SUNDERLAND'S showpiece Regal Puppy Derby Final on Saturday looks to be a two-dog race.

Track record holder Harsu Super has carried all before him, winning his heat and semi-final after eclipsing New Level's long-standing all-comers best for the standard 450m trip.

And the wide-running Larkhill Oak, trained at Wimbledon by Owen McKenna, has put himself into the reckoning for the £7,000 winner's prize by clocking 27.29 secs winning his semi-final - exactly the same time as Harsu Super.

Harsu Super, however, is expected to go into the race a well-backed odds-on favourite after his sparkling return to the track where he was in- troduced to racing.

The January 1999 Ratify-Yes Super fawn dog, which was bred in Scotland by owner Harry Hutchison, was given its early training at the Bishop Auckland kennels of George Miller.

Harsu Super was sent South to be prepared for the prestigious Wimbledon Puppy Derby by Reading handler John McGee, and finished third in the final.

But the youngster has improved by leaps and bounds in the last few months and nothing has come within five lengths of him in his three races since his return to the tricky East Boldon circuit. He won his semi-final by an emphatic nine lengths.

Larkhill Oak, a February 1999 Larkhill Jo-Annies Bullet whelp, has made eye-catching progress in his build-up to the final after winning two out of three open races in the South.

The fast-starting black dog - the only wide runner in the final - clocked a modest 28.00 in a trial on his first look at the track.

But since then he has clocked 27.72 secs finishing second in his heat and went on to win his semi-final by just over three lengths in 27.29 secs.

The other finalists, including Harsu Super's litter sister, Harsu Heather, come nowhere near the two leading contenders on times and it would take a major upset for them to be headed.

Brough Park is gearing up for the All-England Cup, which starts at the Tyneside track on November 28.

Contenders for the £5,000 prize are expected to test out the big galloping circuit in the regular open races.

The word is that top trainer Charlie Lister will be bringing back last year's winner, Derbay Flyer, which went on to win the Scottish Derby, to defend his title.

The new series of open races produced a new sprint record when Lougteen Max, trained at Yorkshire track Kinsley by Eileen Doxley, clocked 17.05 secs for the 290m trip.