Champion sprinter Nature Strip enters Saturday's lucrative Everest at Randwick as the runaway favourite, with three Kiwis powering his bid to win his second straight win in the high-stakes race.
Trained by ex-pat Chris Waller and ridden by James McDonald, the horse is dominating betting at the world's richest race on turf, with a prize of $AU15 million (NZ$16m) up for grabs.
Nature Strip has gone through what Waller describes as his "captain's run" - a fitting reference, considering one of his owners is All Blacks coaching great Sir Steve Hansen.
In fact, Waller admits he's tapped into Sir Steve's expertise on a few occasions, particularly for guidance around managing high-pressure situations like the one he'll face at Randwick this weekend.
"It's more about the psychology of things, how you handle these big days," Waller explained. "Keeping things simple.
"We spoke a bit about travelling and how the players would be affected by long flights.
"There are so many similarities, as well as in recovery… how do you approach a game off the bench or if you haven't played because of an injury? There's lots of cross-referencing.
"[Sir Steve] has a pretty level head, and you can see why he's so successful in the way he thinks about things and doesn't get carried away, win or lose. He's a deep thinker."
After the horse's statement performance at The Shorts on the same track last month, Waller is confident that form will continue, come Saturday.
"I would expect the best," said Waller. "Obviously, it's a horse race and you need the bounce of the ball, just like you do in any sport.
"He's got the world's highest rating for a sprinter for a reason. It's very good and consistently very good, so we just have to hope that he brings that game to the races on Saturday.
"You're always looking for the up and comer, but we don't need an up and comer turning up on Saturday."
Even at three-quarter pace in their casual warm-up, McDonald says he can sense his ride is peaking at the ideal time for his showpiece.
"He's in really good form," he noted. "He's only there for a little look around and blow the cobwebs out at three-quarter pace, but I was strapped into him pretty tightly and he feels unbelievable, so he's ready to go.
"He's just a ball of muscle… big, strong, powerful galloper. He's a pleasure to ride, he's like a rocking horse.
"There'll be no real excuses. He'll be there fighting out the finish, I'm sure."
Nature Strip has drawn the widest berth for the Everest, which McDonald dismisses as having no negative impact on his ability to defend his crown, while Waller adds he isn't "too concerned" with his horse's starting spot.
"He adapts well from those sorts of stalls and I'm sure he'll be very comfortable," said McDonald. "It's a very competitive race, and he's going to have to do the first half pretty well and sustain that gallop on heavy ground, which it's probably likely to be.
"He's in good form, so whatever happens will happen."
