Slot holder Daniel Nakhle has a key chance for the locals in Saturday’s $3.5 million NZB Kiwi (1500m), but his focus will also lie much earlier on the card on Champions Day, with his star sprinter Crocetti contesting the Gr.3 Haunui Farm King’s Plate (1200m).

The Victorian breeding industry lost an unsung hero and a link with history with the recent passing of Bill Birch, stud manager for 27 years at the famed Mornmoot Stud at Whittlesea.