to need some hard racing to bring him up to speed and I think he’s almost ready to perform at his peak. He’s trained on really well and the draw is very handy so I’m happy heading into this weekend. Avonnova is clearly the horse to beat; he’s a beast right now with so much power to match his speed. His effort last week was excellent, he cut the fractions in front himself and looked just as strong at the finish as he did at the start. It’s a credit to Ian (Gurney) with the way he’s managed this horse, he’s got game.’

So there will be some serious competition to the McCarthy dominance of the QPC in 2014, but it’s hardly the first time that’s happened, and the result are in the record books – make sure you’re watching again this year!

In the end it was Queenslander Pete McMullen who took the title after a titanic tussle with Chris Alford of Victoria that wasn’t resolved until the final race of the evening. Western Australia’s Gary Hall Jnr won that last race to launch himself into second place, and the top pair were followed on the leaderboard by a trio all on the same points: Tasmanian Gareth Rattray, Chris Alford after he could only manage a single point in the final race, and South Australia’s David Harding.

There really was some incredibly high-quality driving on display over the six races on the night, and you would have to think that Australia will be very strongly represented indeed at the International Drivers Championship – and in the meantime, none of the reinsmen or reinswomen on show at Globe Derby Park have done themselves any harm at all. These are definitely the men and women you need to keep an eye out for when you’re checking the Racing odds for the big races coming up – with one of these talented drivers behind them, a horse’s chances definitely get that little bit better!

But it looks like he’ll need every bit of the experience he has earned over a long, storied career – the barrier draw could have been kinder to Abettorpunt, and Avonnova will carry some good form into the race, meaning he’ll be tough to beat. But Caldow has pretty much seen it all before, and he’s not going to be fazed by either a barrier draw or another horse: ‘the draw is not that bad really; I prefer to be there rather than in six or seven or even the inside of the second-line so I’m comfortable with the draw. He (Abettorpunt went super last week all things considered; that was only his second run back this campaign and the time was sensational so he’s on the right track. I liked the way he finished off the final 100m last week, he was spent at the line but he never stopped trying. The leader finished off in 54.4 seconds and my guy kept fighting to the very end, hopefully we can get more pressure mid-race this week. Avonnova is the horse to beat again this week; it was my first opportunity to have a good look at him and he’s got power written all over him, he’s an impressive looking individual.’

Make sure you’ve got all the Racing odds for the Queensland Pacing Championship, and all the rest of the Harness Racing action at the weekend, simply by hitting the link right there. It looks like there are some great races in store – the Queensland Pacing Cup not least of all!