During his spell from racing he's strengthened right up and developed a serious presence that demands attention - a change noted by many who saw him in the flesh yesterday.
A winner of eight of his nine starts and close to $400,000 in stake earnings already, Chase Auckland's return will add some real venom to the 4-year-old pacing ranks for some of the major features which lie ahead.
But the camp behind the rising star won't be rushing into anything they don't have to.
"He'll head back to the trials again next week," Williams said. "After that he'll probably be ready for a race and things will grow from there."
Safely through that trial next week the target will quickly become the Chariots of Fire in Australia next year with a number of qualifying options available to connections.
They could head to the JLT Futurity at Cambridge on January 11, with the winner of that race given automatic entry into the Chariots of Fire, or there will be plenty of options available in Australia.
Good enough to be considered a chance to be nominated for this year's New Zealand Trotting Cup, there's clearly plenty of excitement around the All Stars barn about Chase Auckland's prospects.
- NZ Harness News