And it’s not just due to the prospect of the hot and balmy Kurow racecourse.
The Danny Crozier-trained galloper will carry the feather weight of 50kg in tomorrow’s feature.
Rider BB Hong will claim 4kg off the horse’s back, giving The Real Deal a 4kg advantage over his rivals.
Crozier is not putting Hong on the horse just to utilise his claim, but to cash in on his bond with the horse, the trainer said.
"BB gets on super with him. A lot of jockeys try to grab a hold of him and he fires up.
"When you over-race early in this grade, you can’t finish it off. The horse relaxes for him and it makes a big difference."
Hong has helped The Real Deal start this season in career-best form.
The horse resumed with a win at Riccarton over today’s 1400m journey before running second at Ashburton.
"The horse is flying," Crozier said.
"He has been a work in progress. He is 6 years old now but he has really started to strengthen now."
Laaffaire looks to be one of the hardest horses for The Real Deal to beat.
The horse went a slashing race for third in the group 3 Canterbury Breeders Stakes during New Zealand Cup week.
After jumping slowly and being forced wide, Laaffaire flew home to grab third behind Heni and Montoya Star.
Laaffaire’s stablemate Batman is another contender with a good chance in today’s race and will be aided by Hailey Bennet’s 3kg claim.
So, too, is hardy campaigner Absolut Excelencia, who is back in the South again.
The horse ran the narrowest of second placings behind Coup Darci Be in last year’s Kurow Cup.
The Danny Crozier stable lines up three more horses at tomorrow’s meeting, including leading chance Entree in race 2.
Entree went a slashing race for third in her last start at Cromwell.
"She got a bit further back than she should have been and only got beaten a neck and half a head," Crozier said.
"From barrier 5, she should box seat in the one-one and if she is good enough, she should run over the top of them."
Crozier’s two other runners, Swiss Dream in race 3 and Bob’sthejob in race 4, had both been unlucky in their recent starts and would be solid each-way chances tomorrow, he said.
