California Choice is the only banker choice Triple Trio punters should make in the final leg of Sha Tin's HK$4 million exotic - and the Tony Cruz-trained speed machine can be relied upon to maintain his unbeaten record as topweight on Sunday.
Matthew Chadwick shaves two pounds off the hefty 133 pounds impost for his local rider's allowance, and has already driven the powerful sprinter to two wins down the 1,000m straight.
The hat-trick looms imminently, despite the handicappers penalising California Choice some 28 points for his two impressive wins, and so long as Chadwick keeps the Redoute's Choice colt within touch of the early leaders coming to the 300m mark, the race will be his for the taking.
Much has been made of the horse's apparent roaring condition by Cruz, but in restricting him to the straight course over the minimum trip, he seems to have sidestepped that issue for now and there has been no evidence of any loss of aerobic performance at the end of his two runs.
The three-year-old was to make his third start on January 16, but was scratched on the morning of the race after presenting with mucopus after trackwork.
With a month since then to clear his pipes, Cruz is now ready to open the throttle again and get the colt another win.