"The wide barrier is my biggest concern, I am not worried about a dead track, he is fine on that," he said.
"Lisa [Allpress, jockey] is going to have to produce a pretty good ride. He hasn't got the right draw so he is going to have to be good and we are going to need a bit of luck in running.
"We have not set a plan as yet, we will just get through the first part of the day. He has got quite good gate speed, so we will just have to assess what the track is doing and we will make a plan before the race.
"If he gets a bit of luck he will be right in it."
TAB bookmakers have installed Happy Star as a $4.40 favourite ahead of Tobilicious ($6) and Rosewood ($6.50).
Benner said there are no set plans for Happy Star after today's race but there are plenty of options for the promising gelding.
"He is only third-up so we will get through Saturday and see where we go," he said. "There is still a bit of racing left in him. He is a tough little horse, so we will just take it day by day."
- NZ Racing Desk