KEY POINTS:
Allan Sharrock and Howie Mathews got sore necks looking skyward in Christchurch yesterday.
The North Island trainers were in controlled panic mode heading into today's $270,000 Coupland's Bakeries Metric Mile at Riccarton.
Neither want the rain that threatened so much of yesterday afternoon.
Racing rarely works out this way, but with a decent crack at the luck element, the big race looks something of a match race between the Allan Sharrock-trained Wahid and Mathews' Dorabella.
Rain, which levels out the class factor, would threaten that.
Howie Mathews is slightly more relaxed than Allan Sharrock, whose comeback giant hit peak form again after a long break from the winner's stall at Ellerslie.
"Everyone knows we need a good track," said Sharrock, "but having said that he bolted in on a dead track last time."
Wahid has looked close to the country's best horse in some of his winning performances, but had a year where he was not right.
The Ellerslie win a couple of weeks ago left little doubt Sharrock has his star galloper right back where he needs him.
"He's flying," he said yesterday.
"His work for the last week has been phenomenal. Leith (Innes, rider) came out and rolled him around an easy 1000m yesterday and said he felt terrific."
Dorabella and rain - not necessarily in that order - are the two things that worry Sharrock.
"She's in very well at the weights. She won a group one last start and drops to 53kg.
"We're well in as well. The 54kg looks pretty good.
"I've got huge respect for her and if you look at her wet track form it's better than ours."
Taking a line through the first day of the meeting on Saturday, a significant amount of rain would need to arrive to make a real difference.
"If it does come up dead in the morning then he'll have to find the strip they were winning on on Saturday," says Sharrock.
"I think he'll be okay."
Mathews is confident of Dorabella handling a dead track and he knows the mare loves Riccarton.
This time last year Dorabella scored a stunning win in the 1000 Guineas at Riccarton.
"She comes down here and dances like a ballerina," said Mathews.
Dorabella would not need to dance a lot better than when she won the group one $200,000 Captain Cook Stakes at Trentham last start.
Mathews is not getting confident.
"A whole lot can change by tomorrow," he said.
But a dead track is not a concern.
"The only time she failed on a rain-affected track was in the Bayer last season, but it was her first start after the winning run in the 1000 Guineas and I reckon she probably wasn't right that day. Every other time she's lined up on dead track she's performed."
Wahid and Dorabella look the best two in terms of class, but the match race pointer is as much about the relative weights.
The look well placed with 53kg (Dorabella) and 54.5kg.
Compare that to Dezigna on 59kg.
The born-again topliner is in career-best form, but will need to be to concede 4.5kg and 6kg to the two favourites.
