All of which points to conservative tactics from the Sky Major team, even though he developed high gate speed during his last campaign.
"He is ready to race, but winning these types of races fresh up at Alexandra Park is never easy," says champion trainer Barry Purdon.
"And there is plenty of gate speed there so I can't see Zac [Butcher, driver] getting the front, especially with a horse like Gold Ace drawn alongside him.
"So he might have to end up dropping in and then seeing how the race develops."
Sky Major is being aimed at the A$200,000 Chariots Of Fire in Sydney on March 1 and when Purdon has a goal like that for his elite pacers they tend to have some improvement in them when they first start back.
He is an exceptional sprinter off a hot speed - a trait he used in both his Jewels wins - but he could be giving some talented, race-hardened rivals a start tonight, so punters would want $3 to be backing him and with his reputation that price is unlikely.
Gold Ace may have the widest draw but he also has brilliant gate speed and it wouldn't surprise to see him cross his rivals and lead, which, considering he set up a 1:51.6 mile at Cambridge last start, makes him the horse to beat.
His former driver Tony Herlihy has stable star Ohoka Punter in and at his best he is every bit as good as Sky Major or Gold Ace, if not better.
Ohoka Punter bolted away with his comeback two starts ago and wasn't suited by a dawdling pace last start so can definitely win, with Herlihy's early tactics maybe the best indication of how much pressure there will be in the race.
Tonight's meeting sees the return of racing to Alexandra Park for the season and has drawn strong fields.
