El Chico has been ridden in most of his races the past two seasons by Lisa Allpress, but the Wanganui jockey has opted for the Manawatu meeting on Monday.
"Lisa was keen to come south but it was just too difficult with the travel," Michael Pitman, the trainer of El Chico, said.
Allpress said she wanted to spend Christmas Day with her sons of 7 and 4. She will make the trip for other meetings on the South Island holiday circuit.
El Chico has not raced since the New Zealand Cup meeting when he won the Stewards' Handicap (1200m) by 10 lengths.
He carried 58.5kg, half a kilogram less than his impost on Monday, but the minimum is 1kg lower at 53.
El Chico won an open 1200m race at the corresponding meeting at Wingatui 12 months ago with Jamie Bullard the rider.
Pitman won the listed Hazlett Stakes (1200m) with Coup Align (ridden by Allpress) last season when the race was run in February.
The Hazlett Stakes was run in December over 1600m in 1985 when Pitman saddled Pokare to dead-heat for first with the Ali Robinson-trained and ridden Courier Flight. Jodi Woledge rode Pokare, part-owned by Ray Coupland, who races Coup Align.
Pitman and Coupland combined to win the Hazlett with Coup Ray in 2005 when the race was staged at Cromwell in March.
Pitman also has So Elusive and Our Genes in the Hazlett on Monday. He has yet to settle on a rider for So Elusive, winner of the Pegasus Handicap at the New Zealand Cup meeting in the hands of Allpress.
Amelia Denby, a stable apprentice, has the mount on Our Genes.
Denby has been in Melbourne for the past two months with her partner Johnny Pitman.
She has been riding work for Mike Moroney.
Edwina Morris and Alan Jones, who sponsor the Hazlett Stakes through their Berkley Stud at Greenpark, bred St Mark, a 3yr-old who won over 1600m at Matamata yesterday.
He won a 1500m maiden race at Te Awamutu at his previous start.
St Mark, who has been nominated for the New Zealand Derby in March, is trained by Jon Sargent.
St Mark was sold for $42,000 at the festival session of the New Zealand Bloodstock yearling sale. He is by the Berkley stallion Coats Choice from Cruella, a Hadaad mare who won six races to 2000m.
