If Roger James doesn't win tomorrow's $80,000 Skinforme St Leger at Trentham it won't be from lack of effort.
The James/Mirabelli stable has four runners engaged and, remarkably, all four seem to be striking career-best form at exactly the right time.
The Cambridge trainer can't separate his quartet.
Dampierre: "Hewon very easily by four lengths two starts back and last start, on a wet track that didn't suit, he was just beaten by Six O'Clock News in the St Leger Trial at Otaki. That's good form."
Katie's Dan: "His form is 2221 and he won nicely at Ellerslie last start. He's doing everything right."
Maythehorsebemagic: "He ran a very good second to Mr Tipsy at Ellerslie when he wasn't suited by the wet track in his first race in six weeks. I thought his run in the City of Auckland Cup was terrific. He was only ninth, but he got out late and was finishing faster than anything else."
Fiorano: "He won on the Wellington track last time on heavy going, which didn't suit him."
No one could begrudge Valhalla a win here. He "won" the $60,000 Dunstan Stayers Championship at Ellerslie then lost it in the inquiry room.
He was given a short break and came back with a fourth in a too-short 1800m at New Plymouth before a last-start second to Smoking Chimneys at Awapuni.
The 2500m on a flat course like Trentham looks ideal.
Booming is the veteran of only eight raceday appearances and has a recent formline of 21122, finishing second to race rival Fiorano on an unsuitable wet track at Trentham last start.
Haya has won three of her last four and as a 4-year-old Zabeel mare can keep on improving through the autumn.
Perhaps in keeping with the major races throughout the spring and summer, there is a stack of emerging talent engaged here.
One of them is Harris Tweed, who has impressively won his last two for the Murray and Bjorn Baker stable.
The Bakers rate him highly and he simply destroyed lesser rivals at Ellerslie.
