KEY POINTS:
Jono Gibbes thinks about food most of the day. He has to.
Three poached eggs, a tin of spaghetti, a large plate of chicken stirfry and noodles, two large chicken wraps, a can of creamed rice and banana sandwiches washed down with an energy drink satisfies quite nicely.
On the other hand Leith Innes might have a small salad, with possibly an even smaller piece of grilled fish sitting on top for his dinner tonight.
That's the different fuel requirements of professional sports stars these days.
Gibbes is preparing for the Hurricanes vs Chiefs clash in Wellington tonight - his body requiring a massive intake of protein and calories.
Innes is in the middle of trying to crunch his nearly starved body down to an impossible 52kg - less than half Gibbes' bodyweight - to ride in next Wednesday's $700,000 Stella Artois Auckland Cup at Ellerslie.
Innes, one of New Zealand's most talented jockeys, had an interesting 2007.
He was sidelined on an Ecstasy charge in Queensland before bouncing back brilliantly on the racetrack, and in his personal life when he became a father.
He sees winning the Auckland Cup on the favourite Prized Touch as another important stepping stone.
At 1.7m Innes is tall for a jockey. His normal riding weight is around 55kg.
We groan when we have to take off the 3kg the Christmas pudding and alcohol added to our waists. But despite the protests it's actually easy.
Try losing that 3kg when your body is already down to a bare minimum of a skeleton covered in lean, taut muscle. It's difficult.
Innes says at the moment he's actually not doing it too tough, then again jockeys are used to high levels of deprivation and his impression of doing it tough is generations away from yours or mine.
The lightest Innes has ridden in years is the 52.5kg he was when he won the New Zealand Cup on Trebla in November 2005.
"I'm confident I will be at the 52kg by Wednesday," said Innes eating one egg for breakfast yesterday in Cambridge. "I've been under a nutritionist who's got me off all dairy products and I'm taking protein drinks for energy."
It probably goes without saying, Innes thinks Prized Touch can win the Cup on Wednesday.
At $4.50 so do the TAB and New Zealand's punters.
So, what would a winning jockey like to eat after picking up the $21,000 jockey's Cup-winning riding fee, having forgotten what a decent feed looks like?
"By Wednesday I'll probably be hanging out for a hamburger. But then I'm not that big on junk food.
"I'd probably only be able to take two bites out of it.
"If I had a choice probably a little bit of chocolate and a bit of milk in my coffee."
Simple stuff.
In the eating stakes old habits die hard.
Retired jockey Roger Lang says he'll settle for a piece of chicken and a few vegetables Sunday night.
Former All Black prop Richard Loe says four steaks and a slab of beer is more to his taste.
