Gore trainer Trevor Cross hopes everything falls in to place with The Wrath Of Robyn at Winton tomorrow, particularly at the start.
Cross describes the 4yr-old as the best horse that he has had - ''there's no question about that''- and has some big plans for the son of Washington VC, although good manners at the start of tomorrow's $14,999 c3 3200m will help set him in the right direction.
The gelding meets a tidy field of intermediate-grade pacers, including Vi Et Animo, who has returned from Australia, but he needs to overcome his standing-start problems to be a factor.
He will start alone from the 20m tapes, and Cross hopes the space will help.
''We don't do too much standing-start practice, because that can be the worst thing you can do at times, the experts tell me,'' he said.
''But he's slowly gaining in confidence and he gets on good with the driver [Craig Ferguson]. I think Craig has got him worked out.
''We put some shorteners in him which will give him a bit more confidence from the stand.''
Cross is looking to the North Island provided The Wrath Of Robyn continues to impress. The end goal is the 4yr-old emerald division of the Harness Jewels at Cambridge on May 31.
He is 14th on the division leaderboard, just outside the cut-off for the top 12 who will line up over a mile, along with one Australian horse.
''He's got to get there yet - he's got a couple of placings to make up and get there - but the hard part is staying there.''
Feature optionsThe Taylor Mile (May 2) and the New Zealand Messenger (May 9) also loom as potential targets for Cross's stable star.
''If you're going up there, you may as well have a crack,'' he said.
''But the Forbury championship down here [on April 17] - that will give us a line on whether we're going to make the trip north.''
Cross broke the gelding in, and was not impressed with his lazy attitude in his first preparation.
''I just about gave up on him, actually. I offered him to a couple of trainers and fortunately for me, they didn't take him on. Then he just turned the corner and he hasn't really looked back since.''
Cross gave The Wrath Of Robyn plenty of practice - 13 trials and workouts to be precise - before he took him to the races at Winton on April 13 last year. There he won by 2 lengths.
''I was surprised when he won first-up at Winton with the authority that he won, but it didn't surprise me after that to see him come through the grades.
''I thought there was more in store for him, although probably not quite as quick as it's happened.''
One of the best races on tomorrow's card is the final event, a c2 mobile pace over 2400m.
Derby-bound Messini is joined by several other smart 3yr-olds including the Graeme Anderson-trained Starsky's Dream, and Quick As A Trick. Messini, prepared by Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen, is likely to start favourite after drawing barrier 2.
