Will a new three year old star emerge again | Hawkes Bay Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Hawkes Bay

While most of the attention Saturday will be on the Mudgway PartsWorld Stakes, the supporting programme is strong.

The second race of the day, the three-year-old handicap at 11.55am, may only carry a stake of $20,000 but it has a better history than some stakes races on the calendar.

Keeninsky, the champion 2-year-old of his year, won the 2004 race by four-and-a-half lengths to kick off a campaign that would culminate in a group 1 victory in the Telegraph Handicap at Trentham.

A year later, Black Panther gave us a glimpse of his huge (and perhaps ultimately unfulfilled) talent with victory in this Mudgway day race.

In 2006, the terrific and sadly ill-fated Jokers Wild began his excellent 3-year-old season in winning style in the 3-year-old event on Mudgway day. The 2008 running was impressively won by Juice, and last year's first two home in the race were stakes-winners The Hombre and Joey Massino.

So who will be joining that company on Mudgway day 2010? The field of 13 in the 3-year-old race features no fewer than five last-start winners and also several other runners held in high regard.

The favourite may be El Primero, the Pins gelding who cleared maidens easily at his only start; it could be Shotoutofagun, who was beaten only by the highly classy Twilight Savings on debut before winning at his second and most recent start; it could be Big Boy, whose eighth place in a strong stakes race was better than it sounds and beat Upsala in his only other race; perhaps it will be Barefoot, who beat a strong field in his maiden win.

Maradona and Gospel are two highly talented colts who, although they were unable to win in their first and only start to date, would not be surprising winners here.