As if Kieran Read's day couldn't get any better.
Read, a certainty to be named in the All Blacks squad for the World Cup at 6.30pm tonight, was also a big-time horse racing winner today.
Read and fellow Canterbury All Black and World Cup winner Andy Ellis share in the ownership of three-year-old trotter Speeding Spur. The pair share in the ownership with former Commonwealth Gold Medalist, Dick Tayler.
Already good enough to be voted the three-year-old trotter of the year in New Zealand, the horse overcame a second line draw to win a A$56,000 Breeders Crown Trot at Melton in Victoria.
Trained in South Auckland, Speeding Spur has already won three trotting Derbys this year and has the potential to develop into a million-dollar earner as he could race at the highest level for another five seasons.
Listen to iHeart Radio for the All Blacks squad announcement tonight at 6.30pm.
Follow our live blog of today's All Blacks World Cup squad announcement on nzherald.co.nz/sport.