Reigning premier harness racing trainer Ben Yole will travel another big team to the races in Launceston today with multiple runners in all but two on the nine-event program.
In the eighth race, a claiming event over 2200 metres, he will hitch up half the field of 10, although it will be the Craig Hayes-trained Mister Sumna that is likely to start favourite.
Yole has two runners in race two that should battle it out for favouritism in the lightly raced Regmondo (7) and Roxburgh Way (6) who were both winners in Launceston two starts back on October 16.
Roxburgh Way emerged triumphant in a C1 over 1680 metres defeating Su You Too and Aitutaki with James Austin in the cart, although today Austin was committed to Safari Sunshine so Yole has booked 10-time premiership winning driver Gareth Rattray.
The Artistic Fella gelding enjoyed the one-out-two-back trail that night but today he must contend with an outside front-row draw in a small field of seven, but if Rattray can find a spot with cover the six-year-old could win again.
Regmondo won on debut two weeks ago in Launceston at the same meeting Roxburgh Way emerged triumphant, also over 1680 metres.
Regmondo has drawn the outside of the front line but he has good early speed so his driver Mark Yole could opt to use him up early to try and find the front and if that eventuates he could be very hard to run down.
Safari Sunshine has been placed at his past four starts and gets his chance to break through from a good barrier (2) while Rattlenhum won two of his last three starts before being sent for a spell and his first-up effort in Launceston two weeks ago was full of merit.
The best race on the card is clearly race five, the Get Well Greg Mansfield Stakes over 2200m for C5-C9 performers.
Last-start winners Mavis Merle and Chopstix Boris are the in-form runners with Chopstix Boris likely to start favourite on the strength of his last-start win and given Mavis Merle has no early speed and from the pole position she might end up behind the leader or three-back the fence.
The Bettormack (3) has the chance to prove he could be up to tackling the better races over the Christmas-New Year period and Macho Comancho could go well fresh as he will be first-up since winning a C5-C9 in Hobart at the end of June.
Peter Staples