The biggest talking point of the day was the Trentham track and how several of the inside lanes became no go zones almost from the outset plus the footing was very iffy in parts of the circuit. The hottest favourite of the entire day in Xtravagant ran in the G1 3yo mile here at $1.30 and did not even fill a place. The winner was a $26 upset in Dukedom that loves wet ground and buried them down the outside from the back to win by a nose over the South Islander in Son Of Maher at $36. Both came down the outer in superior lanes tellingly and were almost two lengths ahead of Rangipo that grabbed third near the line. Xtravagant had his bubble well and truly burst after flying to a clear lead early then being taken on twice but the event was run and won in 1:36.95 so it was not a total pressure cooker. It was the slowest mile time on the day and the G3 race that followed this saw the winner bolt in and clock 1:35.11 or almost eleven lengths superior. Dukedom was winning his second race and gave his young trainer Steven Cole a first ever G1 success. The only time Dukedom has been out of the money in his six starts came on good footing when a distant fourth so the continually downgraded track due to constant drizzle suited him immensely. He is bred to swim and certainly can. Bella Court was an honest fifth while Shadows Cast came closest in for sixth so gets credit for that effort. Liapari was asked a lot of in the running across the top so his seventh under the circumstances held merit. Flying Quest was okay as the rank outsider at $112 and was in fact paying more than double that of the second outsider in the field. Ronchi was not too bad after settling down in the rear trio. The rest were a big gap away with the filly Ruud Not Too unsurprisingly compounding after making at least two runs to challenge wide in the race. Curragh hung out and ran excessively wide the home turn and the last finisher The Dom was outclassed after racing outside the leader early on. Xtravagant stole all the headlines for his defeat and track conditions were blamed plus his rider Matthew Cameron, who has been in the headlines of late for a beaten favourite ride at Ellerslie, strangely was quoted as saying this was not his Grand Final. It was after all a G1 race and he is a colt plus in New Zealand there are only three of them a male can win each season and they are the 2000 Guineas (he won that by daylight), the race today and the NZ Derby (2400m). This was however nowhere near a G1 field at all and take out Xtravagant and it was G3 at best so with the Trentham track being so biased and a total stifler of brilliance it will be recorded as such. It may not hold the G1 status for much longer as it certainly does not justify it anymore. The runner up today beaten a nose in Son Of Maher finished sixth in the G1 2000 Guineas beaten over a dozen lengths by Xtravagant and was two lengths ahead of him at the line in this. A G1 WFA over 1400m against the older horses is the supposed next start for Xtravagant at Te Rapa looking for better footing but he got beaten on that san-slitted and biased venue last Spring too. The G1 Australian Guineas in the autumn at Flemington is his supposed Grand Final and a stallion-making race if you win it but he will want to turn up in form plus riders now know how to unsettle and defeat the colt.