The Radiant One finished third in last year’s Listed Daphne Bannan Memorial Great Easter Stakes (1400m) and trainer Robert Dennis is keen to try and go two places better with his mare in this year’s edition at Riccarton on ANZAC Day.

Leading New Zealand apprentice jockey Amber Riddell got her first taste of Australian racing in Brisbane this week when competing in Australia’s National Apprentice Race Series (NARS), and she is eager for more.

Riverton’s dual Easter Weekend meeting has gone from strength-to-strength in recent years, and it has become an attractive proposition for out-of-region trainers.

Riccarton trainer Anna Furlong will head south to Riverton with a strong hand on Saturday, with three of her five runners currently holding the favourites tag.

Waikouaiti-based horseman Lee Callaway is close to calling time on his career as a jockey.