A horse beaten almost 20 lengths for no obvious reason at the start of his campaign will be out to prove he is a legitimate Doncaster Mile chance by winning the Newcastle Newmarket Handicap.
With his faith in the horse restored after a promising restricted class run at Rosehill on February 26, trainer Anthony Cummings believes Trader can rebound in the $125,000 Group Three race over 1400m on Thursday.
“I still don’t know what happened first-up in the Kensington Stakes at Flemington,” Cummings said.
“It’s one of the great mysteries but I think he’s turned the corner.
“His run at Rosehill was good and it’s been hard to fault his work since.”
Trader is lightly raced for a five-year-old with three wins from just 13 starts.
Cummings, however, believes it is in defeat where the genuine clues to Trader’s Newmarket chances are revealed.
“He’s run second to Hot Danish in a Group Two weight-for-age and he threw a Group Two race away at Moonee Valley in the spring because he was staring at the infield TV screen,” Cummings said.
“The Doncaster has always been the target race so Thursday is an important step.”
A Corey Brown mount, Trader will have to overcome barrier 11 in a field of 13 for the Newcastle Jockey Club’s principal autumn race.
Topweight Herculian Prince drew widest while Hidden Wonder – one of two Newcastle-trained horses in the race – will start from the rails.
Trainer John O’Shea will run promising sprinter-miler Glintz in the Newmarket in preference to the Canterbury Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday.
Bart Cummings has followed suit with comeback stallion Empires Choice.
“He might be a bit underdone because he’s only had the one trial but he’s coming along well,” stable foreman James Cummings said.
A rising eight-year-old, Empires Choice has been missing from the winner’s circle since his 2007 Queensland Derby triumph.
Trainer John Thompson will rely on So Anyway as his lone Newmarket runner after nominating six horses.
TAB Sportsbet’s opening market on the race had Glintz ($3.80) and Trader ($4.60) fighting out favouritism.
AAP TURF
