KEY POINTS:
Alexandra Park won't be the only foreign environment Stig will find himself in tonight.
Because the giant trotting hero will start the day in the unusual position of not being favourite for his showdown with One Over Kenny in the $20,000 trot.
It will only the second time
in 18 months Stig has not been fixed odds favourite for a race, suggesting the bookies have the some question on their minds as everybody else:
How will Stig handle Alexandra Park?
While the big fella has been faultless this season he has looked most vulnerable on smaller tracks.
With Alexandra Park being right-handed and Stig having only arrived north from his Canterbury base on Tuesday, there are enough doubts to mean he faces a mammoth task off a 40m handicap.
In a field without One Over Kenny his natural talent would be enough to overcome that. But with the champion mare in the race, Stig will only need a momentary lapse to be in big trouble.
Yet trainer Paul Nairn is unfazed.
"It won't be easy because One Over Kenny is a very good mare but to be honest I am not too worried about the track," said Nairn.
"He works well that way and I think the surface here is very good and will suit him better than Addington which can be a bit loose.
"But I'm not really sure what to expect because they are both such good horses."
The best two trotters in New Zealand for the last two years have never met on racenight.
They trialled once at Ashburton where One Over Kenny, needing a serious hitout, thrashed Stig.But the gelding was later found to be suffering a serious injury.
If they were both in peak condition Stig may be slightly superior, but if he feels even remotely uncomfortable tonight then One Over Kenny should beat him because she has a phenomenal record at Alexandra Park.
Her only defeats in 16 starts there have been as a young mare stepping into open class or when she has galloped. And her trainer Tony Herlihy admits he is very happy with her heading into the biggest head-to-head clash in years. "She had a few easy days after the Interdominions but she is fit and will be ready."
"But Stig is a great horse so I suppose a lot will depend on how he handles the track."
While some fans may have been disappointed by One Over Kenny's last-start defeat in the Interdominion Final, she simply had the misfortune to run into a great trotter in Sundon's Gift on the wrong night.
With her advantages tonight she deserves favouritism but the problem for punters is backing either horse means betting against a champion.
And that is without mentioning Rowe Cup winner Our Sunny Whiz, who has the record of 19 wins in 33 starts on her home track.
You know it must be an incredible race when she is destined to start in double figures.
