KEY POINTS:
Seachange, Bulginbaah, High Octane, Princess Coup, Veloce Bella - the perfect end to mid-winter racing blues.
The new racing season will be less than 48 hours old when a handful of New Zealand's best gallopers go head to head in the sprint at Hastings this afternoon.
This will
be the most exciting race we've seen in months, but even more important it will give us a taste of what is to come.
Many eyes will be on Seachange and as New Zealand's most highly rated galloper resumes from a lengthy break trainer Ralph Manning has issued an interesting warning.
"If they can't beat her in this race they can forget about beating her for the rest of the season."
Not that Manning has Seachange particularly screwed up tight for this race.
In fact, he says the high class mare is at only 90 per cent fitness.
But the Cambridge trainer says that's still fitter than when she resumed at the same time last year.
"Don't forget last year she came back from a longer break during which she spent two months in her box.
"This time she had only five weeks off after she came back from Australian in the autumn and for two of those weeks she was on the walker."
But it wouldn't surprise Manning if Seachange was beaten.
"They shouldn't be able to beat her when she gets to weight-for-age, but on tomorrow's weight they might."
Seachange's 61.5kg will be reduced to 58.5kg by stable apprentice Jayne Ivil.
Sam Fieldes takes 2kg off Bulginbaah down to 59kg, High Octane will carry his full 56kg with Lisa Cropp in the saddle and apprentice Samantha Collett's 3kg reduces Princess Coup to a dangerous 52kg. Veloce Bella will carry 54kg with Bruce Herd engaged.
Regular rider Gavin McKeon rode Seachange in her final gallop at Cambridge on Tuesday morning and told Manning it was the best she's felt.
She looks a different mare.
Until now she has been a close-coupled type with not a great deal of stretch through the middle.
She looks to have lengthened and appears overall a much more developed individual.
That could explain why Manning is delighted that her tendency to cut herself behind has disappeared.
"She would always cut her hind legs, particularly on bad ground and especially in Australia where the cuts were so deep you could put your finger in them.
"We had a lot of trouble with it over there, but this preparation she hasn't touched herself once, not even in that very heavy ground during the trial at Te Awamutu last week."
High Octane and Princess Coup were impressive at that trials meeting and look certain to offer tough opposition here.
Mark Walker says he's not expecting too much from Princess Coup.
"She'll benefit a great deal from the run, but class will come into play.
"Her main aim is obviously the Kelt and she's around 70 to 75 per cent at the moment. If she pulls up well she'll head to the Foxbridge Plate before Hastings."
Mark Brosnan has even less expectations of Veloce Bella, whose record as a 3-year-old filly last season was immaculate.
"She's a wee way off," Brosnan said. "She'll get back and if she's running on into fourth or fifth I'll be happy."
Although not tall Veloce Bella displayed a magnificent frame last season and Brosnan says the mare has strengthened further.
Bulginbaah is better over further than 1200m, but he won this race last year, admittedly against a lesser field, with the same 59kg he'll carry today.
He is a very underrated type and his superior fitness may prove a problem for even this field.
* Cambridge apprentice Cory Parish had his first ride over fences at Avondale yesterday and scored a handsome win on Catchmeifyoucan for his boss Brad Peterson.
Asked how long he's been jumping in training, Parish said: "Not long."
Catchmeifyoucan was to have been ridden by Shelley Houston, who switched to Red Bunting, which allowed the call-up for Parish.
The teenager is a natural lightweight and could barely carry the saddle afterwards.
He was 49kg when he arrived at Avondale and his gear included 9kg of lead to help make up the 63kg.