Page, husband and adviser of Helen Page, trainer of Rudy, was based at Randwick for decades and prepared Royal Sovereign which, in 1964, emulated Tulloch's feat of winning three Derbies.

"We have had top apprentices like Zac Purton and Michael Rodd ride for us at the same stage of their careers and Luke is just as good," Page said.

Tarrant  leads the Brisbane jockeys' premiership with 29 winners and Helen Page feels he has developed an understanding with the horse.

She notched a previous Villiers with Spot The Rock, handled by Shane Dye, in 1989.

"Spot The Rock, more of a sprinter, was a different type to Rudy who is a middle-distance horse," Page said. Rudy has a liking for rain-affected surfaces, winning four out of five on the heavy, and is  suited by the big  tracks. Rudy was beaten over unsuitably short distances at his two starts after a spell at Doomben but produced a strong finish to score over the 1630 metres there on November 29.

Being a four-year-old the gelding is still on an upward spiral but Sir Moments, also from Brisbane, is the same vintage and going well.

While Rudy attempted the longer journeys at the Brisbane winter carnival, including the Queensland Derby, Sir Moments stuck to sprints.

Certainly his fifth to I'm Imposing in the  Festival at Rosehill indicated Sir Moments is one of the top hopes.

On weights and measures I'm Imposing, part-owned by TVN presenter Richard Callander, will be tested against on Saturday. Callander also has a piece of  Multilateral.

Callander, in Winning Post, tipped Estonian Princess as his bet of the day but stressed Chris Waller, responsible for I'm Imposing, reported the import "is happy and looks terrific".

Apart from I'm Imposing and Multilateral, Waller, a Randwick mile specialist, also has Strawberry Boy, to be ridden by Jim Cassidy, gifted with the master's touch on front-runners, ready for the Villiers fray.

Perhaps Estonian Princess should have won the Festival but Multilateral, beaten 2 lengths, was resuming and had scope for improvement.

Verdict:  Rudy.

Tea with a kick 

Waller's Saigon Tea looks nicely placed under the handicap and track conditions in the Christmas Cup. With stablemate Permit the topweight on 59kg, Saigon Tea, successful at Rosehill last Saturday, is on the limit, 54kg. Saigon Tea has a handicapper's rating of 92 while others on the same weight, including Lucky Lucky Lucky and the promising Terai, are only on 79. Possibly the danger to Saigon Tea is Metaphorical, the likely leader, but lacking the "heavy" distinctions of Saigon Tea, but this isn't the case with World Wide. "World Wide is an excellent wet tracker, and punters are confident he can return to his best," Thomas Hackett (Bookmaker.com.au) reported on the Racenet poll of leading betting houses. "Has been backed into $14 after opening at $21."

Verdict: Saigon Tea.

Muscling in

The promising Ball Of Muscle in the TAB Rewards Plate has at least one detractor. "Likelihood of a wet track means that this guy is some sort of risk at the odds-on quote," Jason Scott (Betstar) opined. "He's had 35 days off and has been beaten twice on soft tracks." Ball Of Muscle trialled nicely at Warwick Farm on Monday but it was on the all-weather Pro Ride surface. Miniature, a member of the John O'Shea camp, is back after a spell against Ball Of Muscle but last campaign raced against strong opposition in group3 and listed company. Maybe she was beaten 2.3 lengths by Srikandi at Doomben in May but the winner was flying at the time. Miniature can handle the wet.

Verdict:  Ball Of Muscle.

Unequivocal decision

Finding the best mudlark could be the key to the ATC Autumn Hospitality On Sale and outsider Whitten's Delight could be the one.  Whitten's Delight, from Adelaide, has won on heavy and slow. She is returning from a spell but has acted fresh while Unequivocal was responsible for an eye-catching third last start at Canterbury. "Settled down back in the bunch second-last on the rail, five lengths at 800 metres, needed to make ground on turn, ran on strongly  when shifted into the clear," Winning Post video comments reported. A three-year-old Unequivocal has only raced on good, thus is a gamble in the wet.

Verdict:  Unequivocal.