That leaves his stable with second favourite Follow Your Dreams in the 1200m dash and after he chased hard for second to Dream Queen last start, he is expected to improve further.
The local trainer rates Zelenski (R5, No7) the next best of his chances tomorrow and suggests Apatchee Power (R7, No11) is an each way chance even though she steps into a deepish R65 after her last start maiden win.
Tomorrow's staying feature has been left with compressed handicaps after topweight Big Mike was scratched leaving the other six runners all carded with 54kg although three of them are claiming.
Weighty issue
Few punters would doubt Justaskme is the best horse in tomorrow's $100,000 Winter Cup at Riccarton but he is going to need to be after being lumped with 60kg.
Justaskme has had only 11 starts for six wins and is rated on 91 points but with the field light on big names he gets the topweight, with apprentice Hazel Schofer unable to claim.
He also gets the outside barrier, which may not be a disaster on what could be a very heavy track. This could become a race to the best patch of mud on the outside of the track by late in the day but, being a backrunner, Justaskme could still have the line Schofer is able to take dictated to him. So while it is hard to bet against him with confidence, his $3.60 quote doesn't represent value.
tomorrow's meeting also hosts the lead-up jumps races to Grand National Hurdles (Wednesday) and Steeplechase (next Saturday).
Dunn's big chance
Champion ex-pat harness driver Dexter Dunn has a big chance of winning North America's greatest harness race, The Hambeltonian, Sunday in the United States.
Bizarrely the biggest harness race in the US is for three-year-old trotters but is the race every driver wants to win because of its history as well as the US$1 million stake.
Dunn will partner Really Fast, one of the three main favourites, in The Hambletonian as well as the favourite in the US$500,000 Hambletonian Oaks at the famous Meadowlands track. The race will shown live on Trackside TV.
