Changeover's bid for back-to-back Harness Jewels titles just got tougher.
The 4-year-old superstar drifted from $1.60 favouritism to $2.50 after drawing wide for Saturday's main event at Cambridge and that got even worse over the weekend.
Cast Adrift was scratched from the race yesterday after failing to recoverquickly enough from a quarter crack that forced him out of the Alexandra Park meeting on Friday.
That means Tuapeka Tiz now gets a start from barrier seven, pushing Changeover back out to barrier eight, raising the possibility he will be three wide for half the race at least.
Which is going to make it very hard to catch almost certain leader Gotta Go Cullen, who looked strong at the Cambridge workouts on Saturday.
The Auckland Cup winner showed his usual gate speed to lead and held Changeover out easily at the line.
But the connections of both horses were happy with their performances.
"He did what we went there to do and took good ground off the other horse (Gotta Go Cullen)," said Changeover's trainer Geoff Small.
The most impressive winner of the 23 Harness Jewels contenders was Sovereignty.
He came in to $1.80 with bookies, pushing his last-start conqueror Running On Time out to $5 for the 3-year-old trotting division.
Other shorteners in the markets include Outmuscle, who also impressed at Saturday's workouts and was the subject of a $1000 bet at $15 to win the 2-year-old trotting division.
Meanwhile, one Harness Jewels winner who won't be at Cambridge is Running On Faith, who has been sold.
The mare was scratched from the 4-year-old pacing division last week after suffering a slight leg injury and has since been purchased by Woodlands Stud.
The stud intends to spell her, then perform an embryo transfer after she has been served by Bettors Delight.
If Running On Faith recovers from her leg injury as well as expected she will join the Barry Purdon stable for next season.
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Glamour Australian pacer Lombo Pocket Watch was beaten on Friday.
The multiple group one winner was a $1.20 favourite in the Vicbred Sires Stakes Final and that looked fair money as he led and wasn't pressured.
But he was surprisingly run down by Melpark Major after that son of Iraklis sat parked outside him.
In the weekend's other major race Be Good Johnny won the Trans Tasman Championship at Albion Park.
