KEY POINTS:
John Wheeler expects his two horses, Real Tonic and High Season, to be one race away from their best in their jump assignments at Ellerslie tomorrow.
Real Tonic is topweight for the $40,000 Mad Butcher's Pakuranga Hunt Cup and Wheeler expects a top showing from last year's Great Northern Steeplechase winner, but says he has the horse aiming to peak for a repeat in the big Ellerslie event in two weeks' time.
Similarly, High Season has been brought back from Wheeler's Melbourne stable to aim at the $100,000 Great Northern Hurdles.
"Both horses are flying, but it would be asking a bit much of them to be ready enough to win," he said.
"I think they'll both go very good races."
Wheeler's Melbourne foreman and No1 jumps rider Brett Scott has flown to Auckland to ride both horses tomorrow.
He expects to be on them again in the Great Northern.
Wheeler scratched High Season from the Hiskins Steeples in Melbourne when the track became too heavy.
"The Melbourne tracks have been waterlogged for a lot of the winter," he said.
The $20,000 Lumbercorp Hurdles should be a great guide to the Great Northern Hurdles.
Engaged in tomorrow's event are Diamondsareforever, Southerner Dan Moran, and two rising stars of the jumping game, Slumber and Climbing High.
