After a fighting effort to finish a close up fourth after a tough run last time out, even luck from another tricky draw for Caspar Fownes' Calling With Love should ensure the sprinter fills the frame in the final leg of a treacherous looking Triple Trio at Happy Valley tomorrow night.
After a difficult to decipher Class Five to open the TT, punters chasing the estimated $36 million dividend courtesy of a $22 million-plus jackpot then need to get past a weak Class Four and Calling With Love looks a solid standout in the anchor leg, a Class Three over 1,200m.
Calling With Love's celebrity owner, Canto-pop star and actor Aaron Kwok Fu-shing, was on course last start to watch his horse put in a wholehearted effort under tough circumstances.
With the rail already out in the "C" position, the same as tomorrow night, and over the same trip, Gerald Mosse was stuck three-wide with no cover from gate five on the 3.7 second favourite.
Despite the arduous trip, Calling With Love, third up and hard-fit, was still in the contest until late and finished a game fourth, just three-quarters of a length from the winner Choice Treasure.
The consistent six-year-old, who had placed in seven of his eight previous starts and worked his way up to the brink of Class Two, has been given an easy time by Fownes in the month since that run and should be spot on.
While Calling With Love's early speed has been utilised previously, he chases well from midfield, too and Purton will be looking for a spot in behind what should be at least average tempo.
Ambitious King and Sight Believer will look for forward spots, Hello Hedge could push up from a low draw, and, from wide gates, Electronic Fortune and Winfull Patrol may make plays for the front. With all of that activity from the tough 1,200m starting point, the field should string out sufficiently for Purton to slide into a one-off position behind the speed.
Sight Believer (Nash Rawiller) goes in, as does Clever Beaver (Matthew Chadwick), who will relish a return to the Valley and being ridden with a sit here.
New Deerfield (Derek Leung Ka-chun) is a tough one to assess - his best is good enough to place here, he saves his best for the Valley and the six-year-old dropped three pounds in the off-season but he is also first up and fresh without a lead-up trial.
"Competitive" and "Class Five" are words rarely found in the same sentence, but the opening leg of the TT sees a host of one-paced grinders square off over 1,800m in what is an intriguing contest.
After sitting three wide no cover a week ago and leaving his rivals with no excuses, Enjoy The Game backs up, stepping up in trip with Mirco Demuro aboard.
He goes in, but take Mister Marc (Purton) as banker - he could get another sole lead, and while that hasn't been enough for the limited four-year-old to break through previously, he at least controls his own destiny tempo-wise.
Gold Tartini (Joao Moreira), Electronic Gospel (Karis Teetan) and Telecom Supremo (Neil Callan) all go in.
In contrast to the opening leg, the Class Four middle leg lacks truly in-form runner to pin hopes on.
Roll the dice on Fownes-trained Born To Win (Chadwick) from a low draw - he had excuses last start and from a better starting position he should figure.
Expectator (Callan) is next, he also gets a better barrier and boasts a decent record at the course and distance, at least compared to most of his competition.
Always Something (Whyte) and Heavenisaracehorse (Purton) can also be considered, along with Dragon Glory (Moreira) and Good Thinker (Umberto Rispoli).
