KEY POINTS:
Tony Herlihy has one major hope heading into today's $50,000 Kaikoura Cup at Kaikoura.
It's not that his stable star Gotta Go Cullen has an easy run before the $1.2 million New Zealand Trotting Cup at Addington on November 11.
It is not even that the big stallion necessarily wins the 2400m event.
Herlihy's main priority is that Gotta Go Cullen is heading in the right direction from his 10m backmark when the tapes fly.
Because if that part of the race goes well Gotta Go Cullen is good enough to make his own luck for the rest of it today. More importantly, it will put him in the right frame of mind for the Cup in eight days' time.
Gotta Go Cullen is emerging as the horse to beat in the New Zealand Cup, having improved with every trial and serious race this campaign.
He downed all the Cup favourites at Alexandra Park two starts ago after making a flyer from the standing start that enabled him to lead throughout and Herlihy wants to see that trend continue.
"He missed away in a couple of his trials early on but that was because he was fresh," said Herlihy.
"He stepped great at Alexandra Park and I would like to see him get that right for this race and be a little confidence booster for the Cup next week."
The Kaikoura Cup can be a horror race for punters, with the favourites facing impossible tasks from handicaps and being driven accordingly.
But Herlihy says Gotta Go Cullen has thrived on recent racing and he won't be scared to put the big horse into today's race if he gets away on terms with the field.
At his best Gotta Go Cullen would have too much class for his rivals, with only Awesome Armbro of similar ability.
He looks the danger, although he, too, can have standing start woes and he gets little in the way of an advantage in the handicaps as he will start off the unruly.
Awesome Armbro has been luckless when driven cold in his two starts this season and will need a decent blowout today so punters can also back him with some confidence that he will be there to win.
With the northern open class stars having savaged the southerners this season it is hard to see many of the frontline horses winning, unless a pacer like Waipawa Lad or Report For Duty can get an easy run close to the pace.
While the cup will be the highlight of the day and the third leg of the Pick 6, which terminates, just as many punters will be keen to see superstar trotter Stig in race nine.
He was brutal winning at Ashburton last Monday and looks a Pick6 anchor today, along with Mercurio (race six) and Highview Tommy (race 10).
