KEY POINTS:
The time for kid gloves may just about be over when Changeover and Gotta Go Cullen continue their rivalry at Cambridge tonight.
The pair have been gifted a $10,000 mile race by the Cambridge club to help them prepare for the Harness Jewels to be run on the
same track in 16 days' time.
Only four horses will contest tonight's event, with Chilli and Days Of Courage also going around for practice.
But while they have both had their highs this season, this race will be like any other time Changeover and Gotta Go Cullen have met this term - a match race.
And while the connections of both great pacers admit tonight's race is very much a race night trial for the Jewels, that $200,000 main prize is now so close that some boundaries may need to be set.
Gotta Go Cullen (3) has drawn inside Changeover (4) tonight and with the short run to the first bend should hold him out and be able to take the lead.
Last time he did just that was in the Messenger two weeks ago when trainer-driver Tony Herlihy was happy to hand the lead to Changeover before grabbing victory in the last few strides.
But with Cambridge a leader's track and tonight's race under similar conditions to the Jewels, it is doubtful Herlihy will feel so generous again.
If either Gotta Go Cullen or Changeover drew to lead in the Jewels they would undoubtedly stay in front rather than hand up and try and negotiate the short Cambridge passing lane for victory.
So Herlihy must be thinking the same thing tonight - about making a statement of his intent for Harness Jewels day.
While he wouldn't be drawn on that point yesterday, Herlihy said he is happy with Gotta Go Cullen's progress since the Messenger and thought he would be at least as good tonight.
"He has worked well and drawing inside Changeover should help us," he said.
Changeover's trainer Geoff Small admitted the race could be tactical but he wasn't predicting a war between the superstars.
"This is an ideal lead-up race for us, but to be honest I never thought it would get off the ground so we were getting him ready for the workouts instead," said Small.
"I think it is great the club is running it but the main aim is two weeks away, so I think there will still be improvement left in my horse, and probably Tony's as well."
If Gotta Go Cullen does lead then Changeover is going to need to do something special to sit outside him and beat him over a mile, especially with little help from his other two rivals.
But bizarrely, in a four-horse race, punters probably need to take both in the first leg of Pick6.
Rarely would a clash between Changeover and Gotta Go Cullen not be the highlight of a Cambridge meeting but tonight it could be overshadowed by the Cambridge Trotting Stakes. The $20,000 event brings together the best of a vintage 3-year-old crop, headed by multiple national record holder Sovereignty.
The impressive local will need to be at his very best, though, after drawing the outside of the front line in the strongest field of the season.
DRESS REHEARSAL
Some of the stars who will clash in the Harness Jewels have their final lead-ups at Cambridge tonight.
Arch-rivals Gotta Go Cullen and Changeover clash over a mile.
The best 3-year-old trotters meet again, with local hero Sovereignty a warm early favourite.
* Last night's TAB fixed-odds:
Jubilee Park Mobile: $1.65 Changeover; $2.10 Gotta Go Cullen; $21.00 Chilli, $21.00 Days Of Courage.
* Trotting Stakes: $1.70 Sovereignty; $3.80 Running On Time; $7.50 Real Deal Yankee; $11.00 Doctor Mickey, Sno's Big Boy; $21.00 Cyclone Jake; $31.00 De Gaulle; $41.00 Kasyanov.
