KEY POINTS:
Rivals of champion pacing filly One Dream have been gifted the slimmest glimmer of hope after she drew awkwardly in Friday night's $150,000 Pascoes Northern Oaks.
One Dream, unbeaten in her last 10 starts and the winner of nearly $500,000, will start from the outside on the front line in the Alexandra Park classic.
While she will still be a red-hot favourite for the group one feature, at least the draw suggests she will have to work to earn the front should driver Frank Cooney choose to go forward at the start.
The Oaks has attracted one of its strongest fields in a decade, with almost every filly having beaten older rivals this season and Top Tempo having beaten the best colts outside of Changeover.
While some critics have suggested the crop of fillies is weak, the records of those engaged on Friday night would suggest otherwise.
One Dream is well on her way to becoming New Zealand's greatest stake-earning filly of all time, and Top Tempo has already won eight races.
Ohoka Moon and Spicey have won five each and Everlaughing Life and Reality Check have beaten quality older horses at Alexandra Park in the last six weeks.
The race will be the highlight of the premier meeting at Alexandra Park that sees New Zealand's best 4-year-olds round out their preparations for the Taylor Mile on April 27.
Pay Me Christian and Monkey King will do so against open class stars Sly Flyin and Mi Muchacho in a 2700m mobile event.
Pay Me Christian gets the perfect chance to bounce back from his Auckland Cup disgrace after drawing the ace.
Fellow class 4-year-old Awesome Armbro has been allowed to miss Friday's meeting but will clash with Aussie hero Divisive on Friday week in their final lead-up to the Taylor Mile.
Add to those names the Easter Cup winner Tuherbs, placegetter Classic Line and Power Of Tara, who won a double at the Auckland Cup carnival, and the Taylor Mile and Messenger are shaping as the most competitive races of the season.
Also on show on Friday night will be Southern juvenile filly Susie Maguire, who will start a warm favourite in the night's other group one event, the $110,000 Caduceus Club Classic, after she drew barrier two.
And the new queen of NZ trotting, One Over Kenny, returns in the main trot, in which she will start off a 30m backmark against Pompallier and Our Sunny Whiz as well as Galleons Assassin, who has come north after winning the big 4-year-old trot at Addington last Saturday.
The TAB will provide fixed-odds betting on all nine races but the $213,000 guaranteed Pick6 will be held on the less important Addington meeting because it was only partially struck at that track a fortnight ago.
Northern Oaks
* One Dream will start a hot favourite in the Northern Oaks even after drawing wide.
* The classic is just one of five feature races at Alexandra Park on Friday night.
* The meeting also sees the return of Pay Me Christian, Monkey King and Sly Flyin in the main pace.
* Australasian Trotting Championship winner One Over Kenny will run in the main trot.
