Muscle Mountain may have missed the final lead-up race to tonight’s $180,000 Reharvest Rowe Cup, but that could be the best thing to happen to him.

The giant trotter will start long odds-on in the Group 1 after a totally dominant autumn, and as clearly the best trotter in the country, bad luck, manners or below-par fitness would seem his greatest dangers tonight.

While he hasn’t raced for a month, his trainers Greg and Nina Hope are certain fitness isn’t a concern after Muscle Mountain broke the track record for a trotter when working at rival trainer John Dickie’s property last week.

“He worked very well and he actually races well fresh, so we are really happy with where it is at,” says Nina Hope.

Muscle Mountain accompanied stablemate Eurokash to the races at Alexandra Park last Friday and looked fit and ready for tonight’s assignment.

Eurokash proved a great substitute winning the Anzac Cup but not before three false starts, and with Muscle Mountain still not foolproof from a stand, having to go through that debacle last Friday could have got him in the wrong frame of mind for tonight.

Muscle Mountain has won 28 of his 42 starts but only half of his 14 standing starts and has only started off the front line of standing start race in a full field once in the last 18 months. There, he finished second to Sundees Son in a memorable Dominion at Addington in December.

Being a big horse, he probably won’t enjoy being sandwiched between rivals at barrier four tonight and he definitely won’t be suited by a repeat of the farcical scenes at the start of the Anzac Cup.

That more than any rival would pose the greatest threat to tonight for the wonderful trotter.

The free-for-all conditions suit Oscar Bonavena and Aldebaran Zeus so they are obvious place chances, while Resolve wasn't suited by the three false starts last week and with her standing start manners, she could lead and trail and be the best top four chance.

Kango may not win tonight’s $180,000 Auckland Cup, but he may hold the key to who does.

The Cambridge pacer won the final lead-up race to tonight’s Group 1 in the Roy Purdon Memorial last Friday, not an uncommon occurrence for him as lead-up races are so often dominated by leaders as many drivers are conservative with a bigger target around the corner.

But his victory over tonight’s favourite Self Assured, albeit it with a 10m head start, confirms Kango is racing as least as well as when he finished third in the Cup last year.

And that has emboldened trainer Arna Donnelly.

“We wouldn’t be scared to stay in front and that might be his best chance of winning,” says Donnelly, whose driver David Butcher does stubborn aggressiveness better than most.

While who leads may not seem crucial in a small field over 3200m, if - and it is very much an if - Butcher is determined to stay in front should Kango be the first to the top, that would rob dual New Zealand Cup winner Copy That of his most commonly used weapon.

Almost all Copy That’s major wins, including his two NZ Cups and The Race by Grins, were lead-all-the-way jobs, and while he proved himself a potent swooper three times when scoring off big handicaps late last year, he would be at his most scary if he was able to roll to the front.

As one of the clear top two pacers in the country, Copy That in front would cop no pressure and Self Assured and co. would struggle to catch him, but even his trainer Ray Green speculates that may not be how this Cup unfolds.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if David (Butcher) wanted to stay in front because Kango is right at his peak and with my horse having not raced for a month, I don’t want him overdriven early,” says Green.

Green is adamant Copy That is spot on for tonight and can win coming from off the speed, but punters would feel a lot more comfortable with him controlling the race. And there have to be at least some questions raised by tonight being 3200m after a month without racing or trialling.

That brings punters back to favourite Self Assured, who co-trainer Mark Purdon says will be a better horse than he was last Friday when he ran up to beat Kango but blew out at the 100m mark.

“His work this week suggests he is better, he felt as good as he did this week last year when he worked on Wednesday,” says Purdon.

Self Assured bolted away with the race last year and tries to become the first horse to win three Auckland Cups tonight, remarkable considering the race dates back to 1890.

If Kango reaches the lead early and stays there, Self Assured becomes the horse you want to be on because he would seem more likely than Copy That to be on the marker pegs and closer to the speed - the winning recipe in so many Group 1 3200m races in this country.

Add in question mark horses like Akuta (setback last week), Old Town Road (racing a shade below his best) and The Big Lebowski (up in grade, first standing start), and this is an intriguing Cup and a far better contest than looked likely just a month ago.

The opinions expressed in The Forum are those of the author and may not be attributed to or represent policies of Harness Racing Victoria, which is the state authority and owner of thetrots.com.au.