Astrolabe should measure up at Te Aroha

The Diamond One would be a popular winner of the Breeders Stakes at Te Aroha today. Photo / Tayler Strong

A week is a long time to keep your fingers crossed, but it appears to have worked with the state of the track for Te Aroha today.

Footing that was slow early in the week has firmed up each day and with clear weather overnight it should come back again to be near perfect for this afternoon's group one raceday.

This column has been written assuming it will be.

Astrolabe (No 4, R1) might be a decent way to start the day off. He has looked good at the barrier trials for some time now and his debut from a handy barrier will be interesting.

Southern Dancer, by Tavistock, is another impressive trials performer on debut.

The way Fully Funded (No 1, R2) won at Tauranga last start he should be right in the fight again. Apart from when things went terribly wrong two starts back he has either been first or second each time he has gone to the races. Flaming (No 10) is worth attention.

You just had to like the way Augusta National (No 3, R3) travelled up and burst clear to win at Te Rapa last start. She had the race won a long way out and although she goes up a grade she will carry just 54kg with Brendan Hutton's 2kg claim.

Imperial Hawk (No 2) will be the favourite and the obvious one to beat.

Carlotta (No 4, R4) raced below her best when only fifth last start, but it will pay to forget that and take a line instead through her winning run the time before. That is much more representative of her class.

Lion Red (No 5) was a close fourth in a slowly-run race last start and is probably going to be be better suited here.

Zaperb (No 10, R5) will need good footing and if she gets it she can be very tough to pull back with just 52.5kg. She is way better than her seventh at Ellerslie start.

Light Shadow (No 6) has the barrier to put him in a nice spot.

Good staying type horses can generally sprint well when fresh over 1400m. Addictive Habit (No 2, R7) could fall into that category. He showed he was fit to return after a break by winning at the Cambridge barrier trials. Tricky race.

The Breeders Stakes is always a good betting race and so it should be.

Sports Illustrated (No 7, R8) is due another winning turn and this race sets up quite nicely for her, even though the field is full of talent.

Rising Romance beat her a lip two starts back and she was a shade too fresh when only third last time out. Atacama (No 6) is right in this and so, too, is Diademe (No 1).

Let's hope for a New Zealand victory in the A$2 million AJC Derby with Volkstok'n'barrell and Mongolian Khan, but Preferment is going to take a whole lot of beating.

Hoofnote: Racing can be a tough game, but emotion is the oil that makes the horse wheel go around.

And there will be plenty of it when the Diamond One walks into the Te Aroha birdcage just after 4pm this afternoon for the Breeders Stakes.

The Andertons might be from Otago, but they are one of the famous names in New Zealand thoroughbred history and The Diamond One will be attempting to provide remembrance to one of the family no longer with us.

Her former trainer Steve Anderton was tragically killed by a freak set of circumstances on his training property at the beginning of the year.

Doing their part in trying to create what will be an everlasting group one moment if victory can result today are The Diamond One's official trainers, Steve's widow Claire and Steve's father Hec.

Hec Anderton, a highly successful trainer, retired in 2008, but has returned to form a partnership with his daughter-in-law to honour his son. It doesn't get more emotional than that.

This is a big ask for The Diamond One, but she has won seven of her 17 starts and can produce a withering finish.