KEY POINTS:
Terri Rae had no thoughts of becoming a horse trainer when she was growing up on her parent's West Coast beef and cattle station.
And she still hadn't given it a great deal of thought when she rode trackwork at Riccarton to pay for the thoroughbred she bought as a showjumper.
Now, after only a couple of short years, she sits with New Zealand's best strike rate for trainers who have produced 10 or more winners - 4.69.
And this weekend at Riccarton she can grab even more headlines if the favourite Don't Say Clang can win the $125,000 Winter Cup.
If she does achieve that success, Rae, who has impressed with the way she presents her horses, will have cause to reflect on the wisdom of heading to Queensland's Magic Millions yearling sale for several years.
When she first started training she knew she wouldn't be satisfied simply preparing what she calls "second-hand" horses in the South Island, scraping for the odd win with the cast-offs.
She went to the Magic Millions, but not with massive amounts hidden in the cheque account like most buyers at the sale. She purchased Don't Say Clang for A$17,000 ($22,000) and went back the following year and picked up Hold It Harvey for A$16,000.
From limited racing so far the pair have picked up $99,375 and $88,100.
"They were both fairly good buys," says Rae with a massive amount of understatement.
Don't Say Clang has won his last four straight, ensuring Winter Cup favouritism after northerner Pindy was withdrawn from the race last weekend.
The gelding has struck three heavy tracks and one slow surface in those four wins, but he will still have not struck a track as heavy as the one he'll face this time at Riccarton.
Around 50ml of rain fell on an already saturated Riccarton on Wednesday night and steady rain continued yesterday.
If the meeting goes ahead tomorrow - and there was an element of doubt yesterday - the footing will be as testing as anyone could imagine. "I have never seen Riccarton heavier," says Peter Williams, who has a long history of training in Canterbury.
Rae concedes the footing will play a big part in the result and is not confident Don't Say Clang will manage it better than the opposition.
"But he's won on those heavy tracks and he's a fairly honest horse."
Don't Say Clang looks a dour type with plenty of toughness and those are two qualities Winter Cup runners will not be able to have too much of.
Rae (38) has a 10-horse barn and says she never wants to train more than that number.
It will be a big thing for a stable of that size to win the south's biggest winter flat race.
Buena Ventura is likely to be suited here.
His overall efforts were considerably better than they looked on paper leading into last weekend's Foxton meeting and he proved that by going down narrowly to Lord Monty.
He loves the deepest, wettest winter tracks and is certainly going to strike that here.
The way he races will perfectly suit the riding style of Noel Harris and 52.5kg looks a good weight for the conditions.
Northerners Old Belvedere, Point Guard and Waikeepadacash are going to manage the conditions and are in the right form to be in the frame.
Old Belvedere looked a potential winter earlier in his career and splashed through the mud at Te Awamutu when resuming. Point Guard is racing in career-best form and Waikeepadacash, a placegetter on a previous Riccarton visit, beat him home in the bog at Te Awamutu.
Central districts visitor The Twist, unbeaten in heavy ground, is another lightweight chance after returning to winning form impressively at Foxton last month.
WINTER CUP
* One of racing's relative newcomers, Terri Rae, has a great chance on her home track.
* Don't Say Clang is unbeaten in his last four raceday appearances and comes in at a nice weight.
* The Riccarton track is in its heaviest state for years after constant rain.
