KEY POINTS:
When Xcellent tackled the Sir James Fletcher Stakes in his second start in two years, rider Michael Coleman didn't know what to expect.
We now know it was one of the great performances of recent years.
Had Xcellent been beaten, Coleman, like the rest of us, would have said, okay, that was only to be expected, watch for improvement next time.
It's remarkable how that stunning victory changes our perspective of today's $200,000 Zabeel Classic at Ellerslie.
Now we expect victory.
Anything else today will be seen as a disaster.
A dead-heat today with, say, Sir Slick would be seen as falling short of expectations.
Had Xcellent been beaten when resuming, such a result would be hailed as a sign Xcellent was back to his best.
Perception is an amazing emotion.
It's a bit like a few years ago when the All Blacks only had to take the field for New Zealand's public to expect them to win.
Yes, admits Coleman, that does bring a different type of pressure to the table today, but then the Matamata jockey is not one to lose sleep over a major race ride.
Coleman is not even slightly concerned that Xcellent showed nowhere near the same dash as his 3-year-old stablemate Mission Critical near the finish of a one-on-one gallop at Ellerslie on Thursday morning.
"That's what he was working like before the Sir James Fletcher race - he was having trouble with maidens in training.
"As a 3-year-old he used to work a bit more keenly.
"But he's 6 now and he knows the game more.
"He knows when he's out there to race and when he's only practising."
Coleman is never guilty of cockiness, but is supremely confident Xcellent can back up with an equally stunning performance late this afternoon.
He sees Alamosa as the only possible danger - he believes Xcellent has it heavily on the older horses like Sir Slick, Dezigna and Dorabella.
And he is cautious of Alamosa only because of the 7kg pull in the weights the 3-year-old receives.
"Bonecrusher, McGinty and Tidal Light were all too good for the older horses at weight-for-age as 3-year-olds, but they were all exceptional horses and I wouldn't rate Alamosa as up to that same level," said Coleman.
That's the sort of confidence a horse likes to feel in a big race.
"I think it's all in front of us from here on."
Co-trainer Paul Moroney admits the stable is feeling a little of the pressure.
"The expectation of his fans and the general racing public is that he'll just go out there and blow them away.
"But racing is not like that and we don't see this as a foregone conclusion.
"He put in a stunner first up and has to overcome the second-up syndrome this time.
"There are a lot higher expectations this time than there were before his first-up run and we're very aware of that.
"But our main concern is the weather."
Rain was forecast for last night and Moroney and the stable were interested to know how much.
"Oddly, dead, or good to dead, is probably his preferred footing," said Paul Moroney.
" It would take a fair bit of rain to make a difference to the part of the track they're going to be racing on."
* Light rain was falling on the Ellerslie track late yesterday afternoon.
