Sometimes the vagaries of harness racing means a horse does not live up to the hype on debut.
There were no such problems with Cullen Who though as she showed a stack of ability to dominate at her debut at Forbury Park on Thursday night.
The daughter of Christian Cullen moved up to sit parked with 800m to go and thrashed her rivals by four lengths, setting a 2200m mobile track record for 3yr-old pacing fillies in the process.
Her time of 2.41.4 was 0.5sec inside the record set by Anvils Never Easy in 2010.
Her trainer, Kevin Court, said he might give the imposing filly one or two more starts before turning her out, as she had done plenty in a short time.
"She wasn't broken in until she was 2,'' he said.
Cullen Who was a second success for Dunedin trainers after Scottie Trouble earned a well-deserved maiden victory in the non-winners' trot.
However, Scottie Trouble's Dunedin trainer, Bob Straight, wonders if there will be another win.
''She's just a battler,'' Straight said.
"She's had a bit of a wind problem, but being a year older has helped. The next grade is going to be pretty tough on her - we might try and flick her on or sell her as a broodmare or something. We won't keep her going too long if she doesn't measure up.''
Straight and Greg Findlay, who got the Brylin Boyz mare from Michael Heenan last March, race the mare with Milton butcher "Tiny'' Agnew.
Findlay believes Scottie Trouble is Agnew's first winner, although Findlay's celebratory phone calls did not connect with Agnew on Thursday night.
Ashburton trainer Laurence Hanrahan might have to think about making Forbury Park his second home after Distinctive Del shot up the passing lane to remain unbeaten after two starts.
Hanrahan came to Forbury Park earlier this month with three runners and all three of his runners scored.
Distinctive Del won on debut on the grass on Sunday, and Hanrahan immediately set about finding a race to pick up a penalty-free win under the 3yr-old concessions.
''Every second one is a free one so we thought we would try and get it as soon as we can,'' Hanrahan said.
"And then you can muck around and take your time or give him a wee spell or something.''
Being by Live Or Die, Distinctive Del is sure to improve with age, and Hanrahan expects his gait to get better as well, especially on the off-side where Hanrahan uses a spreader.
"He's got a bit of a lazy leg every now and then but I think he will come to it with maturity.''
Alderbeck's authoritative win in the c1 trot ensured a start in the New Zealand Trotting Oaks next Friday.
Trainer Phil Williamson was unsure whether to give the Pegasus Spur filly a start in the group 2 race prior to Thursday night, but her 2-length win confirmed she will head north for the $40,000 feature.
