KEY POINTS:
Houdini Star seems to enjoy being back "home".
Because while Auckland may be 1000km from where he actually lives, the outstanding trotter never seems happier than when he in the north.
Which is just one reason he is the horse to beat in tonight's open class trot at Alexandra Park, the final lead-up to next Friday's $150,000 Rowe Cup.
Houdini Star hasn't won a race since Cambridge in January and looking at his form and his tricky draw on the 10m mark tonight it is easy to understand why Mountbatten may start favourite ahead of him.
But punters should expect huge improvement from the 5-year-old this week.
Houdini Star needed his comeback race when well beaten at Addington three starts ago, was a fine second next up and then suffered by being pushed five wide in the NZ Trotting Championships last time out.
So his form is actually better than it reads. And his form when he comes to Alexandra Park is simply awesome.
He has been there five times for three wins and two close seconds to One Over Kenny last summer at a time when that mare was clearly the best trotter in Australasia.
All of that wouldn't matter much if Houdini Star wasn't fit and ready tonight.
And trainer-driver John Hay is adamant he is.
"He worked very well here on Monday, as well as he was working when he was here in the summer," said Hay.
"I am happy with where he is. Maybe he is not as fit as he was around January because he had had a lot of hard racing close together and handled it beautifully.
"But I think he is pretty close."
With Our Sunny Whiz missing from tonight's race, most punters will opt for either Houdini Star or fellow Canterbury star Mountbatten.
Last-start Addington winner Mountbatten has hit his best form after three runs since a spell.
If he steps well from wide on the 10m mark and gets in front of Houdini Star he will take a power of catching.
But he would want to perform better than he did when last came to Alexandra Park, when he was a disappointing fifth behind One Over Kenny and Houdini Star.
Still, that was at the end of a long campaign and he is, understandably for one so inexperienced, improving all the time.
Outside of the two big names, Inspire looks an improver on her fourth here last Friday and rates a trifecta chance in a race set to be dominated by southern raiders.
