NORTHERN Oaks winner Pond Imogen, bred and trained by Witton-le-Wear handler Harry Williams, is going for the Midlands Oaks title at Hall Green, Birmingham, this weekend.

And if the May 1999 Highway Leader-Pond Saturn black bitch is successful she will be entered for the English Oaks at Wimbledon in September.

Williams is proud of the performances of Imogen, one of a superb home-bred litter of nine pups which have all come through as top-notchers.

"She has a tremendous will to win, guts and determination - she doesn't know when she is beaten," enthused Williams.

The highly-successful Pond dam-line goes back to one of Williams' first bitches, Soda Pop, which was the mother of another of his top producers, Pond Mosquito.

Williams, who was one of the enthusiasts who re-opened Sunderland as an NGRC track after years as a "flapping" track, briefly retired from the sport.

But he is back on full throttle as one of the region's top breeders and trainers.

He said: "We have some lovely young dogs coming through and I'm really excited about the future."

Another of Williams' dogs, Eva's Boy, is the top A1 grader at Sunderland and has been successful on the open race circuit.

* Brough Park's new £100,000 state-of-the-art totalisator system has been successfully commissioned at the flourishing Tyneside track.

The system was designed and installed by a Darlington firm, Advanced Totes Ltd, who have also have put totes in at NGRC tracks at Oxford and Peterborough.

Brough Park owner Alan Hutton is delighted with his investment. He said: "This is the tote of the future - it has vastly improved graphics and the capacity to offer various new betting options."

Hand-held remote terminals will be introduced in the restaurant to allow diners to make bets without leaving their tables.

Paul Simpson, of Advanced Totes, said: "The installation went smoothly and everyone seemed delighted. It is a great boost to our company to have been awarded a contract from a stadium with such a high profile and we hope to gain a larger proportion of the UK market."