BLUE MCKINZIE (3) is the horse to beat after resuming with a sound third at Nakayama Dirt, beaten just under three lengths in a race where he was well found in an open market. His previous win at Kokura Dirt had real substance, scoring by a length and a half as a short odds-on favourite, and one win with three placings from four tries around 1200m makes his profile hard to fault. SHONAN TAHTI (1) brings the most reliable recent pattern, coming off a third to Mogensen after winning well from Silver Don the start prior, and his distance record gives him a genuine winning platform. CURLICUE (5) has to be treated carefully first-up, with a strong overall record and proven track form offsetting a very poor latest run at Hanshin Dirt. MOKARA MARS (4) improved sharply when second to Bee Kong at Urawa in A2B1 company and is third-up with a useful record at this venue and distance.