Overlooked in the lead-up to Saturday’s Gr.2 Happy Hire Wakefield Challenge Stakes (1100m) at Trentham, Intention burst out of the shadows of her higher-rated rivals and scored an impressive upset win.

Marc Lerner had to wait longer than expected to get his New Zealand riding career underway, but the well-travelled jockey made up for lost time with a winning debut at Otaki on Thursday.

Waikato filly Island Life will return to the Central Districts on Saturday, aiming to go one better than her last Group Three attempt in the Lawnmaster Eulogy Stakes (1600m) at Trentham.

Te Akau Racing will be well-represented in each of the four stakes races at Trentham’s LawnMaster Christmas At The Races meeting on Saturday.

Progressive staying mare Kattegat is expected to return to top form at Otaki on Thursday.

Otaki trainer Howie Mathews is in high spirits ahead of heading to Trentham on Sunday where he will be represented by stable stalwart Free Spirit and newcomer Gee Force.

Mike Breslin will enjoy a delayed celebration of his milestone victory at Tauherenikau during the week.

Pearl Of Alsace is in foal and entering the final few weeks of her racing career, but trainers Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray hope a return to her favourite track might allow her to cap her CV with a Group One breakthrough.

La Crique hasn’t returned to Trentham since she won the Gr.3 Desert Gold Stakes (1600m) as a three-year-old, and three years down the track, the star mare will line up as a leading hope in Saturday’s Gr.1 TAB Mufhasa Classic (1600m).

A tilt at the $1 million TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) at Ellerslie in January is on the cards for promising juvenile Romanoff following his maiden victory in the Uza Bus Two-Year-Old (1100m) at Otaki on Thursday.

Otaki trainer Johno Benner will be hoping for a late Christmas present when he heads to Ellerslie on Boxing Day with his promising gelding Tikemyson.

Idyllic is far from what Kate Hercock would describe the past 10 days, but a speedy mare with that name afforded her a moment of solace in Thursday’s Rose City Cars Levin Stakes (1200m) at Otaki.

Kelvin Tyler’s annual working holiday rolls around like clockwork with the Cromwell Racing Carnival, a weekend he is looking forward to with nearly a dozen horses engaged across the two days later this week.

La Crique sprouted wings in the Pukekohe straight on Saturday to come from a near-hopeless position and win the Gr.2 Dunstan Horsefeeds Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1400m) in a photo finish.