The good news for this evening at Kranji on a mostly low key card is that Joao Moreira is back and he would win more votes than most politicians as he is that revered in Singapore.
Turnover doubles on the back of his mounts alone at a racemeeting and he is what every club wants but Kranji has for 2013.
The highest staked race on the all polytrack program is the S$95K Benchmark 83 over 1200m, which is the third race of ten.
Moreira will ride the hotpot Huka Falls and as the reigning premiership winning rider for 2012 with an incredible 206 wins it is fitting that Laurie Laxon prepares as he won the training premiership.
The stable Laxon beat on the very last race of the year was of course Michael Freedman and he has the value chance in feature race called Niceone.
The strapping son of Ishiguru has only had one run since joining the Freedman stable and was an ordinary sixth of seven in a Benchmark 97 behind an in form Valevole.
Niceone at 56kg this evening will get 2kg from Huka Falls and add in the fact he is unbeaten second up so you have a viable wager.
Stephen Baster will ride the four-year-old getting weight from the three-year-old and the Joy N Happiness raced gelding could be at overs.
I like the fact Baster has ridden Niceone once before for a win and it came second up albeit when Leslie Khoo trained the sprinter in a Class Two.
The Benchmark 83 looks a very winnable race on the all weather drawn the middle of a small field.
His poly record is five wins and two placings from ten starts with his only turf outing resulting in a rank failure.
Huka Falls is a powerful three-year-old that has to give weight away to all his rivals tonight and this will be a real test.
A stablemate and stayer resuming in the field Gordon Roberts has little hope at all so that is one to not worry about and Seize The Day may not have the class to match some of these plus has never won at 1200m.
So we are looking at five realistic win chances or four serious threats to Huka Falls.
Moreira has ridden it five times for four wins and rates the sprinter highly as does Laxon, with both making no secret of the regard they hold this son of Align in.
Gate three is important even in a small field as it gives Moreira options and leading is the most likely when you consider his mount has 58.5kg and is the baby of the field.
The price will be unders and it will be interesting to see if the other riders concede a soft lead and therefore maybe the race to the lone three-year-old in the field.
I suspect nothing else will try for the front but that is not to say some heat may appear across the top so a cat and mouse affair, which can happen in sprint races, is most likely.
A sudden change in pace actually affects those with the big weights the most as they need to lift again should something come alongside and momentum is everything.
If the rider can get away with making it a 400m sprint home then topweight becomes less of an issue and a simple drag race.
Bahen getting half a kilo from Huka Falls is a big plus for this impressive sprinter that on the poly has won four from six and placed once.
John Powell rides and he is the only jockey to have won on the big Tale Of The Cat gelding trained by one of the success stable stories of last year in Shane Baertschiger.
The last start third behind the unbeaten Emerald Hill in a Benchmark 89 under 53kg was huge after an awkward start then being sent up very deep handy thereafter.
Bahen likes to get into a scrap as then his strength in a brawl comes into play so Powell will need to get close enough to Huka Falls turning for home and make it punching distance to land some blows.
Emblessed for Sonny Yeoh is a five-time poly winner and at 54.5kg looks well enough in plus Davy Bonilla after one ride on the horse will have learned plenty.
Bonilla is in form after winning the feature New Years Cup on the first day of 2013 with an astute ride atop Lizarre.
All the wins for Emblessed have come at 1200m including one at the same Benchmark as tonight under 53.5kg from gate seven last July.
This leaves Trudeau resuming as the other chance and a trial win late last year showed the Bruce Marsh trained sprinter to be in good heart.
Jackson Low gets his second ride on the sprinter having ridden it to fifth fresh up this campaign in November.
Whether this level may prove too much for Trudeau is an unknown but what he has already achieved like Emblesed is that all his five wins too have come at 1200m.
Huka Falls will be at restricted odds as the Moreira wagering army will not be able to turn down him atop a Laxon runner that can stay out of trouble and is untapped.
Niceone is the value that can score if the race is run to help his cause and style.
The irony in the feature event tonight has not been missed that Freedman versus Laxon is on like donkey kong already into 2013.
Enjoy the game.
