"Wyndspelle is looking for a bit further and he is not comfortable in the ground, so Scott Base had it over him a little bit late, but it was good, strong work from the pair of them.
"I was thrilled with the way Scott Base pulled up. He is a lot more forward than I thought. He has really shown strong improvement from that trial last week and that is what we wanted to see.
"Obviously, he has raced well fresh in the past, albeit in lower grade races.
"It is a Group One race and they are never easy to win, but we are very happy with our horse and where he sits, and he is a little bit special as we have seen in some of his performances.
"It is a hard race to win, but we are pretty confident we will be getting part of it."
Meanwhile, Benner is pleased with stablemate Wyndspelle and believes the five-year-old will be seen to greater effect in the second and third legs of the Hawke's Bay series.
"He's going really well, we're learning about him all the time.
"My gut is telling me that he sort of wants 1600m and further, so this first race is probably going to be a touch short for him.
"He's pretty forward and the key to his chances is he needs dry ground. I think the second and third legs are going to be more up his alley with the distance." – NZ Racing Desk
