Not only does the 6yr-old mare have to start off 40m against some promising pacers, but she is a bit short on match fitness, her Portobello trainer, Steve Ashton, explained.
''We've missed two trials because we haven't had them,'' Ashton said.
''We won't really know until Sunday how far forward she is but she's all right.''
The daughter of Badlands Hanover slogged her way through a slushy track to win at Oamaru on June 16, and Ashton gave her a brief let-up before gearing her work towards a start in tomorrow's feature.
But when Monday's trials at Forbury Park were abandoned due to insufficient entries, the winner of nine races missed out on a crucial run against other horses.
Ashton has kept her healthy on his home track, but admits it is not quite the same, especially as the mare has 13 other horses in front of her from the starting tapes.
''It's probably a big ask off 40m,'' he said.
''She won off 40m last start and she seems as well as then, but it's race fitness now.
''I've given her a few runs to make up for the trials, but racing is completely different from home.''
Ashton's strategy with the 6yr-old last season was regular racing and trials to keep her edge, and he knows others in tomorrow's feature, such as Copy My Past and Lionels Meddle, have been lining up in recent weeks.
''Some of those horses have raced recently and are at their peak fitness. I wouldn't count her out of it, though.''
Copy My Past has been a revelation since arriving at Greg and Nina Hope's Woodend Beach stable north of Christchurch.
The Live Or Die gelding won five from the Cambridge stable of Colin Butler, but has strung together three wins on end for the Hopes, including a second successive win over Comenche at Addington last Friday.
Former New Zealand Derby winner Captain Peacock is fresh-up after disappointing in the Rangiora Classic in April. The Dean Taylor-trained gelding won a trial at Ashburton on Tuesday, coming from second-last to down Tyron's Falcon Ella on a closing 400m of 27.1sec.
Also in that trial were fellow Kurow Cup contenders Pay Me Cullen (third) and Givethejobtobarnsy (fourth).
Thanesan comes into his assignment in the 2-or-more win trot on the back of solid trial form.
The 2011 New Zealand Trotting Derby placegetter has had three runs at the trials and work-outs after he was turned out in late January.
He finished second in his latest trial at Ashburton on Tuesday, 2 lengths behind What A Gamble. Tomorrow's race rival, Live The Dream, was fourth.
