POOLE Comets sped to victory in the final of the Gold Cup at Southampton following a dramatic finish.

Racing was highly competitive and Comets established a four-point lead by the interval.

Old rivals Oxford and Newport up their game to fight their way back into contention with the result going down to the last race.

And Comets emerged victorious by a solitary point thanks to some terrific riding from international stars Wil Bristowe and Dawid Bas.

Bristowe and Bas topped the Poole score charts with 20 points each, with Maciej Ganczarek adding a further 17 and Welsh under-19 champion Fraser Garnett weighing in with a 10-point return.

Comets finished on 67 points, one ahead of Oxford, with Newport third on 62 and Exeter a distant fourth on 41.

Meanwhile, Comets duo Macie Schmidt and Kristina Mines topped the scorecharts to help the South West take the honours in the second leg of the Supertrax National Women's League.

They beat the Midlands (88) by three points with the North East and East sides tied for third (87).

Schmidt went on to clinch the opening round of the expert individual class while Poole team-mate Maddie Saunders took top spot in the intermediate division.

Experts: Macie Schmidt (Poole) 25, Lauren Hookway (Exeter) 20, Lucy Whitehead (Leicester) 18, Kristina Mines (Poole) 13.

Intermediate: Maddie Saunders (Poole) 25, Chloe Whitehead (Leicester) 20, Gemma Hill (Ipswich) 18, Anna Tuttle (Poole) 14.