The 2700m handicap will present punters with an even and intriguing line-up of squaregaiters.
King Cassidy, the horse named after former champion jockey Jimmy Cassidy, could provide a timely win.
The trotter lines up less than 48 hours before this year's Golden Slipper in Sydney, a race that helped Cassidy the jockey famous.
Cassidy's feats in the saddle in Sydney ensured he was a household name in Australasia. He added to his legacy in the saddle when Ha Ha won the Golden Slipper in 2001.
Gerken is hoping his equine Cassidy can give him the last laugh tonight.
On form, King Cassidy looks a strong winning chance. The trotter drops in class from racing in group 3 company behind open-class trotters Destiny Jones and Harriet Of Mot at Ascot Park earlier this month.
After an early gallop, King Cassidy regained his composure and tacked on to the field before hitting the line strongly in seventh.
The gallop was put down to tightening from horses ahead of him runners, Gerken said.
''He got tightened and he panicked and got his head around and that's why he galloped.''
Since the indiscretion, which Gerken is putting down as a one-off incident, King Cassidy has impressed the trainer.
After his big recovery at Ascot Park, the trotter put in another big finish at a recent Gore workout in which he chased another open-class trotter home.
''I took him to the Gore workouts and he ran second to War Machine.''
''He got beaten by two lengths and they trotted home in 57.1sec.''
Keeping pace with classy trotters shows the long journey King Cassidy has made during his 23-start career.
As a maiden, the horse turned heads with his unpredictability that resulted in him blowing seemingly unassailable leads when he was set to win.
King Cassidy meets a evenly matched field of trotters tonight.
Its Elvis found form in his last-start win on the track and Blair Orange will stick with the horse after also driving race rival Spotlight The Valley.
Its Elvis defeated the rejuvenated Playboy's Brother in his win but there was a 10m difference between the pair that night while they meet on level marks tonight.
Valmagne, another solid chance in tonight's race, was good in winning on the mud at Waikouaiti against a stronger field. In an unusual move, the horse is nominated to race tonight and in the Waimate Cup against pacers on Sunday.
Jeddy R Ya Ready and Ace Commander also have claims in tonight's event.
The feature pace on the Forbury programme looks a much more clearcut affair.
Westwood Beach trainer Graeme Anderson's Smooth Mara looks tough to beat in the race.
The trainer could again train multiple winners tonight. His other runners, Bettor Sensation(race 2), Linton Shard (race 3) and Coolhand Easton (race 9), all look handy chances.
