Hastings trainers Paul Nelson and Corrina McDougal have not got their hopes up before the feature jumping races on the first day of the Grand National carnival at Riccarton.
The training partners have leading contender No Change in the Sydenham Hurdles and outsider Zardetto in the Koral Steeplechase at Riccarton tomorrow.
The 11yr-old No Change beat one of his main rivals, Laekeeper, when winning his last start in the Hawke's Bay Hurdles.
The win came on a soft track and the horse is likely to encounter a much different track tomorrow as the Riccarton surface has been rated at heavy11 this week.
"Hawke's Bay suited him. The track [slow7] was pretty much to his liking," Nelson told NZ Racing Desk.
"He has won on a heavy track, but it's been a wet and loose track."
The Riccarton track could improve before tomorrow's meeting.
The Metservice is forecasting high winds and little rain for Christchurch today and for overcast and dry conditions tomorrow.
A heavy track could provide Laekeeper with the platform to turn the tables on No Change.
The pair will both carry 70kg, while the last time they met Laekeeper conceded 3kg.
Laekeeper backed up his third in the Hawkes Bay Hurdles by running third in the Wellington Hurdles in which he was beaten by another leading contender in Bad Boy Brown.
Laekeeper conceded 3kg to the emerging 8yr-old in that meeting and will have to again tomorrow.
Laekeeper, Bad Boy Brown, No Change and El Disparo dominate the fixed-odds market for the 3100m hurdle race.
El Disparo, who will carry 66kg, goes into the race on the back of a good hurdles win at Te Aroha early last month.
Before that run, the 8yr-old was convincingly beaten by No Tip in the Hawke's Bay Hurdles.
Nelson has some reservations about Zardetto's chances in the Koral Steeplechase.
The 12yr-old had built good form before being pulled up on a very wet Trentham track in last month's Wellington Steeplechase.
The trainer said the horse might not have been at 100% for the event.
"He's been pretty good [since that run]. I am just not too sure that we didn't have a bug go through [the stable]," Nelson said.
"Even though his record hasn't been huge lately on wet tracks, I thought he would have finished the race all right."
Zardetto is rated an outside chance behind favourite Napoleon to turn around his fortunes tomorrow.
The Kevin Myers-trained 7yr-old impressed when winning his first two steeplechases before producing a fair effort for fourth in his most recent start at Te Aroha.
Myers also has topweight Crash Bandicoot in the race.
The 12yr-old ran fourth at Te Aroha after running a creditable fifth in his previous start in the McGregor Grant Steeplechase.
Race rival Des De Jeu beat Crash Bandicoot home at Te Aroha.
That run got his campaign back on track after he dropped rider Aaron Kuru in his previous start in the Manawatu Hurdles.
Like Napoleon, Just A Wonder has impressed in his short steeplechasing career.
The 9yr-old has produced a win and two placings in just three starts over bigger fences.
