Reigning Otago horse of the year Tommy Tucker will attempt to win his third consecutive Timaru Cup today.
The Brian and Shane Anderton-trained galloper will meet familiar circumstances in his quest for three in a row.
Having 60kg on his back and giving his rivals a weight advantage of at least 3.5kg is certainly nothing new for the horse.
And neither is his programme into the race: he had come off a good run at Cromwell earlier in December when winning his past two cups.
This year he signalled he was back to his best with a slashing run in the Cromwell Cup.
Stepping back from the 2030m of Cromwell to today's 1600m might trip up a lot of horses but it worked for Tommy Tucker last year and jockey Jacob Lowry cannot see why it will not work again.
''I don't think it's going to be an problem; he did it last year.
''I sprinted him up in his work [recently] and he felt really good.''
Lowry is expecting Tommy Tucker's No3 barrier draw to be a key factor in today's race.
''Because he drew badly at Cromwell I was not able to ride him exactly how I wanted. You can only ask him to do so much with a big weight.
''From a good draw, he will be able to take up a much better position and I can ride him where I want to.''
Like Tommy Tucker, his stablemate Coulee showed she was back to her best after a slow start to the spring with a solid third at Ascot Park earlier this month.
The pair will clash with a host of Canterbury chances headed by Coupland's Mile winner Son Of Maher.
The horse drops back from taking on group 1 company, where he was not able to measure up to Kawi in the Captain Cook Stakes.
Vinevale and Timy Tyler loom as lightweight chances from opposite ends of the country.
Waikato visitor Vinevale heads south for Stephen Autridge, while Riverton raider Timy Tyler will try to go better than his Hazlett Stakes run at Wingatui on Tuesday.
