But the butterflies will be flapping in overdrive for a Mosgiel pharmacist watching from home.
Gavin Chin bred Lazarus, who will be sent out favourite for the $750,000 feature after a perfect preparation in the hands of driver and co-trainer Mark Purdon.
Chin (42) first got into standardbred breeding in "either 1999 or 2000" with a mare called Box Office Hit. Until Lazarus came along, his best product had been 11-win mare Better To Be Bad.
Lazarus, however, is something special. He has won 17 of his 20 starts, including five group 1 (prestige) races, and has looked like a polished professional since he stepped into the open-class ranks this season.
Chin has been on-course for a couple of the Bettor Delight entire’s wins, including his Harness Jewels win at Ashburton last year, but he has decided against making the trip to Addington.
"I think it would just be too much for me to handle," Chin said.
Chin bought Lazarus’ dam, Bethany, off the late Kerry Hoggard as an unraced 3yr-old and went into an agreement with long-time breeder Brian West to share the costs associated with breeding from the mare for the first few years.
After breeding Champagne Dreams (by Art Major), the logical step when choosing a sire for her 2011 mating was star sire Bettor’s Delight.
"It was that magic cross — Bettor’s Delight over a Christian Cullen mare."
Going through the ring under the name Bettor Than The Rest, Lazarus fetched $75,000 at the 2014 yearling sales.
"There was nothing wrong with him but he wasn’t a standout," Chin said.
"He was just a nice, neat horse with no faults. He was a little bit on the small side, but just a nice horse."
Lazarus has since let his performances on the track do the talking, racking up four group 1 victories in New Zealand along with the Victoria Derby earlier this year.
"When he raced in the Victoria Derby and the way he won that, I just didn’t know what to say," Chin said.
"He was three wide and posted for the whole trip and when the leader dropped him at the turn by a couple of lengths, I said, ‘Oh no’."
Lazarus won the Sires’ Stakes Final at Addington last year with a similarly tough run — the first inkling that he was a cut above most of his rivals.
"Just from those two runs, you knew he was something special."
Chin knows how fortunate he is to have a superstar come along relatively early in his career as a breeder.
"You always hope to breed a really good horse. There are a lot of good breeders out there and a lot of good breeders have never had a [New Zealand] Cup starter, let alone the cup favourite," he said.
"Breeding is a lot of fun and quite rewarding. You’re planning so far ahead."
Chin has an Art Major colt entered in next year’s sales, and Bethany will again be served by Bettor’s Delight later this season.
