KEY POINTS:
One thing you can guarantee today is that Michael Rodd will be asking a lot of questions around the Flemington jockeys' room after Race 3, the A$500,000 ($575,000) Ascot Vale Stakes.
There are two reasons Rodd is disappointed he hasn't got an Ascot Vale ride.
The first is that clearly, as an inter-stater who only two weeks ago settled in Melbourne, he'd love to win the race.
The second is that he is desperate to get an indication of just how the 1200m Flemington chute is racing for his ride on New Zealand mare Gee I Jane in the A$500,000 Salinger Stakes.
The Ascot Vale is the only 1200m race before Gee I Jane goes around in Race 8 and the all-important piece of knowledge to be gleaned is whether the inside or outside lanes of the Flemington track is faster.
You can be the best horse in the race, but if you're caught in the wrong lane, you're as good as dead.
Gee I Jane's No 1 gate almost certainly means she will be committed to the inside rail, regardless of where the split comes to divide the field.
That split will be determined by what happens and what riders think after the Ascot Vale.
Rodd, ever thoughtful, sees the opportunity for a positive.
He rode Gee I Jane in one of the handful of trials at Flemington on Tuesday, all of which were conducted down the outside of the track.
"It's possible that outside lane might be a bit chopped up because of those trials, which means we'll be in the right place, but only time will tell."
Cambridge trainer Neville Couchman is thrilled with the way Gee I Jane has trained up this preparation.
It will be Gee I Jane's first start since finishing second to fellow New Zealand mare La Sizeranne on an unsuitable wet track in the Winter Stakes in Brisbane in late June.
Two weeks earlier the class mare produced one of her career best performances to finish a luckless second to La Montagna in the A$1 million Stradbroke Handicap after sitting four and five horses wide throughout the race.
Rodd was thrilled with how Gee I Jane felt this week.
"Michael said she felt as good as any of the horses he's ridden at this carnival," said Couchman. "I'd thought about putting a hood on her to make her finish her work off strongly, but Michael said she didn't need it."
Couchman isn't sure what to make of the No 1 barrier.
"She'll end up a few places back off the speed on the inside.
"The positives are that as a novice at racing on straight courses she'll have the benefit of a rail to follow and the tempo at which they'll run this race suggests the gaps will start opening as horses start rolling around under pressure in the closing stages."
The Lee Freedman-trained Miss Andretti is the horse to beat in the Salinger, shortening yesterday from $3.40 to $3 favourite.
Sydney sprinter Fast'N' Famous is second favourite and another strong chance to give trainer John O'Shea compensation for Racing To Win's shocker in last week's Cox Plate.
"This is the best field imaginable - they're all there," said O'Shea yesterday.
"The only one that's missing in Australia is Takeover Target."
Gee I Jane is rated a $15 chance.
