FORMER Queenslander Natalie Rasmussen has surprised by surrendering the drive on Inter Dominion favourite Spankem.

Rasmussen had the choice of Spankem and stablemate Cruz Bromac, but opted for the latter despite him drawing the back row (gate nine) and easing from $3.60 to $4.50.

Spankem firmed from $4 to $2.90 after drawing gate five and will be driven by Rasmussen’s partner, Mark Purdon, who has won the past two pacing finals on Lazarus (last year) and Smolda (2016).

In a typical display of his professionalism, Rasmussen conceded Spankem had the better winning chance of the two stable runners.

“But there’s more to it,” she said. “I’ve developed the relationship with Cruz Bromac with five wins from five drives and get along well with him, while Mark’s had plenty of success on Spankem along the way.

“It’s more about what’s best for both horses and the stable as a whole.”

Rasmussen’s Inter Dominion pacing record is extraordinary with six attempts for four wins and two seconds — all on the champion pacer Blacks A Fake she trained out of Queensland.

The Kiwi dominance of the race grew even stronger when Cran Dalgety’s Im Pats Delight drew ideally in gate three. He firmed from $7.50 to $4.50.

Driver Gavin Lang is shooting for his first Inter Dominion pacing final from 11 attempts.

The other big winner from the draw was WA stayer Galactic Star, who ran fifth in last year’s final, and gets his chance from the pole on Saturday night. He firmed from $15 to $6.

Todd McCarthy drove both Galactic Star and Tiger Tara through the qualifying heats, but will stick with the latter in the final despite drawing wide (gate seven) and easing from $4.80 to $7.50.

Galactic Star’s trainer Greg Bond confirmed his stable driver Ryan Warwick would come across from Perth to partner the pacer on Saturday.

In the Inter Dominion trotting final, Victorian star Tornado Valley is a commanding $1.70 favourite to land a local victory despite drawing wide in gate six.