Helena Baby subsequently relocated to Hong Kong but failed to settle there and has quickly found winning form on his return to the Cambridge stable of his trainer and part-owner John Bell.
The eight-year-old has had a trouble-free preparation and with consecutive victories is on the third line of betting at $12 for the Tarzino.
"He's all good to go and it's most definitely all gone to plan. It has been a while since he raced at Hastings but he's done little bits of work here and there to keep him happy," Bell said.
"He had a gallop on the course proper at Te Awamutu [yesterday] and the surface was brilliant.
"A lot of people who hadn't seen him in the flesh before said, 'boy,
look at him, he's a hell of an athlete'. He might be grey and old, but he certainly demands a second look."
Helena Baby was a dominant winner of the Listed Opunake Cup (1400m) at New Plymouth in July and last month was again untroubled to claim top open handicap honours at his most recent outing.
He will face a step up in class on Saturday, most noticeably against the favoured pair of runaway Group 2 Foxbridge Plate (1200m) winner Imperatriz and last season's multiple Group winner La Crique.
While Bell has the utmost respect for the opposition, he is taking a blinkered approach to the race.
"The others don't come into it at all, some might come from behind and some may be on the pace or whatever, but Helena Baby doesn't care about them and we just concentrate on him," he said.
"He doesn't know whatever class of horse they are, and once you're in the barriers, it's pretty even.
"Darrin Danis has the mount and he's won on him before, so we're looking forward to Hastings."
Danis has partnered Helena Baby four times.
- NZ Racing Desk
