The Graham Richardson and Gavin Parker-trained mare will also try to complete the second leg of a rare double, the Railway and the Telegraph,
last achieved in 1999 by Bawalaksana, trained by Paul O’Sullivan.
Start Wondering nearly did it last year after winning the Railway and running the closest of seconds to Signify in the Telegraph.
The Evan and JJ Rayner-trained gelding was a hard-fighting fourth in this year’s Railway behind Volpe Veloce on a rain-affected track at Ellerslie.
Whether he can turn the tables on the classy mare could be decided by the weather.
"We just hope there’s not too much rain in Wellington. I was surprised how well he did go at Auckland," JJ Rayner said.
"He handled it far better than we expected. It was only when Johnathan [Parkes, jockey] let his head go to ride him out that he started floundering.
"He’s as well as we can have him. His work was good again [on Friday] morning."
The prospect of rain affecting the Trentham track only furthers Volpe Veloce’s winning claims. It is certainly not the forcast trainer Allan Sharrock would want as he prepares Kawi for yet another group-1 tilt.
The rugged 7yr-old collected his seventh group 1 scalp when winning the Captain Cook Stakes at Trentham in December. Volpe Veloce’s other main dangers include former Hong Kong galloper Packing Eagle and Heroic Valour.
Starvoia is clearly the leading hope of the South Island contingent and the prospect of a wet track is good news for her connections.
Earlier on the Trentham card, Love Affair will attempt to cap her meteoric rise through the grades by winning the group-1 Thorndon Mile.
The Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained mare showed her class in winning four of her six career starts, but faces her biggest test tomorrow.
— additional reporting NZ Racing Desk
