Auckland's only Group 1 pacing mares race looks to have been handed to rising star Amazing Dream, after the two biggest names standing between her and the Queen Of Hearts at Alexandra Park on Friday week disappeared.
Amazing Dream may have emerged as the best mare in the country after her dramatic win in the mares' feature on New Zealand Cup day and her luckless fifth against many of the best pacers in the land in the NZ Free-For-All.
But while she won the Woodlands Derby last season, she is still relatively untried in open grade, especially against the best male pacers.
That suggested the two mares in the country who are proven against the open class males - Belle Of Montana and Princess Tiffany - could have tested Amazing Dream in next week's Group 1, especially if they could get in front of her.
But that won't be happening because both are out of the race, with Belle Of Montana not racing again this season.