The highly anticipated rematch of Daniel and Rite Of Spring takes place at Singapore on Sunday with the latter expected to edge clear in the decider.
Having already met on two occasions the ledger currently sits at one a piece with Daniel proving victorious in their latest meeting when saluting narrowly at this track back in October last year.
Both unraced in close to three months it appears Rite Of Spring will have the edge over his arch rival given he proved so dominant prior to a spell with the second horse Italian Job going on to frank the form at this next start.
In five career starts the Michael Freedman trained galloper is yet to miss the money and has saluted the judge on three occasions including his latest when scoring decisively by over two lengths at this track and trip.
It is this performance which appears to set him aside from the rest as he was successful in producing a near career peak performance and is now expected to have improved further off a break.
Although Daniel did prove the better in their most recent encounter the fact the race was run over 1400m played a big role as Rite Of Spring was far more dominant over 1200m when defeating Daniel in the start prior.
The fact we also saw Daniel go on and test star three-year-old War Affair over the mile suggests he is more tractable over the middle distances were as Rite Of Spring is proven to be more sharper over the sprinting trips.
As although the time recorded out of his latest performance wasn't overly quick his closing sectional was deemed to be well inside standard and was indicative of his high level of ability.
On Timeform weight adjusted ratings Rite Of Spring sits atop on Sunday and holds a six pound advantage over Daniel on career best form.
He is unbeaten fresh and Manoel Nunes links back aboard on Sunday having ridden him in four of his five career starts.
Currently sitting atop the jockey's premiership, Nunes is impressively striking at 18% for this season and more notably is striking at 20% for the Michael Freedman stable.
Freedman also currently leads the Trainer's Premiership ahead on count back with four trainers all locked together on 13 wins.
While only a small field on Sunday it appears tactics will play a crucial role with Nunes likely to adopt a fairly forward position aboard Rite Of Spring from the good draw as there doesn't appear to be a whole lot of speed engaged on paper.
As a result don't be surprised to see Nunes press on and lead on Sunday as if able to get his own way out in front he should prove too sharp for his rivals over the concluding stages.
The Laurie Laxon trained Daniel proved the only three-year-old able to test War Affair last preparation and while likely to be short of his best over 1200m he must be respected on class alone.
Much like Rite Of Spring he boasts a very impressive career record having saluting the judge in three of his six career starts and has only missed the money once, which came at his last start prior to a spell when failing badly behind Trudeau.
Given plenty of time to overcome that run he is expected to have improved further off a break and will attempt to keep his unbeaten record fresh intact.
Corey Brown sticks aboard on Sunday and is faced with the tricky job of having to overcome the wide draw as he won't want to give Rite Of Spring too big a start and will likely have to press forward.
As a result he is likely to have to use up some petrol in the process and it may leave him lacking over the concluding stages.
Although he is expected to improve sharply off whatever he does on Sunday, still expect Daniel to be right there at the finish.
The Cliff Brown trained You Da One creates plenty of interest in this affair when he steps out for his first start in Singapore.
Formerly based in the UK the son of Footstepsinthesand rates very well on his prior form and if anywhere near his peak he should be right around the mark.
His two trials leading into this have been mixed but if there is any market support he must be kept safe as he has the ability to be winning a race of this standard.
Of the rest the Michael Clements Darci Charmer proved quite impressive when leading throughout to salute here last time out.
While obviously taking a huge step up in grade on Sunday he has shown enough ability to suggest he could make this progression if not on Sunday but in the future and is one horse to keep a close eye on.
Good luck and happy punting.
