PUNTERS at Sunderland could be in for a mouth-watering rematch between the two stars of this month's Regal Gold Cup.

Local favourite Harsu Super, unbeaten in open races at the East Boldon circuit where he started his racing career, tasted defeat for the first time in the Gold Cup final when Wimbledon raider Deerfield Felix carried off the £2,500 first prize.

It was a major surprise - Harsu Super holds the Sunderland 450m track record at 27.00 secs and the winning time of 27.38 secs was well within his reach.

But the Scottish-bred flyer, which started favourite, hit early traffic problems and was unable to make up lost ground on the fast-starting Deerfield Felix, which was well backed by connections who kept faith after a costly semi-final defeat when starting odds-on.

Now Harsu Super, trained at Reading by John McGee, could get his chance of quick revenge in next month's £1,000 strangely named SunderlandonLabrokes.co.uk Trophy, when Owen McKenna's sprinter is expected to return to the North-East.

The competition is for 18 dogs, with the first two from the three heats on February 28 going through to the final on March 3.

Catching the eye at Sunderland is talented puppy Dance Greengrass, trained by Alison Waggott at Crook.

The May 1999 Boyne Walk-Fantastic Kansas Irish-bred brindle dog, whose kennel-name in Claude, has won three of his first four races.

lBrough Park hosts the inaugural £2,000 William Hill Puppy Cup next month, with the winners of the three heats on Friday, February 9 going through to the final a week later.

The bookmaking firm is also sponsoring the William Hill Gold Cup in April, also offering a first prize of £2,000.

The Tyneside track's star hurdler, Wide Open which has won five of his six races over the jumps, will be trying for a hat-trick of victories in Brough's BAGS meeting on Saturday.