KEY POINTS:
It is hard to imagine anybody in harness racing less Cantabrian than Steven Reid.
After all, Reid will tomorrow roll on to the Addington track - home of the stoic southern man - in skin tight, Lycra racing colours.
As if that is not bad enough Reid, with his dazzling smile and shock of blond hair, is a man who practises yoga and once you get him talking about his horses you can't shut him up.
He is, to put it bluntly, completely un-Canterbury.
But, strangely, the Pukekohe trainer who personifies modern harness racing and hates standing starts could win the biggest race of his life because of Canterbury's relaxed standing start protocols.
Reid trains the second and third favourites in the $750,000 New Zealand Cup, Baileys Dream and Monkey King, and will drive the latter.
Monkey King has drifted out to $5.50 in the fixed odds even though he has been the best pacer in New Zealand this season.
The reason is most punters who know Monkey King well expect him to gallop from the standing start, as he has done twice from four attempts this season.
The New Zealand Cup start can be notoriously unfair, with the crowd hype, huge field and horses off handicaps making it a comedy of errors punters often don't find that funny.
But a more relaxed attitude to the once regimented standing start procedures look set to give Monkey King at least some chance of stepping away safely.
For one thing, Monkey King, who starts off the unruly, won't have to contend with having a starter's tape behind him, even though Flashing Red will be off the 15m mark.
Canterbury steward Nigel McIntyre confirmed to the NZ Herald Flashing Red will start behind a shortened tape, which is drawn about only 10m across the track.
That gives Monkey King and Foreal, who is also unruly, the luxury of standing back and being able to move forward approaching the start.
Which is another advantage for the pair because southern standing starts these days tend to operate under a walk-up-and-go, rather than the traditional stand-and-deliver approach.
"Last year's Cup start was one of our best ever and it helps that the horses are allowed to move forward as the tapes are released," said McIntyre.
"Basically, we are happy for the horses to stand up to three metres back from the tape and then walk up, and, hopefully, go."
That is different from the northern standing start system, which tends to involve horses standing longer before the tapes are released.
And McIntyre said the stipes would be happy to see Monkey King, or any other horse, comforted by a starter's assistant until the tapes were released.
So, while Monkey King may be one of New Zealand's most hit-and-miss beginners, he will have more room than expected, the chance at a walk-up start and even somebody to hold his head if Reid wants.
While that doesn't guarantee he will go away safely, or at all, it gives him a far better chance than he would have at Alexandra Park or in Australia, where the standing start rules are more rigidly applied. What does this mean for the punter?
Well, it makes the $5.50 fixed odds far more tempting because with all those advantages Monkey King must be at least 50:50 to go away on terms with the field and if he does that the only horse in the race with his outright class is Changeover.
Reid, his mind a cocktail of nerves and excitement, is opting for Baileys Dream as his better chance tomorrow because he is more reliable. His assessment is partially a mental safety net in case the worst happens.
But Monkey King is simply a better horse than Baileys Dream, so the latter represents no value at $4.50 fixed odds.
One day standing start racing as we know it will not exist and punters won't have to watch the early stages of our biggest races in fear.
But until harness racing gets that monkey off its back, we are just going to have to make do with crossing our fingers and hoping the Cantabrians have got this one right.
Market: $3.20 Changeover; $4.50 Baileys Dream; $5.50 Monkey King; $10 Classic Cullen; $11 Awesome Armbro; $16 Tribute, Sly Flyin; $18 Flashing Red; $26 Waipawa Lad, Foreal, Roman Gladiator; $31 Bondy; $41 It's Ella; $51 Report For Duty; $61 Keepright-ondreaming, Power Of Tara; $101 Nick Off Holme; $201 Presido.
