Golf majors have their ''moving days'' when the contenders sort themselves out from the pretenders.
But the Oamaru thoroughbred meeting yesterday had a similar look to it as jockeys and trainers ramped up the rivalries with 10 days to go in the season.
Yaldhurst trainer Michael Pitman and Awapuni-Riccarton trainer Lisa Latta continued the parrying and thrusting of recent weeks with wins in the two features.
Pitman had the final say on the day, winning the $25,000 Oamaru Cup with Miss Maximuss after Latta's team had earlier claimed the $25,000 Waitaki River Trophy with Cangowest.
Miss Maximuss' victory restored Pitman's lead to five, as he moved to 85 wins for the season.
Cangowest's South Island minder, Marita Frith, said a slight freshen-up had helped the mare's cause in the Waitaki River Trophy.
''We thought we'd freshen her up just in case it dried out and it's obviously paid off,'' she said.
A start in a 1200m open handicap on the first day of the Grand National carnival at Riccarton beckons for Cangowest as the South Island branch of the Latta stable gears up for the three-day meeting.
''We're doing our best. Our numbers have really increased heading into the National week.
''We've got 30-odd, give or take.''
Auckland jockey Matthew Cameron travelled south for eight rides and was rewarded for his enterprise when Halo Buster prevailed in the rating 65 1400m.
The victory by a neck over Oraka Prince took Cameron to 141 wins for the season, just two behind premiership leader Opie Bosson.
The South Island apprentice jockey premiership race is heating up too. Canterbury jockey Ashley Frye ate into Ross Doherty's lead in the race to be the leading southern apprentice yesterday, picking up a race-to-race double at the start of the card.
Frye is is now on 41 wins, two behind Doherty, after she punched Orovela up the rails to win the 2yr-old 1200m before setting the tempo up front in the rating 85 2200m to score with Additup.
Orovela's win was at her first start for Ashburton trainers Daniel Champion and Kezia Murphy.
Champion purchased the Saperavi filly as a weanling at the 2011 Karaka weanling, broodmare and mixed bloodstock sale for $1200.
Orovela's dam, Kims Coup, won four races when trained by Pitman, including the 2004 Southland Guineas and Warstep Stakes.
''I trained her half-sister [Hamilton Coup]. She was out of a good mare so I just bought her on type,'' Champion said.
Champion expects the juvenile filly will step up over more ground as a 3yr-old.
''She will do later on, but we'll just take each day as it comes. We'll just give her a freshen-up and give her 10 days off.''
There was no contest for the run of the day, as Zah Girl shot from last to first on the inside of the track in the rating 75 1400m.
The Keeper mare was two lengths last until the 400m before North Island jockey Mark Du Plessis found gaps near the rail to burst clear by 1 lengths.
Co-trainer Shane Kennedy was not too surprised by the mare's powerful finish.
''She's always gone well fresh,'' he said.
''She had a quiet run at the trials 10 days ago and everything was on target so it was good.''
Yesterday's win was the 4yr-old's fourth in 21 starts, but she did not look far away when flying home for second at Riccarton in January.
Kennedy and co-trainer Anna Furlong opted to spell her at that stage as she still got to grips with racing.
''She had a few immaturity issues. We just nursed her along during the winter and had a better track today.''
