The Summer Of Speed Series mobile pace fits very well into plans for the 8yr-old mare except for one factor.
The race is open to c2 to open-class mares and is run using a preferential-barrier-draw system.
New Years Jay's c7 rating means she will start from the outside of the six-horse front line.
The outside draw is not always a big hurdle at Addington, but it is when the race is 1609m and starts halfway around a bend.
New Years Jay's trainer, Amber Hoffman, is unsure what the final tactics will be from the wide draw, which puts the mare and her driver Jonny Cox at an immediate disadvantage compared to her rivals drawn inside her.
"I'm not sure what Jonny is going to do from that draw,'' Hoffman said.
"We just have to be careful when she comes out of the gate with her because she's prone to galloping. In saying that, she's a lot better this time in.''
New Years Jay and the Mark Jones-trained Rocker Band look the class mares of the field, but will have to find their way into the race at some point.
"That's going to be the hard bit,'' Hoffman agreed.
"But I'd say she'll have to come around at some stage. She's not going to be able to wait for one run over a mile. Hopefully they come around early and she can hook on the back of something and get handy.''
Hoffman has to keep on top of New Years Jay, who needs plenty of work between runs.
Her last start was in the Ashburton Cup on Boxing Day, where she finished fifth to Locharburn.
"It was a pretty smart field and her first time over 3200m,'' Hoffman said.
"She did everything right but she's quite hard to keep fit so she just blew out that last bit. But I wasn't unhappy with her run - I thought she went super.''
New Years Jay and stablemate Changesaw enjoyed a splash in the Westwood Beach surf yesterday in preparation for their trip north today.
"She just had a nice paddle this morning with Changesaw. They were pretty fresh when they came out of the water, so that was good.''
Hoffman is considering a crack at the Invercargill Cup on January 30, provided everything goes to plan tonight.
Changesaw has another nice draw to work with in race 2 after winning from barrier 1 at Omakau on January 2.
"He had about four or five days off and then he just had one quiet gallop and jogging and a paddle today,'' she said.
"He doesn't take much work -he's a big, skinny boy and he's got a lot of strengthening-up to do. It will be a good experience for him.''
