Young Opaki trainer Aaron Bidlake may hold the key to any Wairarapa success at Trentham tomorrow with two handy gallopers Bella Carolina and Elusive Tracey entered.
Bella Carolina is to start in race 4, a rating 90 sprint. And although she will be going up in class and will be pitted against a couple of good ones in topweights Baby Guinness and Klose, she has a few things in her favour.
Baby Guinness has undoubted ability but she will be giving Bella Carolina a 5kg weight advantage, and the Masterton mare has drawn the two gate.
Veteran Tauherenikau campaigner Jakade is in the same race, having start 82, and would need to quickly improve to get some of this.
Bidlake has reason to feel confident he can get some of the $30,000 stake with Bella Carolina and, likewise, has no cause to think getting a payday of some size is beyond Elusive Tracey in the last.
The four-year-old won convincingly on this track only two weeks back at tidy odds and, although she has drawn badly at 13 and has Cambridge mare Royal Queen and O'Reilly gelding Eight Schillings to contend with, she is capable of featuring in the finish.
Among her rivals will be Kalgoorlie Bomber, from Frank Stammers Tauherenikau stable, who is capable of upset but at 10 years old and having failed at Hawera on a dead track last start can't be recommended.
Gerald Innes has Share the Blame in race 2, backing up from Wanganui last weekend and stepping up to 1600m.
This maiden field looks likely to throw up a winner from Awapuni, either Peter Hurdle's Pero or California from the Jeff Lynds barn, but Share the Blame has shown enough to rate here.
Tauherenikau entrants in the same race are Hula Dash, prepared by Don Fuge, and Lady Nimbus from the Stammers stable.
Hula Dash would need heavy going to show her best and Lady Nimbus has had plenty of chances to break maiden ranks.
The Fuge runner, Hula Sister, lines up in race 7, a rating 70 over 2200m and would be a threat given rain-affected footing.
In the feature, the New Zealand Bloodstock Wellington Guineas, Wairarapa's hopes rest with Jabez, prepared by Jamie Phillips at Tauherenikau.
Although on paper a Group 1 win or placing looks a bit rich at this stage of the maiden runner's career, he has a fair form line.
Two good efforts in heavy going and a not so impressive performance on a soft 8 hint that Jabez would need heavily rain-affected conditions to foot it with the likes of Planet Rock and Jetset Man.
Ian Wyeth has Malaya in race 9, a mare that has a good draw and the services of capable northern rider Danielle Johnson.