But that is not to say his two other charges at tonight's meeting cannot win.
Hanrahan has three runners engaged for the 10-race card - Cullen Keefe (race 4), Pocket Of Jewels (race 7) and Bute Courage (race 10).
Bute Courage's recent form points to him as the best chance from Hanrahan's contingent, but Hanrahan is happy with his other two pacers.‘‘He looks more like the winning chance out of the three of them, but I wouldn't be surprised if one of the others knocked one off,'' Hanrahan said.
In a field full of well-tried pacers, Bute Courage is the least experienced, lining up 23 times prior to tonight for three wins and 10 minor placings.
By contrast, both Hudson Sully and Motu Speedy Star have been around in an official race a combined 315 times before tonight's 6yr-old and older c1-c3 2200m mobile pace.
Bute Courage has been racing in the Canterbury version of the aged paces, and form behind Franco Harrington and Aveross Rustler should stack up here.
‘‘He has been going really well in those 6yr-old and older races,'' Hanrahan said.‘‘He's had a trip down there before and had a run around the track, so he knows what it's all about down there too."
Bute Courage starts from barrier 3 and Ricky May - who drives all three of Hanrahan's runners tonight from handy marbles - should settle close to the place from there.
Cullen Keefe cops a handy c2-c3 field over a 2200m mobile journey, and is among the thick of the better runners, with Media Queen and Pat Campbell immediately inside him and Onedin Onyx right outside him as the mobile arm pulls away.
Hanrahan has noticed the 5yr-old seems to be holding his form a bit longer than last season after he gave the entire two months in the paddock last July.
‘‘It was just a bit of a break to get over a few things,'' he said.
‘‘He seemed to always go better when he was fresh. You'd get a couple of runs out of him and he'd go off again, and you'd freshen him up again and you'd go again. ‘‘But this time we've had three pretty good runs in a row.''
Cullen Keefe needed the run on his return to racing at Oamaru on January 7, but has since added a fourth to McArdle Star, a close second to stablemate Pocket Of Jewels and a last-start third behind Idealindiamonds at Addington on Friday.
‘‘He seems to be racing in pretty good form. I'm quite happy with him and quite happy with his work since his last race, so we'll go down and see what happens.''
Return To Sender looks like the one to beat in race 7, but Pocket Of Jewels gives Hanrahan a good chance to make things interesting from barrier one.
‘‘She's gone really well in her last few starts and, hopefully, she can back up again,'' he said.‘‘I would expect her to nearly lead from there.''
The American Ideal mare ran third to Hestia Franco at the Methven trials on Sunday.
‘‘Kimberley Blakemore drove him and did a good job. She got her away and sat in, and just let her run up the straight and went really well.''
Tips from the talent
Brad Williamson: Heard The Whisper (race 5, No 9)
Craig Ferguson: Fleeting Grin (race 7, No 3)
Geoff and Jude Knight: Onedin Onyx (race 4, No 6)
Matthew Williamson: Nicky Minaj (race 2, No 3)
Jonny Cox: Break Dance (race 6, No 4)
