Alpine Edge out for redemption in The Archer

Trainers Toby and Trent Edmonds hold some plans of a Group 1 start during the Brisbane Winter Carnival with Alpine Edge.

But first there is a race in the far-north part of Queensland that they would like to tick off.

Alpine Edge heads to the second running of the $775,000 The Archer (1300m) at Rockhampton on Sunday.

Beaten in the inaugural running of the King Of The Mountain (1200m) at Toowoomba on New Year’s Eve, Alpine Edge then scored at the Gold Coast during the Magic Millions Carnival.

Put away after that run, Alpine Edge beat only one runner home in the Listed Ascot Handicap (1000m) at Eagle Farm on April 15.

But Toby Edmonds said there was an excuse for that performance.

“It’s hard to gauge first-up because he lost a shoe, but I think we got enough out of it to bring us forward for the 1300 metres,” Edmonds said.

“I think (this race) is ideal. The 1300 (metres) suits. We went into that QTIS race over 1300 metres on Magic Millions Day, so that is not an issue.

“He’s a horse that puts himself up on the speed, so he should map well.

“The Rockhampton track does have a very tough 600-metre straight, but it suits horses up on the speed a bit, so it should suit the horse that way.”

Edmonds said Alpine Edge would be nominated for the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm on June 10.

But Edmonds added the entire would likely need to progress to a higher-grade race than Sunday’s affair to earn a start in the Group 1 feature.

“We’ll throw a nom in and if he progresses well enough and finds himself in that race, that would be OK,” Edmonds said.

“But he would have to perform well in this one and then at another level up again to warrant a run in that race, I suppose.

“You never know, but if he runs well here and he runs well once more leading into the Stradbroke, we’ll give him a chance, but that would be completely up to him.”