KEY POINTS:
Mainland Banner's army of fans have their punting chance of a lifetime after the glamour pacing mare drew poorly in Saturday night's Victoria Cup.
The reigning Horse of the Year will start from the outside of the second line in the A$325,000 ($370,000) Moonee Valley thriller, which is set to be dominated by Blacks A Fake after he drew barrier one.
That saw Victoria's SuperTab make the Interdominion champion a $2 favourite to win the much-anticipated race while Mainland Banner opened at $7.
That sort of price is unheard of for Mainland Banner, who opened at $3.20 in the New Zealand Cup fixed odds market in September even though she was under an injury cloud and faced a 10m handicap.
Even more tempting for Kiwi punters is the fact Mainland Banner could drift in the market and may start even longer than $7 on racenight as Blacks A Fake looks certain to be in red odds by race time.
Mainland Banner shares the third line of betting with Miracle Mile winner Be Good Johnny, who drew the middle of the second line.
That is a blow to his chances of achieving a rare double-double, as he won both the Miracle Mile and Victoria Cup last season.
New Zealand Cup winner Flashing Red is the $5.50 second favourite in early markets after drawing barrier two.
New Zealand pacer Tribute (barrier 11) made the field ahead of stablemate Foreal (4) but it would not surprise to see the former scratched to make way for the latter.
After showing dazzling gate speed to lead throughout in the Treuer Memorial last start, Blacks A Fake will be expected to lead on Saturday night and if he gets an easy first section of the race he should win.
But after some crushing staying performances this season, including a track record at Moonee Valley last Saturday night, it wouldn't surprise to see Flashing Red apply pressure to the hotpot.
That could aid Mainland Banner, who looks certain to be in the back half of the field for at least the opening stages of the race and may face an impossible task if the favourite gets an easy time in front.
Trainer Robert Dunn was happy with Mainland Banner's winning trial at Cranbourne on Saturday morning after the mare had initially struggled to settle in when first arriving in Victoria.
Punters with any doubts over Blacks A Fake will have plenty of betting options, as his drawing the ace means many stars who usually start favourite in decent races are paying well into double figures in the opening market.
While the Kiwis did not fare well in the draw for the Victoria Cup they had far more joy in the A$100,000 Australasian Trotting Grand Prix, which is also run on Saturday night.
Glenbogle, who set a 1:57.1 track record when winning the Bill Collins Mile last Saturday, has drawn the ace, from where he should have the gate speed to stay handy.
His stablemate and Dominion Handicap winner Whatsundermykilt will start from barrier five while Interdominion champion Delft draws six on his return to Moonee Valley.
Cambridge trotter Romper Stomper will start from the second line as he prepares for the Interdominions, which start at Moonee Valley on December 29.
* The fields for the two feature races at Moonee Valley on Saturday night are:
Victoria Cup, $A325,000, 2570m: Blacks A Fake (1), Flashing Red (2), Cobbity Classic (3), Foreal (4), The Warp Drive (5), Robin Hood (6), Sting Lika Bee (7), Toe Taper (8), Smooth Crusa (9), Be Good Johnny (10), Tribute (11), Mainland Banner (12). Emergency: Foreal.
Australasian Trotting Grand Prix, A$100,000, 2570m: Glenbogle (1), Vive La Fever (2), Flying Harwick (3), Clares Brother (4), Whatsundermykilt (5), Delft (6), Starlight Josh (7), Jazz Legend (8), A Touch Of Flair (9), Romper Stomper (10), Uncle Petrika (11), Tamra Dawn (12).
